Traffic Attorney in Northampton County, VA

Drivers passing through Northampton County, Virginia, often end up with an unexpected souvenir – a speeding ticket or a reckless driving charge. Northampton County police officers routinely patrol Route 13, particularly in Exmore where the speed limit changes from 55 mph to 45 mph and in Eastville near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.  This massive speeding enforcement effort creates speed traps which result in thousands of traffic tickets and citations being written for tourists, visitors and drivers using this popular southern route. Whether you are contesting the ticket or not, DON’T PREPAY YOUR TICKET WITHOUT CALLING ME FIRST!!  Even if you think you are guilty, we know the steps you need to take that may result in your case being REDUCED or even DISMISSED! If you were one of the many out of state drivers that were visiting the area, or just driving through, we understand that showing up to court may not be an option. MANY traffic tickets and reckless driving charges can be handled by an attorney without the defendant being present. The judges in Northampton County deal with speeding tickets and Reckless Driving cases in a very specific way so you MUST consult with attorney Kristen M. Shannon. Mrs. Shannon handles hundreds of traffic matters in Northampton County courts and can navigate you through your traffic charge.  Remember, to have the opportunity to have your case reduced or dismissed, you need to show up in court or hire an attorney to appear for you. Call now for a free consultation.

Shannon & Associates, PC can help.

The reckless driving laws in Virginia are some of the most feared in the entire US, as it is a Class 1 Misdemeanor!  Reckless Driving is defined as (1) driving in a manner so as to endanger the life, limb or property of any person or (2) driving more than 20 miles per hour over the posted speed limit or greater than 85 miles per hour regardless of the posted speed limit. In Northampton County, this is an easy citation for law enforcement to write. There are long sections of highway, the speed limit charges frequently, and the flow of traffic is usually higher than the posted speed limit. It is very easy for drivers to become distracted, to make a mistake or forget to slow down and before you know you are pulled over and being written a reckless driving citation.

The punishments for reckless driving are severe, with fines up to $2500, up to 12 months in jail, six months suspension of your privilege to drive and a permanent conviction on your criminal record. Further, if you are a Virginia licensed driver, the DMV will remove 6 points from your driving record and keep the conviction on your driving record for 11 years. Other states, such as North Carolina, will administratively suspend a driver’s license to drive if convicted of reckless driving in Virginia.

We can help! 

Thousands of citizens have been charged with speed-related offenses, with most of these citations written to out-of-state drivers. Often, our firm can help our clients get reckless driving tickets reduced to traffic infractions, or even dismissed completely.  You have nothing to lose by calling for your free consultation now.

Even if you believe you are guilty of speeding, you need to call our firm. Northampton County traffic court judges will frequently dismiss speeding tickets upon completion of a Driver’s Improvement Program and payment of court costs (NO fines, NO points on your driver’s license.) However, you must appear in court or hire an attorney to go on your behalf to receive this favorable disposition. There are specific rules about the Driving Improvement Program – we will guide you through this process, including representing you in court (no need to appear), providing you with an acceptable online driving improvement program (not all courses qualify) and hand delivering your course certificate to the Traffic Court (most attorneys do not provide this service).  We also follow up with the Traffic Court to make sure your case is dismissed once you have completed the program.

Traffic citations can lead to several potential consequences for the driver. Not only will you have to pay the fine and court costs associated with the citation, but you may also face other consequences, too.

Under the Virginia licensing system, a conviction of Speeding 10 mph to 19 mph will cause drivers to incur 4 demerit points and Reckless Driving will incur 6 demerit points.  In Virginia and in most other states, you can only have so many points added to your license before your license is suspended. For many drivers, license suspension can lead to catastrophic consequences, including the inability to get to work or school or to transport children to school, appointments, and more. Attending classes can help reduce the points on your license, but you can only attend the Virginia driver’s safety class once in every two-year period to help reduce points on your license. In the case of severe convictions, including reckless driving, those points can add up quickly–even if you drive safely and follow the rules of the road the rest of the time.

If you receive a traffic citation in Virginia, but you live out of state, the convictions and points from those citations may still carry over to your license in your home state. Virginia courts may report traffic citations to other neighboring states, where you will face the penalties associated with those difficulties in your state.

Paying the fine associated with a traffic citation can cause enough financial challenges for many people. In many cases, however, insurance rates will increase following a traffic citation–and those rates can stay high for some time following the incident. You may find yourself paying far more than you initially budgeted for your auto insurance, especially if you have more than one insured vehicle.

If you have multiple traffic citations on your record, or if you have been convicted of a charge for reckless driving or a similar criminal traffic case, you may find yourself facing probation. Probation can limit the places you can go, the people you can spend time with, and the time you have to yourself.

Simply paying a traffic citation from Northampton County, Virginia, indicates an acceptance of guilt and can result in the consequences associated with those tickets. Some people, especially tourists or people living out of state, may hope to pay the fine and move on, but they may still face immense consequences for the ticket.

You received a traffic citation, often for speeding as you moved through a speed trap on Route 13. Now what? Shannon & Associates, PC can help. We can:

Did you receive a relatively minor citation with low consequences? Do you have an otherwise clean driving record? Does the officer who issued the citation have clear evidence that establishes that you did commit that violation? We will review the citation and any associated evidence.

Often, you may have several options for handling a traffic citation. Paying the citation may be an option for some people, but it isn’t for everyone. You may not have the funds on hand to pay for the citation. Moreover, the other consequences associated with that ticket, including increased insurance rates, may cause severe hardship. We can help you evaluate your options and the potential relief you can receive from your traffic citation. For example, in some cases, the judge will ask you to pay the court costs and complete a driving improvement program, but not place the ticket on your record, which can help you avoid points on your license and the insurance increase. In other cases, you may have the right to decrease the severity of the citation: pleading guilty to speeding or improper driving, for example, but not to reckless driving, which occurs at a significantly higher rate of speed. Shannon & Associates, PC can help go over the specific options related to your traffic citation and give you a better idea of what to expect.

Often, going to traffic court can help you reduce the penalties associated with a Virginia traffic citation. You may, for example, show up for court, only to discover that the officer who cited you did not show up to plead his side of the case, which means that you can often walk away with few to no penalties. Going to traffic court, however, can prove very inconvenient for busy people with busy lives, who may not have the ability to take time away from their jobs and families for a court appearance.

Shannon & Associates, PC can represent you in court in most cases. You will receive the same benefits that you could have received from showing up in court to fight the traffic citation, but without having to travel or miss work just to handle a traffic ticket.

If you do choose to appear in court, we will provide you with professional, high-quality representation that will help you plead your case and increase the odds that you will suffer fewer consequences.