Vienna traffic infractions can be considered serious offenses. A Vienna traffic lawyer can help throughout the course of an investigation. If you had an accident and did not report it, it could be critical to speak with a skilled criminal lawyer right away. The potential penalties for a traffic infraction in Vienna could be a fine of up to $250. Moving violations carry demerit points which are assessed by the DMV.
There are two serious traffic infractions that someone might face. Number one is when you are speeding 20 miles per hour or more over the speed limit, it is actually a reckless driving charge. Reckless driving is a misdemeanor here in Virginia, and it carries with it a potential jail time of up to 12 months and a potential fine up of about $2,500 because it is a class 1 misdemeanor. A lot of people think that speeding is just speeding, but once you get 20 miles per hour or more over the speed limit, that is going to be charged as a misdemeanor of reckless driving and not just a traffic infraction.
Another charge a Vienna traffic lawyer sees is a hit-and-run or someone leaving the scene of an accident and does not report. That charge potentially could be charged as a felony depending on how much damage you have done to the other person’s vehicle or whether or not the other person is injured. That situation as a simple accident could escalate quickly if somebody leaves the scene of a crime, and people are not really aware of this.
Some people mistake misdemeanor offenses as traffic infractions. Examples of this include reckless driving, hit-and-run, and certain other driving offenses—failure to obey the directions of a police officer, eluding them, or the failure to stop once they are alerted. All of these situations could lead to a misdemeanor charge even if it is something that has to do with driving that you, perhaps, do not know is going to be a misdemeanor.
Circumstances where a traffic infraction might be considered a felony are where there are aggravating circumstances that have to do with the charges. For example, in situations where somebody is involved in an accident, they leave the scene, and the other individual on the accident is either injured or the value of the property that was damaged is more than a certain amount of money, at that point, it is going to be charged as a felony.
Attempting to elude the police and therefore, putting them in potential danger would be considered a felony. Where somebody just does not stop but there is the added risk to the police officer, that would be charged as a felony as well. There are many ways that a simple misdemeanor traffic infraction could actually be heightened and brought into felony territory depending on the circumstances of the case. If you are charged with a felony or misdemeanor violation, speak with a distinguished Vienna traffic lawyer right away