Stafford, VA Speeding Ticket Defense Lawyer

If you have a Stafford speeding ticket, you’re not alone. The Virginia State Troopers and Stafford County Sheriff’s Deputies write a lot of speeding tickets, especially along Interstate 95.

But what should you do? Should you prepay the ticket? Should you fight it? Let’s talk about it.

Think carefully about prepaying

It might be tempting to prepay your speeding ticket. You can login to the court’s website, input your credit card info, and be done. But prepaying has consequences.

1. You’re giving up your right to a trial. Prepaying completely forfeits your trial and any chance to defend yourself.

2. You’re giving up your right to remain silent. When you prepay your ticket, you are pleading guilty and admitting to the ticket.

3. You’ll get points on your driving record. The Virginia DMV assesses points for any violation that is actually written as a speeding ticket.

Stafford speeding ticket defense

If don’t prepay your ticket, what’s your other option? You can go to court and defend the ticket.

To be convicted of a speeding violation, the Commonwealth must prove that you are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Thus, there might be a defense to the evidence against you.

There are three primary angles of attack in a speeding ticket case:

1. Challenge the officer’s observations.

2. Confront the accuracy of the speed measuring technique. Was the officer’s radar gun properly calibrated? Did he correctly pace your vehicle?

3. Bargain with the court. Even if the evidence against you is solid, there are ways to get the judge to reduce or dismiss the charge.

These are just some of the factors to consider. I would love to speak with you about the possible defenses to your Stafford speeding ticket.