DC Speeding Ticket Lawyer

Depending on how much over the posted speed limit a person is traveling, a speeding offense may come with serious consequences—such as fines up to $1,000, points on an individual’s driving record, higher insurance premiums, the loss of DC driving privileges, and sometimes jail time.

As a result, it is important to consult with a DC speeding ticket lawyer immediately to minimize the harm as much as possible. A criminal lawyer in DC will be able to assist in avoiding these consequences and ensure that an individual’s rights are protected at every step of the process.

Types of Speeding Offenses

In DC, the penalties for speeding are separated generally by how much over the posted speed limit an individual was traveling. An individual may receive a speeding ticket for going one to 10 miles per hour over the posted speed limit, 11 to 15, 16 to 20, or 21 and above. Additionally, depending on how fast a person was speeding, an individual may be charged with reckless driving in certain cases.

In association with speeding, the following activities may result in a reckless driving charge:

• Eluding police
• Failure to give right of way to pedestrians
• Speeding in excess of 20 miles per hour over the posted speed limit
• Causing a motor vehicle accident
• Or following another vehicle too closely

Compared to a speeding ticket, reckless driving is a serious offense with implications on your license and therefore warrants contact with a speeding ticket lawyer in DC.

Is Showing Up to Court Mandatory?

A speeding ticket is resolved in the DMV and a person does not have to show up to court. However, if charged with reckless driving, an individual must report to the DC Superior Court. While a regular speeding ticket may result in a fine and points on an individual’s driver’s record, a conviction of reckless driving carries fines of up to $1,000.00, higher insurance premiums, the loss of DC driving privileges, and sometimes jail time.

In some circumstances, an individual may also face a loss of a security clearance or a commercial driver’s license.

Proving Speeding in DC

In DC there are three methods that law enforcement may use to prove that an individual was speeding. However, even if someone is issued a ticket using one of these methods there may be defenses available. To see which defenses many be applicable to your case call a DC speeding ticket attorney today.

What is Pacing?

Pacing is when an officer follows a speeding individual and uses his own speedometer to determine how fast that individual was going. To do this, an officer must maintain a constant distance between his car and the suspected speeder’s car for a reasonable amount of time to make an estimate of the suspect’s speed.

Radar

This means that an officer uses a unit that has radio waves to reflect off of a moving object to determine its speed. When the radio waves bounce off of an individual’s car, they are picked up by a receiver in the unit and analyzed. The officer is then able to read the analysis on the screen of the unit and make a determination as to how fast a person was traveling.

LIDAR

Finally, an officer may use the LIDAR method. This means an officer uses a unit that has a low-power laser beam that bounces off of a targeted vehicle and sends a transmission to the receiver in the unit. The unit will then calculate the speed of the vehicle, which can then be read by the officer.

Advantages of a DC Speeding Ticket Lawyer

An experienced speeding ticket lawyer in DC will be well versed and can help a person navigate through either the DMV system or DC Superior Court system to ensure that any consequences associated with the speeding ticket are minimized.

Additionally, an experienced lawyer will know various defenses that may pertain to an individual’s case and will use those to ultimately get a good resolution in the matter. To discuss your case, call and schedule a consultation today.