Appointing a Criminal defense lawyer is your best bet when facing charges of reckless driving

Routinely exceeding the speed limit is an American way of life as will be evident from the high incidents of reckless driving. Despite knowing very well that speed is a killer, drivers are unable to keep away from it. This is evident from figures available from 2016 when 27 percent of deaths from crashes were the result of speeding.  When charged with reckless driving you face the risk of imprisonment and penalties depending on the severity of the crime. However, you will get a fair chance to defend your rights for which you must appoint a criminal defense lawyer or attorney to fight your case in the court of law.  While individuals charged with reckless driving must go through tough times to prove their innocence and get absolved of the crime, the irresponsible act results in a number of economic losses too.

Economic and other losses

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration speeding-related crashes amount to $40.4 billion in financial losses to the society. Economic losses also happen at the individual level when exceeding speed limits. The DOE (Department of Energy) has set a thumb rule to calculate the fuel consumption that increases with speed. Whenever you exceed the speed limit of 60 mph, for every additional 5 mph the gasoline consumption goes up by 7%. It means that besides the threat of legal hassles that you must face due to speeding which will you cost some money, the cost of excess fuel will also pinch you.

The state laws differ

Laws related to reckless driving are not the same in all states, and some states are tougher than others in dealing with speeding drivers.  Some states come down very hard of dangerous driving while some others are not so harsh and tough.  Almost 75% states in the US consider speed limit in absolute terms, meaning that crossing the line is enough to attract conviction.  The other 25% states leave some room for interpreting the nature of speed violation that allows violators to argue their case in the court and convince judges that although off limits there is enough justification to deem it reasonable.

Types of violations

Reckless driving is a very broad term that includes many kinds of dangerous driving but have one thing in common – it relates to the bad behavior of drivers. Usually, driving at speeds that are 20 mph above the set speed limit amounts to reckless driving. In addition to the speed marker, other situations amount to speed violations like racing, speeding past an emergency vehicle or school vehicle, not stopping when ordered by a police officer and when driving at a speed more than 80 mph. The punishments for violations belong to this category of offense.

To avail the chance of representing your case with professional legal expertise and to ensure that you are let off with no or minimal penalty, appoint a lawyer by logging on to https://leavittmartinlaw.com/criminal-defense/reckless-driving/dinwiddie-speeding-reckless-driving-lawyer/.  They will guide you through the legal maze and ensure that you escape with the lightest punishment or nothing at all.

Do not take chances

Facing charges of speeding can have serious effects on your life and earnings which is why it makes perfect sense to hire a criminal defense lawyer despite spending some good sum of money because criminal defense lawyers are pricey. Lawyers who practice in defending people charged with rash driving or speeding know the ins and outs about the law and legal system related to it and capable of bailing you out from the crisis.  They can make some grievous offense look quite light by using their legal expertise and can not only reduce the charges that allow escaping with some light penalty but can even dismiss the charges altogether. 

The most important aspect in dealing with cases related to speeding is to prevent losing the driving license which the criminal defense lawyer can ensure, but you must not take it for granted.  Legal proceedings can be quite intriguing at times, and you must be ready to face some uncertainty.

When to take a chance

The lawyer or criminal defense attorney's fees might be quite a bother, and you might like to evaluate if it is at all possible to plead your own case and present it in the court without appointing a lawyer. To save money and at the same time ensure that you escape punishment, you must be able to read the case correctly. If you are sure that the chances of high penalty or conviction are the least no matter how tough the judge or jury might be, then you might take it up on your own to present the case in the court by yourself without involving a lawyer. This would give you a chance to either plead for no contest or not guilty. As a result, you might face a standard sentence and chances are that you can escape with some light administrative penalties. However, everything depends on reading the situation correctly and having the confidence to navigate the legal system without any help from lawyers.

Try for a reduced sentence

It might be too much to expect that you can walk away scot-free, although it might not be impossible, it is sensible to be ready to bargain for a reduced sentence. The trick is to drive the case to the point of the bargain by accepting a guilty plea. If you are facing some tough charges for speeding that amounts to dangerous or reckless driving which can lead to conviction and imprisonment you must try to make the prosecution accept the request for accepting a guilty plea instead of taking it to trial. In exchange, you extract the favor of the prosecution by influencing them for a reduced sentence.

Whether or not to hire a lawyer solely depends on your ability to read the case and predict the outcome with some certainty, which is not always easy. For ensuring a safe outcome, you must depend on the guiles and expertise of a criminal defense lawyer who has done it several times for so many people.