Speeding in Virginia
 

About eight years ago I was pulled over after driving 82 in a 70mph zone on the highway. Virginia law says that anything over 80mph is a misdemeanor and reckless driving. In my home state this would have only been a ticket for speeding 12 over. I say this not as an excuse, but just to clarify that this is not what someone would usually think when hearing the words “reckless driving” or “misdemeanor”. I had a clean record and hired a lawyer. The judge very graciously amended the charge to a non-moving violation type infraction so I did NOT receive a misdemeanor, reckless driving conviction, or criminal record. I was not arrested nor have I ever been.

The record I have seen reads the original charge, class 1 misdemeanor 82 in a 70 reckless driving (again, just so I am not misunderstood, it was only speeding 12 over, but yes I’m guilty and that alone under any circumstance is terrible). Below the original charge the record states that the charge was “amended” to a non-moving violation (infraction) with a guilty conviction.I have had a clean record since, this event fundamentally changed my driving forever. I guess the law is effective. I was not aware of the gravity of the ticket when I received it but took it very seriously with the officer none the less.

Can I possibly be a candidate for a job at a legacy airline? If they look at my record from eight years ago they will most likely see the original charge for which I was not convicted and also the amended charge (infraction) for which I was convicted. Also, how should a sitution like this be written in an application? I otherwise feel I am qualified.

Thank you

Anecdotal...
I got a 60 in a 45 in VA. I never heard of what you're talking about.
I just put "Speeding ticket" on my apps. I'm not at a legacy, but at JB and it never came up. Further, I had my apps all screened by Centerline and it never came up.
Best of luck.

Virginia
 

Va sucks!!!!!

It won’t be a issue.

Grossly over the limit, or in VA’s case 80mph, is a fairly serious crime—usually misdemeanor, but can be reckless endangerment. Sounds like fun to try out the top end, but get caught and it will be expensive. The 80mph limit in VA has been around for a long time and well known among east coast drivers who commonly darkened their roads.

GF

And what's worse is that the SOB's have outlawed radar detectors. :mad:

For probably 40+ years, since the original Fuzzbuster.

GF

But they can't outlaw Waze.:cool:

I bet they'll try thou. I think it was New York that was unhappy with Waze over showing the location of DUI checkpoints. I have mixed feelings about that, freedom of speech vs. catching DUI's.

I've used Waze driving from CLT to my brother's house in JAX and it's pretty good about showing the locations of police. A lot of false alarms because the police have moved on but I almost always knew ahead of time when I did see police.

They could ban a system that shares confidential info about police investigations (obtained perhaps via hacking), but since DUI checkpoints are dragnets with no probabable cause, and also in plain public view, waze will fall squarely under 1st amendment protections.