Just got cited for reckless driving an have upcoming post interview decision

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T3ckFr3s

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Today I recieved a reckless ticket for getting a 70 in a 45. I was rushing to my grandmothers funeral early in the morning. The road turned 60 to 45 without me noticing. I have a post interview decision approaching and i have to appear in court afterwards. Will this show up on my background check or affect my post interview decision? This is really adding to my grief.

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It depends on your situation:

Which state is this?
Does your school ask you to report convictions or any charges filed against you?

If you have a clean driving record you can plead no contest and plead to the judge and hope to get it dismissed, or plead not guilty and reach out to the prosecution before trial and hope to win some sympathy points (especially with your grandma's story).

If you're really ballsy, you can fight it on technical grounds.
 
I am in Virginia and never got a speeding ticket before. Its not a conviction yet.
 
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In VA, reckless driving puts you in for a class 1 misdemeanor, I would actually get a lawyer in this case. If not, you can go to your arraignment and plead not guilty and then negotiate a deal with your prosecution before trial.

As long as your school only want you to report convictions, this isn't something they need to know yet. (some school want you to report charges filed against you, then in which case you do need to report)
 
Today I recieved a reckless ticket for getting a 70 in a 45. I was rushing to my grandmothers funeral early in the morning. The road turned 60 to 45 without me noticing. I have a post interview decision approaching and i have to appear in court afterwards. Will this show up on my background check or affect my post interview decision? This is really adding to my grief.

Hire a lawyer. Specifically, hire a lawyer local to the area you got the ticket in who handles lots of traffic cases.

I doubt it would hit your background check until/unless there's actually a conviction, but that's just a best guess.
 
Since you never had a speeding ticket before, you might be eligible for deferral where you still pay the fine but your first ticket is forgiven so long as you drive safe without going over the speed limit for the next 6 months.

A similar thing happened to me, so I just went to the prosecutor's office, asked about the deferral (you may google it too), and she told me I was eligible. I just paid the penalty, did not have to show up at the court, and received no point.
 
I am in Virginia and never got a speeding ticket before. Its not a conviction yet.
You're in VA. It is reckless, they are dicks about it. You might be able to get away with traffic school, but it's doubtful for a reckless. Virginia is absolutely ****ty for traffic violations.
 
Yep, hire a lawyer and GL. I read VA is a crap state for speeding. I've heard that the farther south you go the more strict they are about speeding.

Where I'm at I have never heard of anyone getting pulled for like 90 in a 65. Weird.

But speeding is different from reckless driving. The latter I think is more serious.
 
Yep, hire a lawyer and GL. I read VA is a crap state for speeding. I've heard that the farther south you go the more strict they are about speeding.

Where I'm at I have never heard of anyone getting pulled for like 90 in a 65. Weird.

But speeding is different from reckless driving. The latter I think is more serious.
Reckless driving in VA is an INSANELY high fine (seriously, for a while they were adding $2000 'fees' on top of it because they had maxed out what they were legally allowed to charge you as a 'fine'...I think that got overturned, thankfully). It is also like 6 points on your license - or 1 short of you losing it entirely. So if you already had ANY violation, reckless does you in. Oh, and they hand it out for anything 20mph over the speed limit and up...or over 80mph, even if the speed limit is 60. VA is the devil.
Many cops are aware of how insane it is, so they will cut you a break and cite you for 15 or 19 over, depending on your speed. But VA also has more than its fair share of @$$holes, so many of them don't.
I am so glad I no longer live there...and this is the least of it.
 
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Too bad you didn't get a reckless driving charge in new jersey.....
 
Reckless driving in VA is an INSANELY high fine (seriously, for a while they were adding $2000 'fees' on top of it because they had maxed out what they were legally allowed to charge you as a 'fine'...I think that got overturned, thankfully). It is also like 6 points on your license - or 1 short of you losing it entirely. So if you already had ANY violation, reckless does you in. Oh, and they hand it out for anything 20mph over the speed limit and up...or over 80mph, even if the speed limit is 60. VA is the devil.
Many cops are aware of how insane it is, so they will cut you a break and cite you for 15 or 19 over, depending on your speed. But VA also has more than its fair share of @$$holes, so many of them don't.
I am so glad I no longer live there...and this is the least of it.

True. VA is the worst state to get a ticket, especially for reckless driving. It also depends where in VA you got ticketed. Consult with an attorney, Imho.
 
Read the AMCAS instructions regarding misdemeanors. Getting pulled over for speeding does not mean you are not admissable to medical school. If you write and tell the school, you get to explain the circumstances (going to granny's funeral) and you might garner more sympathy than you would if you didn't report this and it turned up on your background check as an pending case.
 
You're in VA. It is reckless, they are dicks about it. You might be able to get away with traffic school, but it's doubtful for a reckless. Virginia is absolutely ****** for traffic violations.

Negotiate down a couple miles and you are in the infraction zone. That's not bad compared to some state where all traffic citation is minor misdemeanor at least
 
Read the AMCAS instructions regarding misdemeanors. Getting pulled over for speeding does not mean you are not admissable to medical school. If you write and tell the school, you get to explain the circumstances (going to granny's funeral) and you might garner more sympathy than you would if you didn't report this and it turned up on your background check as an pending case.

LizzyM, so adcoms do consider pending cases even if I haven't been convicted yet? I am in the process of acquiring a lawyer so that he may be able to reduce my charges to speeding.
 
Negotiate down a couple miles and you are in the infraction zone. That's not bad compared to some state where all traffic citation is minor misdemeanor at least
You pretty much have to do this with the cop on the side of the road. Once it goes to court you're fairly well effed. It's not like NY state where they just want their money and will pleabargain traffic offenses to parking tickets with the same fine. VA is a terrible place for traffic violations.
 
LizzyM, so adcoms do consider pending cases even if I haven't been convicted yet? I am in the process of acquiring a lawyer so that he may be able to reduce my charges to speeding.

I don't know what the adcom that has yet to make a decision about your application will do about this situation. However, imagine you were admitted and had this same charge filed against you the day before school began (or the day after). do you think you'd be kicked out for this? Do you think that a classmate who did this should be kicked out? What about someone who was arrested for arson of a college dorm? Should an adcom consider that type of pending case in the same way? As I like to say, it all boils down to "would we want someone who does this in our community?
I think that I'd be inclined to be merciful toward speeders but not accused arsonists.
 
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OK, I made the effort to find the AMCAS 2014 instructions and here's the information right from page 36:

You must inform the Admissions Office of each medical school to which you apply if you
are convicted of, or plead guilty or no contest to, a misdemeanor or felony crime after the
date of your original application submission and prior to medical school matriculation.
This communication must be in writing and must occur within ten (10) business days of
the occurrence of the conviction.

So, no information needed to go to the schools until after you are convicted, or plead guilty or no contest. If the charges are dismissed, it never need be reported. Same if you are found not guilty.
 
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Thank you guys so much, I've had my doubts about the supportive nature of this forum but you guys have been amazing with your tips and experience.

Also does the Cert Phi Criminal Background Screening show pending cases or only convictions?
 
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