In February I was pulled over going 65 in 45. Before you gasp, know that this is one of those roads that goes from literally being a highway, to not. I slowed down as soon as I saw him, but he pulled me over anyway. I thought "Well, I haven't had a speeding ticket in about 18 years, so it's probably time." I also thought of how when I started my current job 10 years ago, as an in-home provider, driving a lot, my chances of an accident or a ticket went up dramatically. I typically log at least 20,000 miles a year on my car. I knew exactly what it meant when he said he got me going 65 in a 45, RECKLESS. I've been here before! 
When I was about 22, I got pulled over going 81 in a 65 which is also RECKLESS. It feels like such a burn because my personality is anything but reckless.
I was going to just suck it up and pay the ticket. I wanted to be done with it, I thought it would be $200 or $250. When I logged on to pay it, the fee was $471! UMMM no way!!!! I messaged one of my lawyer friends, she said oh do not pay it, go to traffic school. I looked it up, and I could spend the better part of a Saturday and $50 on traffic school. The sad part is, after the year we've had, 6 hours with my family not needing me, actually sounded like a break. I went the same week, and much to my surprise, it was not just survivable, but actually interesting and useful! Here are a few of the take aways!
- Adjust your mirrors to not see any of your car! You should lean over to your head on the window to the left, and adjust until you can not see your car. To the right, you should lean to the right in car so you're at about the center console, and adjust so that you do not see any of your car. I did this immediately after the class, and it has made a huge difference, it eliminates the blind spots, although you should still turn your head to look!
- The most you can have on your driving record is plus five, a reckless ticket gives you minus 6. The insurance does not want to see this. If you pay the ticket in advance you are admitting fault and will get the minus 6. Going to traffic school gives you +5. In the event that you get charged with the ticket, you should go to traffic school to get the +5 back, it's definitely worth the $50! Seniors can get discounts on their insurance for going too!
- Any single vehicle wretch results in a reckless ticket. (Someone in the class, avoided a deer, ended up in a ditch, not causing any damage to any other car or property, but got a reckless ticket. The instructor said, just always hit the deer!)
- Following distance should be 3-4 seconds from the car ahead of you. This mean when they pass a post, bridge, etc, you should be able to count to 3-4 before you cross the same landmark. Now that I am paying attention to this, I am more like a 2 second follower, but I'm adjusting! It should be 5-6 seconds when behind a motorcycle.
- Tires are the most neglected, yet most important part of the car.
- Survival in a crash increases by 25% with seatbelts.
- More deer are killed by drivers than by hunters each year!
- If you look away from the road for just 2 seconds (looking at the phone), your chance of an accident doubles.
- Roads ending in even numbers run East/West. (I-64, I-66, Rte 60, Rte 360)
- Roads ending in odd numbers run North/South. (I-95, I-81)
- If the first digit is odd, the road goes in and out of a city. (195, 395)
- If the first digit is even, that goes around the city. (495 in the DC area, 295 in Richmond)
- Going from 55 to 65 miles per hour doubles your chance of death in an accident.
- Going from 55 to 75 miles per hour triples your chance of death in an accident.
- You can be charged with a DUI/DWI/DUID as a result of impairment due to prescription or over the counter medications.
- In VA, he texting while driving law does not specify if you are moving or not, you could get pulled over for holding your phone while stopped at a light.
- Morning commute is 2x safer than the afternoon.
I had my day in court 2 days after my birthday. We had to check our phones at the security entrance and I was there almost 2 hours, almost all of which was waiting. Waiting to get in line, waiting in line, and waiting for the person in the courtroom to call my name to the bench. I was extremely lucky, the judge was very nice and dropped the ticket entirely when he heard I went to traffic school proactively! So I paid $50 for traffic school and $60 in court fees, this is MUCH, Much better than than the $400+ ticket, plus no points against me! I got really lucky although it did take an investment of time; time in traffic school and time at court. You can only use traffic school once in 2 years (I believe). I have already been more careful, but this was a good reminder that I can't use this 'golden pass' again! Be careful out there!
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