Virginia Beach Speeding Ticket Stops

In Virginia Beach anyone who is pulled over by law enforcement for speeding should expect the traffic stop to be very brief. There’s a lot of police officer activity in Virginia Beach and they don’t like to waste too much time with traffic stops in general. You can expect that the officer will get your information, put you through the system, issue you a ticket and send you on your way. With this said, however, it is important you take the necessary actions to keep your situation from getting worse and consult with a Virginia Beach speeding ticket lawyer to assist with your case.

The Initial Stop

When you see sirens in your rear-view mirror you should find a safe place to pull over as soon as possible. If you don’t have a safe place to pull over then you should put your hazard lights on so that the officer knows that you’ve acknowledged him, and then from there find a safe place to pull over as soon as you can.

What To Expect From The Officer

When the officer approaches your vehicle, your hands should remain on the steering wheel and you should never exit your vehicle to go and speak to the officer unless the officer requests you to step out of the vehicle.

When the officer approaches your vehicle, they will usually ask for your license and registration and insurance information. You should give the officer all of this information as you are required to do so. In addition, sometimes the officer will ask you questions related to the stop such as “do you know why I pulled you over?” or “why were you going so fast?” or “do you know how fast you were going?” you don’t have to answer these kinds of general questions and it’s typically best that you don’t. Providing answers to these types of questions really only provides more evidence that officers use against you in court and it’s therefore often a better idea to tell the officer you are cooperating but will not answer those questions.

How Should You Answer Any Questions An Officer Has?

If the officer asks you anything related to the stop including if you knew you were speeding,  you don’t want to give them any type of information that’s going to be detrimental to your case later. Therefore you should tell the officer that you were not going to answer any questions related to the stop but you do wish to remain cooperative. You don’t want to tell him that you didn’t know you were speeding or that you did know you were speeding because in either instance, it can be used against you.

What Happens After An Officer Takes Your Information

The officer will take this information back to his cruiser and will run it through the system and generally will then decide if he’s going to issue a ticket. If he does then he’ll come back and ask you to sign it. If he decides to let you go, he’ll probably give you a warning and tell you to be on your way and not to do it again.

Is There Anything You Should Ask An Officer After Being Issued a Ticket?

No, there is no questions that need to be asked of the officer. If you’re unclear as to why you’re being pulled over, it is okay to ask it specifically, but be careful to avoid getting into an argument with the officer or trying to persuade them otherwise.

Additionally, once you receive the ticket there is nothing specific that you need to look for on the ticket at the stop. It’s okay to look at the ticket later. If there is anything incorrect on the ticket or something you don’t understand, then you can call the court to clarify or see what you need to do. At the time of the incident however, there’s nothing dire that needs to be addressed right at that minute.

Being Pulled Over By An Unmarked Vehicle

If you’re pulled over by an unmarked vehicle and the officer is in plain clothes, you can ask the officer if he will allow you to see his badge. However, if you do this, you may not know what a real badge is supposed to look like, so it may not really help you. Another option is that you can call the police on a non-emergency line and they can let you know if the person who has pulled you over is in fact a legitimate officer.

Biggest Mistakes To Avoid At a Virginia Beach Traffic Stop

The biggest mistake to avoid during a traffic stop is doing anything that will cause the officer to be alarmed or suspicious of your activity. You don’t want to do this because then it’s possible that the officer will be angry at you and this will be reflected later on in his testimony. Typically, if someone is rude or uncooperative it doesn’t bode well in court. Another reason you don’t want to do this is because it could cause him to have reasonable suspicion in order to search your vehicle which would completely delay your exit and cause you to be potentially charged with something else .