Well, folks, my son was cited for "reckless driving" because the
policeman heard someone "rev an engine" at 3:40 a.m. in a convenience
store parking lot, on an overcast night with a storm blowing in
(moderate winds, gusts to 20 mph all night), then saw my son drive into
view, stop prior to entering the roadway (as per law), stop at the red
light at the adjacent intersection (as per law), and turn right while
accelerating (normal driving practice). The officer reported "aggressive
driving" from the revving of the engine (a new 1.7 liter Scion coupe,
perhaps engine noise from trying to hear it over the wind to see whether
it had indeed started?), followed by "brisk acceleration and fishtailing
around the corner 'like a rally car.'" The interesting thing is that
(if you know the Scion) it is a FWD car. Son was out at that hour
because he has a hospital emergency room support job, he was on swing
shift body clock at the time, and wanted something from the only
all-night store in town. Son went confidently to the initial court date
and was stunned when the officer reported his car as fishtailing around
the corner and reported the weather as "clear." Without preparation to
call the officer's allegations into question, the judge rubber-stamped
the (only $100) fine, but "reckless driving" is serious in its
consequences on his driving record and insurance costs. So.... he
inquired of a lawyer about representation in an appeal, and was told by
the one lawyer he asked that there was not a good prospect for reversal.
He's appealing anyway.
Are there any references you can suggest to demonstrate that FWD cars
don't fishtail around corners on acceleration, but lose steering and
simply don't turn? Given the nature of the small town at 3:40 a.m.,
there was no other traffic to be put at risk, so I'm surprised that the
officer cited for "reckless" instead of "improper" driving, but I think
what the officer observed was tire noise from my son's chronically leaky
right rear tire 2 months after he purchased the car. The tire needs
top-up every month or so an the dealer couldn't find a leak, so we're
going to simply have our local shop do a leak check and then simply
re-mount the tire to shot-gun the leak issue. But there should be some
uniform state (VA) training in performance driving that all policemen
undergo, and it should say something about driving stability issues FWD
vs. RWD which are relevant to this situation. There is a "reckless
driving" component to VA law for driving "without proper control" of the
vehicle, although all other provisions appear to deal with intimidation
or endangerment of other drivers. All suggestions welcome. But I expect
that there is some documentation of driving characteristics of FWD cars
which will call into question the officer's "interpretation" of his
observations. Smells of "revenue enhancement" to me.
Thanks to all. Michael....
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