Speed racing ticket

AZflyboy

AZflyboy

Well-Known Member
I'll keep this short and thought it is worth posting as I couldn't find any posts on here regarding this citation.
Received a "Speed racing" ticket recently and got a lawyer to help fight it plead not guilty as I feel I was not in the wrong by any means and also to mention the laws in my state, state:

Speed racing on highway

  • • penalty
(1) A person commits the offense of speed racing on a highway if, on a highway in this state, the person drives a vehicle or participates in any manner in any of the following in which a vehicle is involved:

(a) A speed competition or contest.

(b) An acceleration contest.

(c) A test of physical endurance.

(d) An exhibition of speed or acceleration.

(e) The making of a speed record.

(f) A race. For purposes of this paragraph, racing is the use of one or more vehicles in an attempt to outgain, outdistance or prevent another vehicle from passing, to arrive at a given destination ahead of another vehicle or vehicles or to test the physical stamina or endurance of drivers over long distance driving routes.

This is a Class A traffic violation and also my first offense, like I said before I know I wasn't in the wrong and feel I was given the worst traffic ticket you can receive. I've searched allover and it still doesn't mention if this is a criminal ticket or just a regular traffic ticket. No arrest was made, no vehicle tow etc.

From how "speed racing" is defined you could be at a stop light for example, accelerate from 0 to speed limit and receive this ticket,

Trying to keep this related to aviation also, Is class A a punishable offense/criminal if found guilty and what's the FAA or airlines view on this kind of ticket? I'm working hard getting into part 121 and curious if this is something that can ruin what I've worked hard for. Thanks.
 
Not to be snarky, but how do you "mistakenly" get arrested for Speed Racing? Be honest with us, no one can do anything against you here, and a straight answer may help you get better results form the forums.

I know that here at Alaska, the folks that look at your resume do a lot of "reading between the lines," and can often tell when things have been reduced or pleaded down. What a Lawyer tells you can be done, and what shows up on state and federal background checks, are often 2 different things. One of my best pals found that out the hard way. Was told by a lawyer he paid a LOT of money to, that a traffic ticket similar to yours was "dismissed." He did background checks on himself and didn't see anything. All good, right? Called by United last year for an interview. In his resume he had listed "no" under the "charged or convicted" section. During the interview they asked him about the "dismissed" ticket. Somehow they found out about his ticket, and the interview ended right there. Upon exit, they told him that if he had been honest with them upfront, they probably would have given him a job offer, his actions showed a lack of accountability they said, and that was what they disliked.

Not to be a debby downer, but just mentioning something I know happened to a close friend (a charge and situation similar to yours)
 
I Don't get it Derg? This isn't something I have heard, I am not a Lawyer, but my best friend is flying at place he is miserable at. Why? Because he was in a similar situation to this fellow (his was reckless endangerment), got a lawyer to "make it go away" turned out it didn't, and he lost his dream job. I know this is true, he crashed on my couch for 3 days destroyed after his United interview. Just passing along a story I know is true. Wish him the best; but just saying be careful!
 
RadialGal said:
I Don't get it Derg? This isn't something I have heard, I am not a Lawyer, but my best friend is flying at place he is miserable at. Why? Because he was in a similar situation to this fellow (his was reckless endangerment), got a lawyer to "make it go away" turned out it didn't, and he lost his dream job. I know this is true, he crashed on my couch for 3 days destroyed after his United interview. Just passing along a story I know is true. Wish him the best; but just saying be careful!
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Well I sure do appreciate that info and no that wasn't snarky at all, I left out the story and all that just because this is the internet and try not to give every detail away about myself especially on here nowadays. And honest there was no arrest or anything like that, just ticket and along I went. I even asked the cop about it he told me that if I was swerving and going faster than I was then I could have been but I wasn't. I only asked mainly cause I have never been to court before and didn't know if a traffic ticket can turn into something worse after pleading not guilty especially with this one.
 
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RadialGal said:
I Don't get it Derg? This isn't something I have heard, I am not a Lawyer, but my best friend is flying at place he is miserable at. Why? Because he was in a similar situation to this fellow (his was reckless endangerment), got a lawyer to "make it go away" turned out it didn't, and he lost his dream job. I know this is true, he crashed on my couch for 3 days destroyed after his United interview. Just passing along a story I know is true. Wish him the best; but just saying be careful!
Click to expand...

It seems to me that the only thing you "know" is the story that he told you. If I had a nickel for every fabricated story that a pilot had made up about why he busted a checkride because he was embarrased about the real reason...
 
AZflyboy said:
Well I sure do appreciate that info and no that wasn't snarky at all, I left out the story and all that just because this is the internet and try not to give every detail away about myself especially on here nowadays. And honest there was no arrest or anything like that, just ticket and along I went. I even asked the cop about it he told me that if I was swerving and going faster than I was then I could have been but I wasn't. I only asked mainly cause I have never been to court before and didn't know if a traffic ticket can turn into something worse after pleading not guilty especially with this one.
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You said you hired a lawyer right? Well you're paying him for this information. Ask him.
 
This may not seem very lawyerly, but keep in mind that very few things just "go away" in this day and time. I had a case wherein a non-aviation oriented lawyer told a client that a charge would "go away" and of course, for aviation reporting purposes, it did not. That said, without splitting hairs as to the nature of the charge, this does not sound like a very serious issue (and I spent a lot of pre-law years as an employer interviewing pilots). To me, the most serious aspect of this would be the failure to disclose and explain - honestly - the circumstances of the situation. Would your the FAA or an employer believe you are trying to cover something up (a second very serious issue) or would you rather deal with the one issue head on? Keeping in mind that sometimes admitting a mistake or poor judgment - if such was actually the case - might be enough to satisfy an employer (everyone makes mistakes, but few are willing to own them). Could this cost you an interview or a job? Absolutely! Can you make it worse by trying to cover it up? I think yes. Good luck.
 
PilotDefenseAttorney said:
This may not seem very lawyerly, but keep in mind that very few things just "go away" in this day and time. I had a case wherein a non-aviation oriented lawyer told a client that a charge would "go away" and of course, for aviation reporting purposes, it did not. That said, without splitting hairs as to the nature of the charge, this does not sound like a very serious issue (and I spent a lot of pre-law years as an employer interviewing pilots). To me, the most serious aspect of this would be the failure to disclose and explain - honestly - the circumstances of the situation. Would your the FAA or an employer believe you are trying to cover something up (a second very serious issue) or would you rather deal with the one issue head on? Keeping in mind that sometimes admitting a mistake or poor judgment - if such was actually the case - might be enough to satisfy an employer (everyone makes mistakes, but few are willing to own them). Could this cost you an interview or a job? Absolutely! Can you make it worse by trying to cover it up? I think yes. Good luck.
Click to expand...


Yup! That's exactly what happened to my pal, and what I was trying to say. In his case the perceived "cover up" was worse than the "crime" in the eyes of the Airline.
 
PilotDefenseAttorney said:
This may not seem very lawyerly, but keep in mind that very few things just "go away" in this day and time. I had a case wherein a non-aviation oriented lawyer told a client that a charge would "go away" and of course, for aviation reporting purposes, it did not. That said, without splitting hairs as to the nature of the charge, this does not sound like a very serious issue (and I spent a lot of pre-law years as an employer interviewing pilots). To me, the most serious aspect of this would be the failure to disclose and explain - honestly - the circumstances of the situation. Would your the FAA or an employer believe you are trying to cover something up (a second very serious issue) or would you rather deal with the one issue head on? Keeping in mind that sometimes admitting a mistake or poor judgment - if such was actually the case - might be enough to satisfy an employer (everyone makes mistakes, but few are willing to own them). Could this cost you an interview or a job? Absolutely! Can you make it worse by trying to cover it up? I think yes. Good luck.
Click to expand...

I sure do appreciate your input on this thank you very much.
 
RadialGal said:
Yup! That's exactly what happened to my pal, and what I was trying to say. In his case the perceived "cover up" was worse than the "crime" in the eyes of the Airline.
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Hope he ends up somewhere he enjoys, sad to hear about that but sometimes we gotta learn the hard way I guess :/ Appreciate your input a lot.
 
There are number of companies the pull aggregated data from public records, police blotters etc...

If you were in the paper after receiving a summons or ticket, you may well show up in these databases... Even if your record gets expunged.
 
So I was a dumbass a few years back and got a speeding ticket, for whatever reason I triggered a points warning from my state for the warning, which shows up in the NDR. No suspension, no revocation, nothing but a fine that I paid to the cop when I got the ticket. Still for whatever reason it says I have a hit in the NDR and I have to play the explanation game and pull my driving record for it to clear it up with HR, the local government, and many other things. It's really annoying and I actually don't know what I can do about it, supposedly one day the warning simply won't show up any more in the NDR, but in the mean time it is a hassle. I learned my lesson, the fine I got was a "wake up call" and now I drive like a grand mother. It hasn't stopped my career, but I've had to explain it once now. Moral of the story? Don't speed!
 
Think about it from the airline's perspective: Speeding tickets show A) a disregard for law/regulations, B) acceptance of a higher level of risk for yourself, C) a disregard for the safety of others.

In light of those factors, how does a person who has displayed the above fit into their mission of safely carrying passengers to their destination?

The racing component in the original post just raises the stakes that much higher.
 
Flyboy57 said:
Think about it from the airline's perspective: Speeding tickets show A) a disregard for law/regulations, B) acceptance of a higher level of risk for yourself, C) a disregard for the safety of others.

In light of those factors, how does a person who has displayed the above fit into their mission of safely carrying passengers to their destination?

The racing component in the original post just raises the stakes that much higher.
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Look I'm not here to make excuses, what happened happened and I have definitely learned from it and owned up to it, that being said yes the ticket is for "speed racing" yet unfortunately you don't actually have to be "racing" to get a ticket for it, which is the situation I was in, anyways it'll be interesting to see how this conversation goes down when I eventually interview but I can sure say I have learned from it and do indeed drive like a granny now.
 
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