My daughter got a reckless driving ticket... what are our options?

So, my daughter just got a reckless driving ticket in Grand Junction, Colorado. No one was hurt and there was no property damage, but I’m not sure how to go about fighting this ticket. Anyone have experience with this? How do we even start? Any advice would be super helpful!

I had a similar situation a while ago. First thing you want to do is request the police report to see what the officer wrote down. It could help you figure out if they had a good reason to issue the ticket.

@Niko
Thanks! I wasn’t sure where to start. How do I request the police report? Any tips?

oliviamartin said:
@Niko
Thanks! I wasn’t sure where to start. How do I request the police report? Any tips?

Yeah! Go to the Grand Junction Police Department’s website. They’ll have a public records section where you can submit a request. Just need the date and her name, and it might take a little while to get it back.

Definitely talk to a traffic lawyer. They know how to deal with this stuff and can help reduce the charge to something less severe, like careless driving.

Benn said:
Definitely talk to a traffic lawyer. They know how to deal with this stuff and can help reduce the charge to something less severe, like careless driving.

That sounds like a good idea. Do you know if they usually offer a free consultation?

@oliviamartin
It depends, but a lot of lawyers do offer a free initial chat to discuss your case. It’s worth reaching out to a few.

Just FYI, if your daughter has a clean driving record, that could help! Judges tend to be more lenient with first-time offenders, so that might work in your favor.

Lex said:
Just FYI, if your daughter has a clean driving record, that could help! Judges tend to be more lenient with first-time offenders, so that might work in your favor.

Oh, that’s a good point! She’s never had a ticket before, so maybe that’ll help us out.

When you fight a ticket, you can argue that it wasn’t really ‘reckless’ but more like careless. That could get you a lesser charge, and sometimes even a plea deal.

Jace said:
When you fight a ticket, you can argue that it wasn’t really ‘reckless’ but more like careless. That could get you a lesser charge, and sometimes even a plea deal.

That’s interesting! I’ll look into that too. Seems like there are a few ways to approach this.

Make sure you have all the details straight when you go to court. It could help if there were no damages or injuries—those are usually key factors in how serious the offense is seen.

Tatum said:
Make sure you have all the details straight when you go to court. It could help if there were no damages or injuries—those are usually key factors in how serious the offense is seen.

Definitely! The fact that no one was hurt or there was no damage might actually work in her favor.