What can you do if you happen to be ticketed? Lawyer weighs in

NORFOLK, Va. – Holding your cellular phone whilst driving can land you a ticket and a great as of January 1 in Virginia. It can be a violation that Virginia Beach-based lawyer Happy O’Brien mentioned can be challenging to struggle.

“There is not a complete great deal you can do,” O’Brien stated.

O’Brien is a lover with the legislation business Doummar and O’Brien. He extra the explanation it would be complicated is it “is truly simple for the police to charge you and to effectively prosecute you. They just have to see the cellular phone in your palms.”

He added with the previous regulation, the driver had to confess they ended up on their phone even though driving. That could make it really hard for the authorized procedure to prosecute the driver, O’Brien explained.

The fantastic is $125 for the 1st offense and $250 for every single offense thereafter.

“I assume the $125 will undoubtedly provide as a deterrent for people,” O’Brien reported. “There’s no wiggle area, the decide has no discretion.”

You can, nevertheless, use your cellular phone in the course of an unexpected emergency. If you are caught and ticketed, O’Brien advised that achieving out to your mobile mobile phone provider may well be the initial move to prove an emergency.

“[Your cell phone carrier may] be capable to coordinate what’s on the record with what time you were being stopped by the officer to demonstrate you were being on the cellular phone with 911,” O’Brien stated. “That could display you were being on the phone with your spouse telling you she was pregnant and that you desired to appear dwelling.”

The legislation does let you to use palms-free of charge products.

“Get you a person of those vent or cup holder mobile phone holders,” O’Brien recommended. “Get your playlist logged on, get your GPS place logged on in advance of you choose off and generate down the street.”

Information 3 achieved out to numerous local police departments to see if they have issued tickets. The Suffolk Police Office reported it has issued two tickets so much. As for other local departments, together with the area division of the Virginia Point out Police, they replied expressing that data ought to be accessible sometime later this 7 days.