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Hello, im 17 and will turn 18 on March 16th. I live in Virginia. I just got charged with a class 1 misdemeanor for "reckless driving over the speed of 100mph" (second offense), a class 3 misdemeanor for "driving after illegally consuming alcohol" (this is Virginia's way of saying i was under the legal limit for adults (.08) but i was over the zero tolerance limit for under 21 (.02), and a class 6 felony for "recklessly evading a police officer after a clear signal to stop has been given." Heres the story. I was driving a friend home at like 1 AM. A few minutes after leaving his house traveling on a two-lane backroad I passed a cop going the other direction at about 80 mph. I gunned it because i didnt want to lose my liscense again, which i had already lost for 9 months. I drove like hell for about a mile and didnt see the cop anywhere in sight. I came out on an unseparated 4 lane highway and didnt see the cop after a good while so i stopped at a gas station where i was supposed to pick up my other friend to go to this party. As i was leaving the gas station on a two lane road perpendicular to the four lane road (the gas station was on the corner) the cop pulled around the turn and flipped his lights on. I have a Mazda rx7 which is a very quick car. I floored it and pulled away from the cop. About a mile down the road i was braking for a right turn and spun 540 in the road ( due to an underinflated rear tire). The car stalled and i was in a panic. I started it and the cop flew up on me and arrested me. This brings me to my question. My hair grows unusually slow (in my opinion). I have been growing it for about 2 years and i have dredlocks. i was planning to keep these dredlocks until i died (or at lest try to). I am not going to cut my hair for court. However, my parents and my lawyer constantly tell me i am making a stupid decision. I understand where they're coming from. See, I could go to jail and they say that my haircut may influence the judge sentence me thusly. I dont think a haircut would warrant this, nevermind should. I feel that i should be judged upon my actions, expression on remorse, and my demeanor in court. I am going through alot of crap right now. I would just like some advice from people experienced in going to court with long hair and ANy other commments are appreciated. The dreds look pretty wild as i just put them in about a month ago and they arent long enough to put back in a pony tail. I am a 3.1 GPA student with two current jobs and many jobs in the past. I have participated in many activities to better the community. Please respond. Thanks. Also is there any possibility that i could appeal my case if i recieved a very harsh sentence i.e. 1 year in jail and fines upwards of $3000 (which is all withing the laws in VA, thats about the max i could get) due to suspicion of discrimination of hair?
I think you realize that what you did was pretty immature to say the least. At this point, you are in very serious trouble and, like it or not, are at the mercy of "the system". While even the best-dressed and groomed can still get the book thrown at them, I feel that everything you can do to convince the court that you are genuinely contrite and remorseful will help. Like it or not, dreadlocks are not that common in society, and, unless you are sure of the attitude of the judge you will get, it is best to appear as "conservative" as possible. Yes, the judge has no right to consider your hair style in his determination of your penalty, but remember that racism is against the law too, but still exists. Hair can always be grown back, and is not worth jail.
Just my opinion. If I were in a similar situation, I would cut my hair. I have been to court (albeit civil court rather than criminal), and have seen prejudices like this.
Looks like you're goose is cooked whether or not you cut your hair. Cutting your hair might help a just fraction. See it as part of your punishment, a pennance for what your did!
Barry
thats rough. I went to court once and just wore a pony-tail, got probation for a felony. if youre not gonna cut it just keep it back with gel and make it look as "professional" as possible.
In my opinion you should be scalped and thrown in jail for the rest of your life. You mentioned driving after you had been drinking. There is absolutely NO excuse for that!! No matter HOW MUCH you had been drinking. People like you trully make me sick!!
sounds like you made the first stupid decision behind the wheel. you have bigger problems that hair length at this point and you'd be ill advised to stubbornly cling to your dreds- time to send every signal possible that you are contrite... it's your only hope for leniency.
since you appear to be on the fast track to being a convicted felon you have added an additional burden to the rest of your life-- finding a job, etc... by advice is to bid your dreds goodbye and VOLUNTARILY enroll in a substance abuse/alcoholism program. after what you have done, fighting the system now is going to be counterproductive & will make you look defiant & unrepentant in the eyes of those whose hands your fate rests.
a side note:
you & your actions help perpetuate the notion that guys with long hair are trouble and warrant being discriminated against- you are a discredit to us. i suggest that once your current episode with the legal system is done you pursue more disciplined activities... maybe join the military if your record doesn't disqualify you. i cannot bring myself to support you in your current situation. you proved that you didn't learn from your previous brushes with the law- speeding after drinking as you did showed poor enough judgement- but running when the police caught up with you was even worse. your actions demonstrate to the legally ignorant that guys with 2-year dreds have no respect for the law. if you are stubborn and wear your dreds to your court date i hope the judge throws the book at you.
Cut it. I agree with Gibson Guy. You're in enough deep trouble already.
At this point, this is not a hair issue, but a dangerous driver issue. You're not gonna get away with the stuff that happens in the movies...cops have radios, cops have helicopters, and they will catch you! If you want to go fast, there are plenty of race tracks around that you can drive quick, Sports car clubs too that hold sanctioned events...just don't do it on public roads!
I am a longhair that uses Virginia roads for a living, and I am sure glad that you are off the road! You should have gave in at the 80mph mark...you're in deep now! Every day, even the shortest trip, I encounter some stupid idiot trying to pull of some brainless maneuver in a car. While yes, this was at 1AM, at times, I have had to use the highways at that hour too.
So, you've got several pretty bad marks against you now:
You were driving too fast
You were slightly drunk
You wre trying to evade police
Your car is poorly maintained (stalling problems & under-inflated tire)
I hope you don't hafta face the jail time or the fines, but I certainly hope you will be riding the bus for a long time to come!!!
BTW...thanks for making my insurance rates higher, as I am a young male driver too!
I've done some stupid stuff too (when I was younger). However, I never ran from the police. I hope you've learned that by now. No matter how fast your car is -- you can't beat a radio!!
I live in CA where the laws are VERY strict regarding drunk driving (.08 is the legal limit here). The fines are huge. I don't do it. It's not worth the personal risk, much less risking the safety of others.
There are enough idiots on the road without you adding to it. Just about every day, I have to deal with the stupid manuevers from drivers like you. Evidently, young drivers think they can stop 'on a dime' and are qualified racecar drivers. They usually find out the truth when they crash and injure themselves or someone else. Consider yourself lucky that you ONLY got in trouble with the law.
Don't bother to appeal your case. You deserve what you get and you ARE guilty.
As far as your hair -- cutting it or not probably won't make any difference at this point. Take this opportunity to grow up and change your ways.
I also have done some stupid stuff myself. Case in point, 52 mph in a 30 mph zone. But, I was 100% sober and pulled over in a safe location immediately after I noticed the officer getting ready to pull out. Yes, I did get a $200 ticket with 2 points. It was my 2nd ticket in 4 years. I did get it deferred, which was an option in my case, since I had ZERO points on my record before I got this last ticket. So, in my case, I can keep my record clean, whereas, this guy won't be able to. Not that his record was clean to begin with.
I've found that it really isn't worth it to have alcohol anyway. To me, it doesn't really seem worth it.
Exactly. If people would learn to drive safely and also learn how to use their turn signals before changing lanes or making a turn, a lot of accidents would be avoided.
I agree 100%. Maybe he should be behind bars for a little while. And definitely should not be allowed to operate a motor vehicle for at least 10 years.
-J
Damn, we have some un-forgiving people here. Don't worry, I can promise you they (like me) have done some pretty bad things too when they were younger. You blew it a little more than most though. While considering to cut your hair for fair treatment stands for everything this board is against, talk to your lawyer. He or she should be the deciding factor. I'm familiar with dreds, but not sure of the actual workings of them. Can they be combed out and your hair slicked back? Good luck.
unforgiving? not necessarily... i've done some very stupid thngs in my time & have paid the price. i think that if i was in a spot like 'combos' i'd be more concerned with losing my freedom than losing my hair. it's not fair that guys need to be advised to lose long hair in order to project a positive image to a judge who is supposed to be impartial, but that is life. it is also unfair that someone like combos does what he did and helps to support insurance companies' rationale for gouging us with inflated rates... it's ALSO unfair that if combos stubbornly clings to his dreds, those who witness the ajudication his case will see another longhair in trouble & likely will project some negativity onto the rest of us. my advice remains: lose the hair, lose the attitude, or lose your freedom.
I will immediately note that second offense here means the second time you were caught. This indicates to me that this is a habit, and not a fluke.
Texas has a similar thing. I have a friend who, at 19, was arrested for PI for registering 0.02 on a brethlizer. She had never had an alcohold drink in her life, so of course whe demanded a blood test, which proved negative. It seems either the breathlizer was faulty, or it registered her mouthwash.
At this point, you should have started a new paragraph. If you post additional message, please divide your post into paragraphs so it is easier to read.
Let's see. You're 17, and you've already been without a license for 9 months? That's a hell of a track record.
Actually, no. You cannot blame this on the equipment. You spun a 540 due to your own actions. The sooner you take responsibility for your own actions, the better off you will be.
Never drive while you are panicked. If you get panicked, pull over to the side and calm down.
Let me combine these two things. If you have dreadlocks, that means your hair goes every which way, as opposed to straight. An inch of dreadlocked hair actually corresponds to several inches of hair. So your hair may actually be growing faster than you think it is.
Since you bring up your parents, what is their take on this whole thing? It sounds like they want to bail you out. In my opinion, that may be part of the problem here. If I were your dad, you would lose the car and any driving privileges for 5 years. Additionally, you would have a curfew of 10PM until you could demonstrate some responsibility.
I don't think your hair will make much difference. Of course this will vary by locale.
I am experienced with going to court with long hair. I had an uphill custody battle with my now ex-wife. Not only was I the out-of-towner, I was the male, and I had long hair. I discussed cutting my hair for court with a number of people. In the end, I kept it long. When all was said and done, I was awarded custody of my children.
Well, if you just put them in a month ago, it's no great loss to lose them. If you think it is, that is yet another demonstration of your immaturity.
Whether you can appeal depends on the laws in your area. I suspect it is possible, but it may not be worth it.
I also recommend you acquire a copy of the book, "How to Talk Your Way out of a Traffic Tticket", by David W. Kelley. It has a section on how to win in court.
Finally, I have a few pictures I'd like to show you. These pictures were taken about 150 feet from my house.
First is a picture of a wreck. This is after the victims had been taken out of the car.
Next is a daytime picture of the same place. Here you are looking down the road in the direction of travel of the car. The first tree on the left side of the picture is the tree that eventually stopped the car. If you look at the grass next to the curb right in front of the tree, you can see where the car was sliding sideways at that point. If you look carefully, you might be able to discern the skin marks. If not, look from the other side:
The house at the left is my next-door neighbor.
This is what it looks like after everything is cleaned up. Follow the link here, to see the damage to the tree.
There were four people in this care, all about your age. The driver, a girl, and her boyfriend, sitting next to her, were killed by this accident. The passengers in the back seat were seriously injured. Estimates by my next door neighbor, who is an engineer and accident reconstruction expert, later confirmed by the survivors, were that they were traveling at about 85 mph (speed limit there is 30). There is a lump in the road, which you can barely see here:
Driving too fast over this lump caused them to go airborn and lose control when landing. There is now a cross at the location, and dozens of teenagers regularly come by to be with their lost friends.
In case my message here is lost on you, I will make it plain: it doesn't much matter what happens in court. What really matters is your attitude and behavior out of court. I hope this will be a wake-up call to you.