"Failure to Pay Full Time and Attention" is a county ordinance in most counties in Northern Virginia that is a go-to charge for many traffic attorneys. Since there is no equivalent charge in the Virginia Code, the charge does not carry any points with DMV. The prosecutor is happy because he/she gets a conviction and the client is happy because their DMV record is not affected.
But did you know that in Arlington County that this charge is actually a criminal misdemeanor?
The Arlington County Ordinance § 14.2-16. Operator to Give Full Time and Attention to Driving.
No person shall operate a motor vehicle upon the highways of this County without giving his full time and attention to the operation of the vehicle.
There doesn't seem to be any problems there, but reading further on:
The Arlington County Ordinance § 14.2-18. Penalty for Violations of §§ 14.2-15 through 14.2-17.
Any person who violates any provision of the three (3) preceding sections shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100.00) or imprisonment in jail not exceeding ten (10) days, or both.
What this means is that violating this ordinance carries with it a possibility of jail time. A charge that carries a possibility of jail time under a year is a criminal misdemeanor. So suddenly that speeding ticket that was reduced to failure to pay full time and attention doesn't look so good.
The reality though is that this criminal misdemeanor will never likely show up in a background check because you are not likely to be fingerprinted from this incident. Fingerprinting is the standard way law enforcement tracks what your prior record is. But why take the chance? Perhaps reducing your charge to sleeping on the side of the highway or defective equipment would be the better move in Arlington County to avoid being in that tricky situation.
