There are traffic violations serious enough to land you in jail, or even prison. A charge of reckless driving does not involve the use of drugs or alcohol (pleading down a DUI to a "wet reckless" is a different matter), nor does this charge have to follow an accident where someone was hurt. Simply driving in a way that threatens the safety of other people can land you this criminal charge. Read on to understand what constitutes this offense, what its penalties are, and what you can do to fight them.
The tricky thing is, there are often no set guidelines on what reckless driving is; it is a case-by-case matter of whether or not a court will believe that a driver was reckless. Some states do outline certain maneuvers that are considered reckless, but there are still actions that fall outside of these that could bring on a reckless driving charge.
Context can be everything. For example, the time that you were driving, any nasty weather conditions, distracting passengers or pets, animals in the road, the condition of the car, etc., all these can factor in. Now a simple traffic violation, such as running through a stop sign, is not reckless driving. Nor is an error. Reckless driving means that a driver was being irresponsible and heedless of the consequences to others. A prosecutor only has to prove that given the context, a driver should have been aware that his or her driving behavior was a risk to others.
And this risk only has to be potential. No one actually had to be in harm's way in order for this charge to stick. If you are on a lonely stretch of road, or even if you did not so much as knock over a mailbox, you could be charged with reckless driving. All a prosecutor has to show is that your own life was in jeopardy because of your driving actions, and/or that you ran the threat of sustaining damage to your own vehicle or other property.
But then there are some actions that are indeed automatically considered reckless driving, in some states anyway. This is the previously mentioned list of "per se" reckless actions, or prohibited behavior that is inherently reckless. For example, in some states, if someone is driving at 20 miles per hour or more over the legal speed limit, this automatically constitutes reckless driving. Other "per se" recklessness includes passing a school bus, passing any vehicle at a railroad crossing, or joining a street race.
What penalties could you face for this charge? You could very well be looking at time in jail, or even prison, maybe even a revoked license. It will depend on your state's laws, and again, the context of your charge. But if you were convicted, the penalties could include jail time if you were charged with a misdemeanor, or you could even spend a year in state prison if you were charged with a felony.
You would also have a very good chance of being fined, anywhere from hundreds to even thousands of dollars. You might be placed on probation, which would place you under certain restrictions; if any of these conditions are broken, then you could serve out your sentence in jail or prison. Finally, your driver's license could be suspended or revoked. Usually, you would be looking at no less than 30 days without your license; if you have been convicted of this before, however, you could lose your license for good.
If you have been charged with reckless driving, you need to take this seriously. This is not a ticket. Your freedom and personal record could be at stake. Be sure to consult a criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible!
