How long will a reckless driving charge stay on my record, and how will it affect my car insurance?

Reckless driving is a serious charge- in many cases, much more serious than a traditional traffic offense like speeding since reckless driving may be viewed as a criminal action. The specific rules for how long reckless driving will stay on your record can vary by state. However, one thing is going to be the same across the board no matter where you live: the reckless driving insurance effect is not going to be a good one and your car insurance is going to go up because of the reckless driving charges.

Reckless driving charges are issued for something beyond just a moving violation, and the length of time they stay on your record reflects that. In California, for example, charges like reckless driving and DUI charges may remain on your record for up to 10 years. Different states have different rules, but you can expect the charges to stay with you for a long time.

During this period of time, you may have to pay a lot for your car insurance or you may even have a hard time getting insured through a conventional insurer and you may have to turn to your state's high risk insurance pool. The reason that the cost of insurance will go up for you is simple- insurers set your premiums based on the risk you will get into an accident, and if you have proven yourself to be reckless, then there is a much higher risk that you will get into an accident and that they will have to pay out a claim for you.

Because being charged with reckless driving is serious and has long term consequences, if you are facing such charges, you need to get help from a lawyer.