California reckless driving laws dictate that drivers in violation of Section 23103 Reckless Driving, as well as related reckless driving statutes, are guilty of a criminal offense. This criminal offense, in turn, carries the likely implementation of administrative penalties, including restrictions related to a driver's license as well.
California defines reckless driving as driving any vehicle in a manner that exhibits willful or wanton disregard for the well-being of others on the roadway. Acts encompassing reckless driving typically involve any gross deviation from driving laws that immediately places other drivers in jeopardy of bodily injury or worse. Case-specific acts, such as wet reckless and aggressive driving, are not categorized as reckless driving specifically in California, but fall under separate criminal statutes.
|
Offense/Violation |
Classification |
Criminal Penalties |
Points Applied to License |
Other Administrative Penalties |
|
Reckless Driving, section 23103 |
Misdemeanor |
Incarceration of at least five days, but not more than 90 days with fines ranging from a minimum of $145 to a maximum of $1,000 |
2 |
Courts may suspend license automatically. DMV may suspend license as well. Length of suspension case-specific. |
|
Reckless Driving Causing Bodily Injury, section 23104(a) |
Misdemeanor |
Incarceration of at least 30 days, but not more than six months with fines ranging from a minimum of $220 to a maximum of $1,000 |
2 |
Courts may suspend license automatically. DMV may suspend license as well. Length of suspension case-specific. |
Conviction of any reckless driving charge creates the possibility of a presiding judge to suspend or revoke a driver's license. Often, in light of a high potential of incarceration, long-term suspensions of up to six months or more are issued in lieu of incarceration. The length of the suspension, if ordered by the courts, is at the discretion of the presiding judge. Furthermore, if license action does not occur within the criminal courts, drivers still face administrative license action by the California DMV.
Any traffic conviction remains on a driver's history for a period of seven years in California. Convictions of reckless driving most certainly will increase insurance rates, and in some instances, will make drivers virtually uninsurable, requiring SR-22 coverage.
Dealing with a reckless driving citation in California will require the intervention of a lawyer. Specifically, a lawyer will be needed to address the pending criminal charges, which in theory could result in incarceration. However, in practice if a defendant is cooperative and mounts a viable defense, he can avoid incarceration while paying limited fines for the offense. Ultimately, a defense should center on the extent of license suspension, including the possibility of incurring no license suspension whatsoever.
It is possible to plead down a reckless driving citation into a lesser, non-criminal conviction in certain cases. Likewise, it is always possible in case-specific instances for a lawyer to seek outright dismissal of the charges faced as well.
Although most reckless driving traffic stops are resolved via issuance of a summons, the driver in question is legally being arrested, released, and promising to appear at the indicated date and location for his criminal hearing. In short, drivers cited for reckless driving face criminal charges. This fact in itself should require a driver to consult with legal counsel. However, cases involving reckless driving citations following an accident, especially any accident causing bodily injury, should immediately involve legal counsel.
Drivers in these instances face not only the prospects of mounting a criminal defense, addressing administrative issues, but also, addressing the possibility of civil suits. To learn more about your specific case, consult directly with a California reckless driving lawyer.