24 Jul Reckless Driving Laws in Arizona
We all tend to drive a bit differently than the ideal driver according to the law. No one drives perfectly all the time, although it is best to stay the least distracted and follow all traffic laws. With the different types of traffic violations one could get, reckless driving is one to avoid. Coolidge Law has dealt with several offenses such as DUI’s, extreme DUI’s, felonies as well as reckless driving charges in the Phoenix and metro areas.
What is Reckless Driving?
Reckless driving is more serious than people may recognize. The description of a person who is reckless driving entails:
- A person who drives a vehicle in reckless disregard for the safety of persons or property is guilty of reckless driving.
The overall assumption is that if you are driving in such a way that could endanger the lives of the individuals in the car with you, or property of another person, it is considered reckless. The definition of reckless according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is a person who is careless of the consequences of their actions and does not take the proper precautions.
Types of Charges
There are two types of charges that are involved with reckless driving. These are:
- Class 2 Misdemeanor: This is for someone who is found guilty of reckless driving and is convicted. With this conviction, the person may face losing their license for 90 days or less and your driving privileges may be suspended by time allotted by the judge. A fee of around $750.00 is charged, and jail time of four months is possible.
- Class 1 Misdemeanor: This is for someone who is found guilty of reckless driving more than once within a twenty four month period. The consequences include at least twenty days in jail, likely surrender of your driver’s license, revoked privileges of driving for the time period allotted by the judge.
There are some mitigating circumstances that would potentially allow the individual convicted ability to work or go to school while spending the rest of the time in jail until they serve their time.
What is Considered Reckless Driving?
Arizona state law does not specifically define what reckless driving is or is not. However, some examples of reckless driving could include:
- Traveling at excessively high speeds
- Swerving between lanes
- Running red lights
- Cutting other drivers off
It can vary of what reckless driving exactly looks like, but if it is endangering others and their property, it can be charged as that. Contact Coolidge Law today to discuss more details of what this looks like.
Images used under creative commons license – commercial use (7/14/2017) Ronald van de Graaf (Flickr)