There are fourteen different kinds of reckless driving statutes in the state of Virginia, but all fourteen of them meet the requirements to be a class one misdemeanor in the state of Virginia.
Code of Virginia Reckless Driving
General Reckless Driving § 46.2-852
The main reckless driving statute of the state of Virginia will easily be found in the Code of Virginia section 46.2-852. Under this specific statute, reckless driving has been committed by a person who drives their car “on any highway recklessly or at a speed or in a manner so as to endanger the life, limb, or property of any person” irrespective of the posted speed limit.
What Does Reckless Mean?
In the state of Virginia, within the circumstances of this specific statute, reckless is “a disregard for the driver of a motor vehicle for the consequences of his act and an indifference to the safety of life, limb or property.” Powers v. Commonwealth, 211 Va. 386, 388, 177 S.E.2d 628, 630 (1970).
Car Accidents Resulting in a Reckless Driving Charge:
Numerous drivers who have been charged with Reckless Driving in the state of Virginia under the section § 46.2-852 have been charged after they have been involved in a car accident where the officer believes the driver is responsible for the accident. So as to be convicted under this statute the guilty driver should have been driving at a speed or manner which endangered the life, limbs, or the property of the other person. There are various serious legal problems which can arise from the car accident.
Reckless Driving by Speed § 46.2-862
In the state of Virginia the law offers a criminal charge against the person driving at a speed which is over the designated speed limit. If you have been driving at a speed which is more than 20mph over the designated speed limit, you may be found guilty of reckless driving based on speed. For more information you can view the Va. Code § 46.2-862. It is very common for Officers to charge the driver with reckless driving even though they were driving at a speed less than 20 mph but were driving over the 80 mph threshold.
There are various ways in which you can handle these reckless driving cases and numerous possible solutions which will depend on the judge hearing the case out in the specific area in which you received the ticket. Some likely factors which might impact the case can be your driving record, the exact number of miles per hour over the threshold the driver was driving at, and whether the speedometer was adjusted correctly.
A ticket or fees for reckless driving which is based on speed can never be prepaid. In numerous jurisdictions the driver will be required to appear in the court or a warrant for the driver’s arrest might be issued for the failure to appear. The driver is going to need to check with their lawyer in the jurisdiction they received their ticket to understand how that dominion handles all these reckless driving cases.