Lake Mary Reckless Driving Lawyer

There is a difference between careless and reckless driving. It is careless to drive 15 miles over the speed limit on Interstate 4, but flying down South Country Club Road and failing to stop for the crossing guard in front of Lake Mary Elementary School is reckless. The penalties are harsh, and even more so if someone is injured.

Reckless driving is more than a traffic offense like careless driving. It is a criminal act. You will be fined, rack up four points on your driver’s license – which is revoked after 12 points in one year – and if someone is seriously injured, you could face jail or prison time. Your auto insurance rates will skyrocket, and friends may refuse to ride in the car with you. If you are facing these consequences, call a Lake Mary reckless driving lawyer for dedicated legal help. The Umansky Law Firm has trusted criminal defense attorneys who are committed to your success in court.

What is Reckless Driving?

Florida Statutes § 316.192 defines reckless driving as a motorist operating a vehicle with willful or wanton disregard for others’ safety. Willful conduct is intentional and with knowledge of the danger created. Furthermore, wanton conduct is an act carried out consciously, with indifference toward the safety of others and knowledge that the act is likely to cause injuries or property damage. To refer back to our earlier example, speeding in a school zone because you are daydreaming is careless, but speeding intentionally, knowing children are nearby, is reckless.

Case law considers the totality of a situation, and more than one factor is typically involved in a reckless driving charge, such as:

Speeding excessively
Driving while high on drugs or alcohol
Weaving in and out of traffic
Running red and yellow lights and stop and yield signs when many pedestrians are in the area
Street racing
Tailgating
Slamming on the brakes

While these behaviors alone are considered negligent, participating in more than one at a time can amount to recklessness. Contact a Lake Mary reckless driving attorney to mitigate the damage resulting from this charge.

Penalties for Reckless Driving

Reckless driving penalties are dependent on prior offenses and the extent of bodily or property damage done. Even if no one is hurt, you could face jail time. The penalties for reckless driving include:

A first offense with no injuries or property damage is a second-degree misdemeanor and includes Seminole County jail time for up to 90 days, or six-months’ probation, and a fine of $500
A second or subsequent offense with no injuries or property damage is still a second-degree misdemeanor, but you could spend up to six months in jail and be fined up to $1,000
If resulting in minor injuries or property damage, the offense is a first-degree misdemeanor, penalized by up to one year in Seminole County jail, alternately a year of probation, and a $1,000 fine
With serious injuries to another person, according to Fla. Stat. § 775.082, the charge becomes a third-degree felony, and you could be sentenced to up to five years in state prison or five years of probation and a $5,000 fine.

Because your freedom is at stake, contact a reckless driving attorney in Lake Mary now.

Defenses

If your case goes to trial, our attorneys could make the jury doubt the veracity of the prosecutor’s presentation of the facts. The right defense could exonerate you, as the prosecutor must prove you committed the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. We could explore whether you were even the driver when the accident occurred, if there were multiple drivers responsible, and if your actions could be considered negligent rather than reckless.

You also have constitutional rights that law enforcement officers may have violated, making evidence inadmissible. Anything you may have said to them could be excluded if you were not read your Miranda rights while being charged. A Lake Mary lawyer could get you the best outcome possible after reviewing the circumstances of your reckless driving charge.

Call a Lake Mary Reckless Driving Attorney to Fight Your Charges

A reckless driving charge occurs when Lake Mary police believe you were more than negligent and intentionally put others in a dangerous position while operating a vehicle. The truth might be more nuanced than that.

Our diligent team could work hard to get your charges lowered to careless driving or take your case to trial to present our defense to a jury. We respect our clients and strive to get them exonerated. Call a Lake Mary reckless driving lawyer today.