Reckless Driving Lawyer in Fort Lauderdale
Many people experience frustrations behind the wheel from time to time. Similarly, it is not uncommon to have lapses in judgment while driving. Perhaps you have recently found yourself in a situation where annoyances from other drivers or other factors in your life have caused you to momentarily fail to exercise proper caution — and maybe you made the potentially deadly mistake of expressing your exasperation through the accelerator and the steering wheel. The law forbids reckless driving to encourage restraint while discouraging this risky and threatening behavior.
You must be mindful of the fact that if you drive recklessly, you could cause significant damage or harm. Choosing to behave brazenly on the road in a way that places others in danger goes beyond mere carelessness or a lapse in cautious attention. Such bold lack of restraint could lead to a reckless driving charge, and the consequences could be severe.
Driving recklessly can endanger your life and the lives of other people on the road. No injury or property damage must occur for you to face a reckless driving charge. You will face harsher penalties and other legal challenges if any injuries or property damage did occur. A reckless driving conviction alone could cause you to face jail time.
Fortunately, legal representation is available. Contact The Law Offices of R. David Williams, P.A. today. With an experienced Fort Lauderdale reckless driving lawyer on your side, your legal rights and interests will be vigorously defended.
How the law defines reckless driving
Reckless driving isn’t merely disregarding traffic laws. Florida law defines it as driving “any vehicle in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property.” Reckless driving also includes the following:
- Fleeing a law enforcement officer in a motor vehicle
- Damage to a property or person
- Serious bodily injury to a person
Schedule a free consultation with The Law Offices of R. David Williams, P.A. so your Fort Lauderdale reckless driving lawyer can review your case and determine an effective defense strategy.
The Penalties For Reckless Driving
The penalties for a reckless driving conviction vary depending on whether you have prior offenses and the severity of damages and injuries. For example, if the charge was your first offense and there were no injuries or property damage, you will face a second-degree misdemeanor. This comes with up to 90 days in jail or six months of probation, and up to a $500 fine.
A second offense and subsequent offenses are also second-degree misdemeanors, but they carry a maximum jail sentence of six months, with fines reaching up to $1,000. If you cause property damage or injury, the charge will be a first-degree misdemeanor. This is punishable by up to a year in jail or one year of probation. You may also have to pay a $1,000 fine.
Finally, if you cause serious bodily harm due to your reckless driving, it becomes a third-degree felony, and carries a sentence of up to five years in prison or five years of probation, as well as a $5,000 fine. While you may not have intended any harm to others, there are often severe consequences for others when someone acts without sound judgment on the road. The penalties you may be facing are warranted because they can help to deter these types of unfortunate actions among drivers, and this may prevent harm to others in the future.
Factors That Accompany Reckless Driving
Evidence of speeding alone cannot normally lead to a conviction. There are exceptions, depending on how fast the person was driving and by how much he or she was exceeding the speed limit.
Convictions for reckless driving are more likely when other factors are coupled with speeding. Still, the prosecution will have to show that the driver exhibited willful or wanton disregard for others’ safety. Driving down the middle of the road, improper passing, failing to slow down before impact, failing to look for pedestrians, and driving while consuming alcohol are all factors that can contribute to a conviction.
Reckless driving can pose a risk of injury or death to yourself or others, and the law seeks to discourage such dangerous disregard while promoting responsible driving. If an injury or death does occur, you will be facing harsher criminal charges alongside possible injury or wrongful death claims and/or lawsuits. However, no injury is necessary for you to be charged with reckless driving because this law exists to protect the safety of drivers, passengers, and others in the vicinity of the road.
Schedule a time today to meet with our Fort Lauderdale reckless driving lawyer for a free consultation if you have been charged with this crime.
More Than Carelessness
Your reckless driving lawyer may show that you were driving carelessly rather than recklessly. Lazy mistakes do not fit the meaning of recklessness, which is more active in nature. Careless driving or negligence is not enough to constitute reckless driving. The law is clear that the actions must be willful or wanton. If a driver makes an error or unknowingly does something that leads to injury or damage, it is not considered reckless driving. To envision recklessness, you may imagine deliberate disregard for the rules of the road or the safety of others. A conviction must be based on a person intentionally driving improperly, fully aware of the immediate consequences or risks. Also, if there is evidence that the driver has control of his or her vehicle and slowed down prior to a crash, reckless driving will be difficult to prove.
Defense Strategies For Reckless Driving
A common defense against reckless driving depends on whether witnesses at the scene contradict what the prosecution is alleging. We can research to determine what happened at the scene of the alleged incident, according to the perspectives of others who were present. The Law Offices of R. David Williams may also seek to prove that you were not actually driving during the incident. A defense indicating that your actions only constituted negligence and carelessness rather than recklessness is also common. Call us today to schedule a free consultation and speak with an experienced Fort Lauderdale reckless driving lawyer so you can begin exploring your legal options.