Hampton General Rule Reckless Driving Charges
Driving in any way that endangers someone’s life, limb or property is the general definition of reckless driving. It’s basically a catch-all category of reckless driving which any type of behavior can fall in to if the officer can prove it. However because of this it is also much easier to build a defense and show why a driver’s behavior shouldn’t necessarily be considered reckless. For this reason, if you have been charged with general rule reckless driving a Hampton reckless driving lawyer can assist you in building a defense. Call today to learn more.
How General Rule Reckless Driving is Charged
General rule reckless driving is meant for officers to put behaviors into it that don’t fit into any other type of reckless driving. There are a lot of behaviors that are dangerous that aren’t specifically broken down in the definitions of reckless driving. Just because an officer charges somebody with something though doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily going to result in a conviction.
This kind of reckless driving is the second most common kind of reckless driving that we see charged, behind only to excessive speeding. For this and any other type of reckless driving charge, it’s really important to have a lawyer due to the fact that the consequences are so serious.
An attorney can help you review this and is the best way to make sure you have a good fighting chance to beat the charge or have it reduced to something less severe such as improper driving. It’s also possible for an attorney to negotiate the final punishment even if you can’t get out of the actual reckless driving charge.
Evidence Used in These Cases
Since general reckless is so vague, the evidence is going to depend on what exactly the officer’s alleging happened, which can range a lot. The officer has to present evidence to show that whatever the underlying behavior he’s charging you with did rise the level of reckless driving.
He also has to prove that behavior occurred beyond reasonable doubt and that the reckless driving was due to the fault of the defendant. A lot of times that will just be the officer’s opinion especially if the behavior charge to something that isn’t commonly charged. Sometimes there’s not going to be any other cases that are similar, which is a good way to have a case thrown out by a good attorney who knows the case law.
Impact of CDL Holders
General reckless driving can affect your commercial driver’s license. For purposes of a CDL, reckless driving is considered a serious violation which means that two convictions within three years typically leads to a 60-day disqualification of a commercial driver’s license. Three or more serious violations convictions in three years result in a 120-day disqualification.
While your commercial license is disqualified, you’re not allowed to drive a commercial vehicle at all. So, if somebody is driving a commercial vehicle for a living and then they’re disqualified, this could result in a permanent loss of their job if their job isn’t willing to hold the position open for them while the disqualification end.
It’s important to remember as well that someone can face disqualification of their CDL even if they were driving their commercial – or their non-commercial personal vehicle when they were charged with the crime.
How This Type of Reckless Driving is Unique
In court, this type of reckless driving is dealt with a little bit differently because it’s so much more subjective than every other type of reckless driving. Usually in court, there’s a lot more evidence that goes beyond just the statute in deciding whether a driver’s behavior should be considered reckless.
It’s really possible for an officer to issue this offense for any behavior which may not be criminal in nature in the end. Therefore, the defense relies a lot more heavily on case law from cases that are similar or different enough to be compared that way and also on cross examination of the officer. The attorney has a lot more sway with his argument was why the driver is not guilty.
Steps An Attorney Can Take
There is a lot of room for interpretation and opinion in these types of cases. So, an attorney can analyze the fact of your case, do some research in the case law and figure out if what you’re being accused of actually amount to anything in the end. There’s a lot of wiggle room here for opinions and arguments and a good attorney can provide that along with the strong cross examination of the police officer’s testimony.