While most traffic violations in Georgia result in citations, fines, and sometimes points on your driver’s license, there are some that are associated with criminal charges. Reckless driving is one of those serious traffic offenses.
Reckless driving means driving a motor vehicle in reckless disregard of other people’s safety or property. In order to be convicted of reckless driving, a defendant must have acted in a criminally negligent manner and should have known the risks of their behavior, instead of committing an intentional act.
Common examples of reckless driving include:
Speeding or driving too fast for conditions
Street racing
Running red lights or failing to obey traffic signals and signs
Tailgating
Weaving through traffic
Failure to yield
Distracted driving
Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (below the legal limit)
In Georgia, reckless driving is a misdemeanor offense, punishable by a maximum jail sentence of 12 months and/or a fine of up to $1,000. Additionally, a conviction will add four points to your license. If you have at least 15 points within 24 months, your license will be suspended. However, if an underage driver (i.e., younger than 21 years old) is convicted of reckless driving, his/her license will be suspended for six months.
On the other hand, if a driver intentionally annoys, harasses, injures, obstructs, or otherwise intimidates another driver, he/she could be charged with “aggressive driving,” rather than reckless driving. Road rage is a common example of aggressive driving, along with all the examples mentioned above but with intent to commit such acts.
An aggressive driving conviction is an aggravated misdemeanor offense, which carries a jail term of up to 12 months and/or a maximum fine of $5,000. Getting convicted of this offense will also result in six points to your license. For underage drivers, four points will be added to their license, and their driving privileges will be suspended for six months.
If you have committed a traffic offense in Hinesville or Hinesville, call Balbo & Gregg, Attorneys at Law, PC at (866) 580-3089 or complete our online contact form today to schedule a free initial consultation. Our legal team has more than four decades of combined experience!