Wednesday afternoon, I was running late for work and hoping to get there in time, put the pedal to the metal. Unbeknownst to me, some cops were sitting on the highway I live on, checking speeds and I got caught. After it was all said and done, I had a ticket for reckless driving and a summons to appear in court on August 13th.
On the ticket, it’s stated that I was going 70 in a 45, was weaving in and out of traffic in close proximity to other cars without signaling, and that I was chased for two miles before pulling over. All of it’s true (and yes, I know I was fucking stupid. I’ve been told so by myself, my family, and my friends… I don’t need anyone else telling me. Trust me, I know) but there were some other things that I could have been fined for… my question is, since they weren’t on the ticket and not mentioned by the cops, could I still be charged for them when my court date comes around?
In addition to that, can anyone tell me the maximum fines and punishments I can face for this?
They might chop off your hands. After all, you’re a woman, not wearing a burka (or a seat belt), listening to blasphemous music, and with pornography in the car, while driving in Yemen, right?
I’m not trying to berate you here…I’m just curious. Did you really drive for 2 miles with the police following you–lights on & sirens blaring? What was going through your head…did you think they’d just give up & turn around?
I don’t know if anyone could give you any exacts on this…but I think it would help if we knew what country/state/city you live in. Fines & punishments vary by location…there isn’t any national (or international) standard on stuff like this…
I didn’t realize I was being chased, honestly. As I said, I was in a rush to get to work and wasn’t paying much attention to the traffic aside from the cars I was trying to pass.
In addition to that, I had my windows up and my radio on. It wasn’t blaring but it was enough that I couldn’t hear the sirens. The only reason I even noticed them at all was that I saw the flashing blue lights in the car in front of me at the stoplight. My rearview mirror had been broken a few days earlier and I haven’t had a chance to fix it, hence my not noticing the lights beforehand.
I’m lucky I didn’t get fined for the broken mirror and for not wearing a seatbelt, since I was in such a rush. I was really stupid and extremely lucky considering what all happened.
Also, I live in Cleveland, Tennessee. This is my first offense. I’ve tried googlig for this stuff but haven’t really turned up anything helpful. That’s why I came to GQ.
IANAL, nor did I look very hard for this. Let’s look just at reckless driving (mostly because that’s all I looked up on Lexis). Reckless driving appears to be a state offense (as opposed to just a municipal offense). Tenn. Code § 55-10-205 criminalizes reckless driving. Section (a) provides that “[a]ny person who drives any vehicle in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property commits reckless driving.” Section (b) provides that reckless driving is a Class B misdemeanor. Now here comes the part you’re going to love. The penalty for a Class B misdemeanor seems to be set by Tenn. Code § 40-35-111(e)(2): “The authorized terms of imprisonment and fines for misdemeanors are: … Class B misdemeanor, not greater than six (6) months or a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500), or both…” Assuming that the municipality doesn’t tack anything on (and you can expect municipal fees to be added), that’s the range you’re looking at, not counting what the speeding gets you if they charged that separately.
Also, remember that I’m a moron and my research cannot be relied upon. Best of luck.
[added on preview]
Forgot to mention one other thing. If this is your third conviction for a serious vehicular crime (e.g., reckless driving, drag racing, DWI, hit and run accident), then you’ll be deemed a habitual offender. Tenn. Code § 55-10-603. Habitual offenders permanently lose their driver’s license, and if you ever operate a motor vehicle in Tennessee, you’ll go to jail for contempt of court. Tenn. Code § 55-10-613.
Thanks. As I said, I tried looking this up myself but my searching skills suck. I’ve tried for two days to find something telling me what sort of penalties I’m looking for but never found anything. I really do appreciate it.
I do have a further question now though. This is my first criminal offense… how likely is it that I’ll get the full $500 fine and six month imprisonment? The possibility of going to jail scares the hell out of me.
IMHO, the likelihood that you’ll go to jail is pretty low, especially if you play your cards right. But the thing is – this sort of thing varies tremendously from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. If the county where you were charged is mostly white, and you’re not, then look out.
IMHO, the incident seems serious enough that you should probably contact an attorney. At a minimum, he will set your mind at ease as to the likely outcome of this. There are plenty of attorneys who specialize in traffic offenses.