# Will I do any jail time for reckless driving? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 12, 2010, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-do-any-jail-time-for-reckless-driving/528662 "2010-02-12T04:36:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-do-any-jail-time-for-reckless-driving/528662/1 "2010-02-12T04:36:53Z")
I got arrested a month ago and was charged with reckless driving, i was going 120 in a 70, I know stupid. Anyway I didn’t get a lawyer cause I can’t really afford one. I haven’t had any traffic violations other that speeding tickets and those are both way older than two years. So I don’t really have a record of this. I live in Georgia which is supposed to be pretty harsh with traffic violations. Technically you can go to jail for up to a year for reckless driving, But is there really much chance of this if I don’t have a prior record of this sort of thing? I’m hoping maybe the fact that I’m military and deploying this year might help me get out of this. Anyone have an educated insights? ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-do-any-jail-time-for-reckless-driving/528662/2 "2010-02-12T04:46:08Z")
IANAL. If you’re potentially facing jail time I think you need to have proper legal counsel in your area, and as far as I know the state has to provide you an attorney if you can’t afford one yourself. You might need to check with the courthouse or police department for exactly how to go about that. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-do-any-jail-time-for-reckless-driving/528662/3 "2010-02-12T05:00:21Z")
Can you get legal assistance through the military? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-do-any-jail-time-for-reckless-driving/528662/4 "2010-02-12T05:05:45Z")
Hopefully one of our doper LEO professionals with come along shortly with some advice. From a layman’s POV, from what I’ve seen of the inside of a traffic courtroom in MD viewing some other cases, once you get into the life endangering speeds (the 90’s and beyond) judges tend to get really, really pissed off. You need to get an attorney that specializes in traffic cases. Going bare on this given the speed is just asking (begging really) for a world class spanking, and might (if you are charged or incarcerated) screw up your military ambitions. IMO you’re being way to lackadaisical about what might happen in this scenario. If you life was at stake you would find a way to hire an atty. This is not a conventional 10-20 miles over speeding ticket, this is pretty serious business and you need to take it seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-do-any-jail-time-for-reckless-driving/528662/5 "2010-02-12T05:51:35Z")
For specific legal advice, it is best to consult a legal professional. I’m going to close this thread. See the sticky at the head of the page. Colibri General Questions Moderator