Yes, if the lot counts as an “offstreet parking facility” under the Vehicle Code. California’s reckless driving law, Vehicle Code section 23103, covers driving on a highway and, separately, driving in an offstreet parking facility, using the same standard either way: willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property.

The two situations the statute covers

Vehicle Code section 23103 has two parts. The first covers a person who drives “upon a highway in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property” (Vehicle Code section 23103(a)). The second, separate part covers a person who drives “in an offstreet parking facility, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 12500,” with the same willful or wanton disregard standard (Vehicle Code section 23103(b)). The jury instruction’s first element names one location or the other, depending on which subdivision is charged (CALCRIM No. 2200).

What makes a lot an “offstreet parking facility”

Vehicle Code section 12500(c) defines the term as “any offstreet facility held open for use by the public for parking vehicles and includes any publicly owned facilities for offstreet parking” (Vehicle Code section 12500(c)). The definition also expressly includes privately owned lots “where no fee is charged for the privilege to park” that are held open for the common public use of retail customers. CALCRIM No. 2200 puts it the same way for jurors: a facility “open for use by the public for parking vehicles,” which “includes a facility open to retail customers, where no fee is charged for parking.”

In practice:

  • A city-owned lot, or a mall or grocery store lot that is open to shoppers and charges nothing to park, fits the definition’s express terms.
  • A lot that is not open to the public, such as a gated apartment complex’s lot or a private company’s employee-only lot, does not fit either part of the definition as written.
  • A privately owned lot that charges to park is not in the expressly included group for private lots. Whether it counts turns on whether it is “held open for use by the public for parking vehicles,” which depends on how that lot is actually run.

If the lot does not qualify

A lot that fails that test is also generally not a “highway,” the other basis for a reckless driving charge. California law defines a highway as a way “publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel” (Vehicle Code section 360), and a private lot closed to the public is unlikely to meet that standard either. That does not mean the driving was lawful. It means Vehicle Code section 23103 may not reach it on those facts, though other laws could still apply depending on what happened.

What counts as “wanton disregard”

The same mental state applies under either part of the statute. It means being aware that your actions present a substantial and unjustifiable risk of harm and intentionally ignoring that risk; intent to cause damage is not required (CALCRIM No. 2200). Speed is not enough by itself: on request, jurors are told that driving faster than the legal speed limit does not, alone, establish wanton disregard, and that speed is weighed together with all the surrounding circumstances (CALCRIM No. 2200). In a parking lot, those circumstances can include the people, vehicles, and layout around the driver at the time.

It is at least a misdemeanor either way

Reckless driving under section 23103 is a misdemeanor, not an infraction, whether it is charged under the highway part or the parking-facility part (Vehicle Code section 40000.15). CALCRIM No. 2200’s notes add, citing People v. Dibacco, an appellate division decision, that it “may not be reduced to an infraction.” Injury raises the stakes: when reckless driving proximately causes bodily injury to someone other than the driver, Vehicle Code section 23104 sets higher penalties, and for the specified serious injuries Vehicle Code section 23105 allows a sentence under Penal Code section 1170(h), meaning it can be a felony. For the penalty range, alternative sentencing options, and general defenses, see reckless driving, which covers those in depth.

If you are facing a reckless driving charge for something that happened in a parking lot, whether that specific location legally qualifies can matter to your case. The Law Offices of David S. Chesley can review the facts of where and how it happened. Call (800) 755-5174 to discuss your case.