It can be, but speed alone does not prove it. Speeding and reckless driving are separate offenses, and California’s reckless driving jury instruction tells jurors, when requested, that driving faster than the legal speed limit does not by itself establish the wanton disregard for safety the charge requires. Speed counts only together with the surrounding circumstances.

Two different offenses

California’s basic speed law, Vehicle Code section 22350, bars driving faster than is reasonable or prudent given the weather, visibility, traffic, and the surface and width of the road, and at any speed that endangers people or property. Violating it is an infraction, the Vehicle Code’s default category for violations (Vehicle Code section 40000.1), and infractions carry no jail time (Penal Code section 19.6).

Vehicle Code section 23103 defines reckless driving by a mental state rather than a speed: driving, on a highway or in an off-street parking facility, while willfully or wantonly disregarding the safety of others or of property. It is a misdemeanor. Without an injury, the sentence can be county jail from 5 to 90 days, a $145 to $1,000 fine, or both. If someone other than the driver is injured, section 23104 and section 23105 raise the range, and certain injuries allow a felony sentence. The two also count differently on your driving record: a reckless driving conviction is two points, while other convictions involving the safe operation of a vehicle, such as ordinary speeding, are one point (Vehicle Code section 12810(c), (f)).

What “wanton disregard” requires

CALCRIM No. 2200, the reckless driving jury instruction, defines it in two parts: the driver was aware that the driving presented a substantial and unjustifiable risk of harm, and intentionally ignored that risk. The driver does not have to intend to cause damage. Careless driving is not enough; the instruction’s authority notes cite People v. Allison for the point that even gross negligence is insufficient.

On request, when the evidence makes it relevant, the judge adds a paragraph about speed: if the jury concludes the driver went faster than the legal speed limit, “that fact by itself does not establish” wanton disregard, and the jury may consider speed along with all the surrounding circumstances.

When speed can still support the charge

Speed is not irrelevant. The authority notes to CALCRIM No. 2200 cite People v. Nowell for the proposition that speeding may amount to recklessness depending on the circumstances, so a high speed combined with other facts can support the charge. The circumstances that tend to matter are the ones the basic speed law itself names, such as weather, visibility, traffic, and the width and surface of the road, along with whatever else the driving involved.

Evidence a lawyer will look at

Because the question is the whole picture rather than the number on the citation, the evidence usually reviewed includes:

  • How the speed was measured (radar, lidar, pacing, or an officer’s estimate) and any calibration or training records behind it.
  • The road, traffic, weather, and visibility at the time.
  • What else the driving involved: lane changes, following distance, or how close pedestrians and other vehicles were.
  • Any dashcam, body camera, or surveillance video of the driving itself.

These are points to evaluate with counsel, not automatic defenses.

Reckless driving is not a bigger speeding ticket

The related-issues notes to CALCRIM No. 2200, citing People v. Dibacco, say that reckless driving is a misdemeanor that may not be reduced to an infraction, and that speeding is not a necessarily lesser included offense of reckless driving. The elements differ: reckless driving does not require proof of any particular speed, and a basic speed law violation does not require wanton disregard. In practice, whether a reckless driving charge can be resolved as a different offense is a matter for negotiation with the prosecutor, not something that happens on its own.

Two related situations are different. A “wet reckless” is a plea to reckless driving in a DUI case, not a speeding issue. And if the citation describes a speed contest or a display of speed, that is a different charge under a different statute.

Talk to a lawyer about what the officer actually observed

The Law Offices of David S. Chesley’s reckless driving defense team can review the citation, the report, and the surrounding facts with you. Call (800) 755-5174.