How To Defend a Charge of Reckless Driving
Reckless driving is a serious traffic violation under New Jersey law. A conviction can have severe consequences, including an increase in your insurance premium and points on your driving record. However, just because you are charged with reckless it does not mean that you cannot successfully defend the charge.
With the assistance of an aggressive reckless driving attorney in New Jersey, you can devise a strategy to have the charges reduced or dismissed altogether.
5 Useful Defenses to Reckless Driving
This short list of defenses to reckless driving is not exhaustive of all defenses. The defense that may be appropriate for your particular case depends on your specific facts.
- Did not drive. In order to convict you on the charge of reckless driving, the prosecution must prove that you were driving the vehicle. If your attorney can prove that you were not the individual driving the vehicle at the time of the charge, the charges can be dismissed.
- The necessity defense be raised if your attorney can prove that 1) you reasonably believed that an emergency existed; 2) the emergency presented an immediate threat to you or another person; 3) you did not create the emergency.
- Disprove your speed. If your reckless driving case involves a charge for excessive speeding, the prosecution must prove several things including that the law enforcement recently calibrated the equipment used to measure your speed. A good defense would be to prove the equipment falsely recorded your speed.
- Lack of proper signage. One of the requirements for reckless is that you willfully broke the law. This implies that you actually knew what the law you disregarded was. If you can prove that you did not know what the law was because there was lack of proper signage, you may be able to successfully defend your case.