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Reckless Driving Laws in California

California Vehicle Code Section 23104 – Reckless Driving

This Section is an interesting one because it's covering circumstances where people are driving reckless on the highway or on the street, and that driving reckless can be speeding — if somebody's going over 100 miles an hour, weaving through traffic — but usually where I'm seeing this Vehicle Code Section charged in LA is if somebody gets in an accident and another person gets hurt.

So, there's a lot of different sections of this where if somebody gets hurt you can be charged with extra penalties.  If you have a prior DUI you could be looking at mandatory minimums where you're looking at a minimum of thirty days up to a year in jail.  So, this Section of reckless driving in Los Angeles is a very serious one.

If you're charged with Vehicle Code Section 23104, you're obviously going to want to get an attorney as soon as possible to defend you because the prosecutors are typically going to be looking at putting you in jail, especially if somebody got hurt during the reckless driving episode.

I've represented a lot of people with these cases throughout Los Angeles county and usually where I see this Vehicle Code Section being charged is having to do with an individual who was driving recklessly on the highway — whether it was again, weaving or moving in and out of traffic, or even speeding and lost control of their car — they crashed their vehicle either with another vehicle or into something and then somebody besides themselves ends up getting hurt.

Depending on the seriousness of that injury, that's going to dictate the seriousness with which the prosecutors prosecute the case by way of what they charge and also what they're going to seek as punishment with the judge.

Review Your Case With an Attorney

So, if you're charged with reckless driving, get an attorney.  This is not just some little traffic offense.  When they're talking about mandatory minimum jail time and people getting hurt, obviously the prosecutors believe that it's their job and in their best interest to protect the public from those people who drive dangerously on our highways and this Code Section really has been designed in my experience for those people who are driving crazy and hurting other people but don't have any alcohol in their system.

Once you put alcohol in the mix, that's when they're really going to start to come down hard and obviously, if somebody were to pass away during a reckless driving episode, the person could be charged with manslaughter and if the person was intoxicated, they could be charged with murder.

So, that gives you an idea of the serious nature of these reckless driving cases.  So, not only are you looking at a criminal prosecution in a reckless driving situation, you're also looking at losing your driver's license, in addition to putting points on your record.  The DMV can get involved and they can put you in a position where you end up getting a conviction, end up going to jail and you end up putting yourself in a situation where you lose your driver's license for a long period of time.

Seeking Best Possible Outcome

So, if you're charged with reckless driving in Los Angeles, pick up the phone, let's sit down and meet and find out what happened.  Sometimes your version of events has not been gotten across to the prosecutor.  Had the police only did  one-sided investigation and therefore, you're now in a bad position because they only have half the story.

So, it's my job as your attorney to speak to the prosecutors who are my peers and get your version of events out there, get any mitigating factors and circumstances surrounding the reckless driving arrest to the prosecutors before they make any a decision on exactly how they're going to handle the case.  So, pick up the phone and let's get the case moving in the right direction and get you out of the criminal justice system as fast as possible.

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