Based in Albany, our lawyers handle reckless driving charges throughout upstate New York.
Reckless driving cases are fairly rare in New York. The offense is covered by §1212 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, and is a misdemeanor. While jail time is possible (and we have seen it), it is rare. Fines are substantial, typically amounting to $300 or more. A reckless driving conviction also adds 5 points to your NY driving record, plus 5-8 negative units which make it harder to get your license back if you get revoked. We usually see reckless driving charges where the defendant was also charged with a speeding ticket at a high speed. Combining an 11-point speed with reckless driving adds up to 16 points, which makes suspension likely, and you may get revoked. Also, the speeding fine can be up to $655 and the 16 points would lead to a DMV assessment of over $1000, making the total of fines and surcharges over $2000. To top that off, your insurance rates will probably increase dramatically.
For most reckless driving cases, we charge a flat fee of $1000 or more up front. This usually includes any other traffic tickets that were part of the same incident, and the fee includes all of the work we do except a trial. We would usually expect to get the charge reduced to a non-criminal violation, with substantial point reduction, savings in fines, and reduced impact on your insurance. If a trial is required there is usually an additional fee of $2000 or more.
In some cases the situation is more complicated, such as where there was an accident, or your case is in a distant or difficult court. Our flat fee for negotiating these more complicated cases of Reckless Driving is $1500 or more. The complications may make it more difficult for us to get the charges reduced to a non-criminal violation, but in most cases we are still able to do that.
Reckless driving trials are rare and we mostly encourage our clients to work with us to get negotiated reductions through plea bargaining. In some cases a trial may be appropriate, such as cases involving accidents. We charge a flat fee of $3000 or more up front to fight a reckless driving case. The $3000 usually includes everything before trial. Trial is usually an additional $5000.
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888-733-5299
255 Washington Avenue Extension, Suite 108, Albany, New York 12205
Fax: 518-862-1551 redlichlaw@gmail.com
Albany Lawyer
Reckless Driving in New York
©2008 Warren Redlich, Esq.
