Reckless Driving

Getting your NYC Reckless Driving Summons (VTL 1212) dismissed or reduced to a no-points violation.

If you received a pink ticket for reckless driving in New York City and have to appear in New York City Criminal Court at either 1 Centre Street, 314 West 54th Street, the Bronx, Queens or Staten Island, call me at 212-786-2999.  While a reckless driving summons under VTL 1212 is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail and 5 points, in almost all cases, these serious tickets can be either dismissed or reduced to a no-points violation so your record stays clean and your insurance does not go up.

Chances are, you are a good driver who usually observes all traffic rules and did not even deserve a regular traffic citation--much less a reckless driving summons under VTL 1212--when you were pulled over by the NYPD.  

But even if you violated a minor traffic rule such as changing lanes without signaling, turning right on a red, rolling thru a stop sign, backing up to find a parking space or accidentally going the wrong way on a one way street, you should not have received the serious reckless driving summons.  Reckless driving tickets are supposed to be reserved for those really bad dangerous drivers who drive in a manner that puts others at unreasonable risk. 

New York made reckless driving under VTL 1212 a crime because it wanted to keep bad drivers off the road who get behind the wheel of a car and present a needless safety risk to others.  We have all seen people driving 60 miles per hour in a 30 mph zone or drivers who weave in and out of traffic at high speeds in wet conditions. Those are classic reckless drivers and none of us want to share the road with them.

Everyone knows reckless driving when they see it.    But if you merely failed to come to a complete stop at a stop light on a NYC street, were driving 5,10 even 15 miles over the speed limit, failed to signal when changing lanes, or made a right turn on a red, etc..you did not deserve to get a reckless driving ticket.  Instead, you should just have received either a warning or, at most, a yellow ticket for a specific traffic infraction to appear at a traffic violations bureau ("TVB"). 

You didn't deserve a reckless driving ticket but now that you have one for New York City Criminal court in either Bronx, Brooklyn Manhattan, Queen or Staten Island, you need to start preparing to fight it. 

Start fighting it by emailing me a picture of your reckless driving ticket to newyorkcitydefense@gmail.com.  then call me to discuss it at 212-786-2999.  If you prefer to discuss it first before emailing it to me, that is fine too. 

I have been handling reckless driving tickets in the NYC criminal courts for many years and I can go to court for you in Manhattan, Bronx, Queens or Staten Island (Brooklyn reckless driving tickets are handled in Manhattan) and use my experience to make sure that your reckless driving ticket is reduced to a no-points violation and maybe even dismissed.  My fees to handle reckless driving tickets are very  even though it is a criminal offense and hiring me to handle it is probably less complicated than you think.  Its as easy as emailing me the summons and having a phone call.

​Some more facts about reckless driving in New York City:

In New York, a "reckless driving" summons under  VTL 1212 can be given when an officer has reasonable cause to believe that a driver "unreasonably" interferes with the free and proper use of a public highway, or "unreasonably" endangers users of a public highway.   Since reckless driving is an unclassified misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of thirty days in jail, the tickets are returnable to New York City Criminal court and are issued as a pink summons.

For years, NYC cops have been writing reckless driving tickets instead of tickets for specific traffic infractions such as improper lane change, failure to obey a traffic control device, etc..   Probably because the reckless driving statute under VTL 1212 is vague and can encompass numerous and various driver rules violations. There are some who believe that NYPD officers charge it because it is a misdemeanor and is good for the precinct  statistics.   There are some who believe that it has become the "catchall offense for every traffic violation.  

Unfortunately, aside from the fact that it is a crime, there is a stigma attached to the term "reckless driving"as people often associate it with very dangerous driving.  Just read the article in the daily news by Alan Dershowitz    There has also been a new slogan enacted by New York city entitled "reckless driving Kills"  Also, if you would like to read more on how reckless driving is being thrust into the limelight of New York City click here.

VTL 1212, New York's reckless driving statue with its draconian punishments was intended to be used to get bad and dangerous drivers off the road.  But after looking at hundreds of reckless driving tickets issued in NYC, I know that they are often handed out for very low-level traffic violations including making a right turn on a red light, coming to a rolling stop, failing to signal a lane change, 

But regardless of the reason for its issuance, the maximum penalty for reckless driving is 30 days jail and a 500 dollar fine plus five points.   A reckless driving conviction in New York could lead to higher insurance rates and a possible license suspension.  More importantly, reckless driving in New York is not a traffic infraction, it is an unclassified misdemeanor under the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law.  This means that a person convicted of reckless driving will not only have higher insurance premiums and 5 points against their license, they will also have a permanent criminal record.

But the good news is that lawyers who regularly practice in the criminal court summons parts in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens criminal courts should be able to either get your reckless driving summons dismissed or at least get it reduced down to a non-criminal violation of some obscure NYC administrative law violation with a small fine and no points on your driver's license.   Call me at 212 786-2999 to discuss.

​Depending on the allegations as they are set forth on the original copy of the reckless driving summons, (the white copy that is filed with the Court) experienced reckless driving lawyers should be able to get the VTL 1212 reckless driving charge dismissed or reduced to a no-points violation at the initial court appearance. The dismissal can can occur when the allegations of reckless driving are legally insufficient to allege a reckless driving charge and the Defendant's lawyer is able to persuasively convey that insufficiency to the judge.

A ticket for reckless driving should be dismissed as insufficient unless it alleges  at least two separate moving violations, or at least one violation along with an allegation of some specifi