Have you recently been pulled over by the police and arrested for reckless driving? If so, it’s important to contact a reckless driving attorney as soon as possible in order to learn your rights and responsibilities.
Attorneys that handle reckless driving cases may also be DUI lawyers and car accident lawyers. As such, they will be able to provide you with information relevant to your specific situation.
While there are multiple reasons, or causes for, reckless driving that warrant arrest, some may be due to not thinking clearly in an emergency. If, for example, someone is rushing a sick or injured child or other family member or friend to the emergency room, it’s important to obey traffic rules to avoid being in or causing an accident.
In the case of driving under the influence of a legal substance such as prescribed or over-the-counter medication, it is important to heed the warnings about operating machinery or driving while taking that medication, if relevant.
Furthermore, if someone is too ill to drive, they should also refrain from driving because they will not be able to focus as well as usual. In this way, they can avoid causing harm to themselves or others as well as being pulled over by the police for reckless driving.
Given the prevalence of mobile devices, many drivers and passengers will report when they see a reckless driver on the road. They may also take photos of license plates in order to provide additional verification.
In this case, and when possible, it is safer to have a vehicle passenger call in the report; otherwise, the driver may be engaged in distracted driving.
Approximately 660,000 drivers use their cell phones or manipulate other electronic devices when driving. During the day, this occurs every moment throughout the United States. Furthermore, focusing on device and phone manipulation can potentially lead to accidents.
An analysis of car crash fatalities has shown the following causes:
- Drunk driving: 32%
- Speeding: 31%
- Distracted driving: 18%
- Weather conditions: 11%
While weather conditions are out of a driver’s control, there are cases when driving more cautiously, or not driving at all, might have made make a difference. Otherwise, it is more than likely that all of the above deaths could have been prevented.
Driving while intoxicated is obviously illegal; however, before being arrested for the first time, the average drunk driver will have driven drunk 80 times. On a daily basis, according to MADD, drunk drivers are behind the wheel 300,000 times. Less than 4,000 of these individuals, however, will actually be arrested.
Unfortunately, there is a person injured every two minutes due to drunk drivers. According to MADD, the cost to the United States for this situation is $199 billion a year.
There are preventative measures being instituted to prevent previously convicted drunk drivers from driving. In 2012, for example, Virginia enacted a law requiring ignition interlocks. By 2013, there was an increase of these installations to 8,500. This demonstrates that drunk drivers are being arrested and measures are in place to prevent them from driving drunk again.
If any of the above situations pertain to your specific case, a reckless driving attorney can assess your specific situation and provide counsel on how to proceed. If your situation isn’t covered, but you have been pulled over or arrested for reckless driving, then your attorney will determine how to proceed.
Depending on the situation, a reckless driving attorney will probably conduct additional interviews and review police and witness reports before proceeding further with your case. If you were driving while drunk or under the influence of an illegal substance, your DUI lawyer will be able to answer your questions and provide advice and counsel.
