Remember, reckless driving in NY is a misdemeanor, not merely a traffic offense. You will have a criminal record if you are convicted of it.

 Moreover, the fine is rather substantial and usually amounts to $300 or more.

 Aside from all of this, 5 points will be added onto your NY driver's license.

Why Did I Get a Ticket for Reckless Driving?

 Believe it or not, this is a question many people have. After all, the reckless driving law in New York is fairly broad.

 This means that individuals who are speeding at excessive rates are just as likely to get a ticket for reckless driving as a person who swerves all over the New York Thruway.

 Remember, a police officer has a wide-range of discretion to determine what constitutes "unreasonably interfering with the free and proper use of the public highway" and "endangering users of that public highway."

 In other words, many times police officers assess the situation and determine subjectively whether they believe your conduct was reckless or not.

 Your driving might have seemed reasonable to you, but if it seemed unreasonable to the officer, that is usually why you got cited for violating VTL-1212.

Combination Tickets

 Be careful! Reckless driving tickets are usually given out along with other tickets. There are three specific combinations to look out for:

• Speeding & Reckless Driving: If you receive a speeding ticket for going 40 miles or more over the speed limit, the officer will quite likely ticket you for reckless driving as well. This means that you potentially could face 11 points for speeding and 5 points for reckless driving. Not only will your license almost surely be suspended due to receiving 16 points, but it may also be revoked altogether. Moreover, the combined fine could run you close to $2,000!

• DUI/DWI & Reckless Driving: In this situation, not only did you get arrested for DUI/DWI, but, to make matters worse, you got a reckless driving ticket. In this situation, not only are you in the realm of traffic court for your reckless driving ticket, but you are also right in the heart of full-blown criminal court. 5 points being put on your license is sure to cause an insurance hike, but getting a DUI/DWI along with it may lead to a direct revocation or even jail time.

             

• Driving on a Suspended License & Reckless Driving: Without even knowing it, your New York driver's license may have been suspended. Imagine getting pulled over for reckless driving and also being blindsided by the fact that your license was suspended. Now you face two hefty fines and possibly 30 days behind bars because you were driving recklessly and driving on a suspended license.

Whether we want to admit it or not, any of these three scenarios can happen to the best of us. In the unfortunate event that you violate New York Vehicle and Traffic Law 1212 and receive a ticket for reckless driving in NY in tandem with another ticket, be sure to contact an experienced traffic ticket attorney who knows how to handle combination tickets.