How Fast Is Considered Reckless Driving in Georgia? 20 Answers

By: traffic ticket attorney Larry Kohn and Atlanta DUI attorney and former police officer Cory Yager. This article sets out Georgia's reckless driving statute, OCGA 40-6-390, and answers the top 20 questions drivers ask after a reckless driving charge in Georgia.

How Fast Is Considered Reckless Driving in Georgia?

Georgia's reckless driving statute, OCGA 40-6-390, sets no fixed mile-per-hour threshold. The law defines the offense as driving in reckless disregard for the safety of persons or property. That makes it a conduct-and-circumstances test, not a speedometer test. Speed matters, but only as one fact among many.

That answer frustrates drivers who want a number. In practice, officers and prosecutors look at the whole stop. A reckless driving speed on an open rural highway at noon reads very differently from the same number in a school zone at dismissal. So the question "at what speed is it considered reckless driving" has no statutory answer in Georgia. The charging decision turns on what else the officer saw.

Several facts commonly push a high-speed stop toward a reckless driving charge:

• Extreme speed relative to the posted limit, especially in city traffic
• Speed combined with weaving between lanes or unsafe passing
• Tailgating at highway speed
• Racing another vehicle
• Wet, icy, or fog-limited road conditions
• Active school zones and marked work zones with workers present
• Heavy pedestrian traffic or dense stop-and-go congestion

Georgia case law reflects this approach. The Fraser decision discussed in the question list below involved a driver traveling 24 mph over the limit in a busy Atlanta nightlife area after dark. The speed alone did not decide the case. The location, the hour, and the pedestrian traffic mattered just as much.

Neighboring states handle it differently. Several codify a bright-line number, so a driver who crosses that number faces a reckless driving charge automatically. Georgia does not. Two consequences follow, depending on the circumstances. A driver may be charged with reckless driving well below any such number when the surrounding conduct is dangerous. And a driver clocked at a very high speed on an empty interstate may face only a speeding citation if nothing else aggravates the stop.

In our experience defending Georgia traffic and DUI cases, that flexibility cuts both ways. It gives the state room to charge, and it gives the defense room to argue that the driving never rose to reckless disregard. Charging practice also varies between metro Atlanta municipal courts and the state courts that handle these cases after a bind-over. Outcomes depend on the facts, the court, and the prosecutor, so talk with a lawyer about your specific citation.

How Many MPH Over the Speed Limit Is Reckless Driving?

Drivers ask two versions of the same question: how many mph over speed limit is reckless driving, and how many miles over is reckless driving. Georgia law answers neither with a number. No amount of speed converts a speeding citation into reckless driving by operation of law.

As a practical matter, though, Atlanta-area officers and metro-county solicitors treat certain ranges as aggravating. Speeds far above the posted limit invite a reckless driving charge stacked on top of the speeding citation. The further above the limit the reading goes, the more likely that stacking becomes. Context still drives the decision. The same 95 mph reading on an empty interstate at 2 a.m. and in a residential zone at school dismissal produce very different charging decisions.

Georgia also has a Super Speeder law, OCGA 40-6-189. It adds a state fee on top of any county fine for convictions at 75 mph or more on a two-lane road, and at 85 mph or more on any road. This is a separate state fee collected by the Department of Driver Services. It is not a reckless driving charge and not a separate criminal offense. Drivers confuse the two because both show up at high speeds.

The distinction matters when a case is negotiated. Most prosecutors treat a speeding case and a reckless driving case as different problems. A speeding charge often resolves with a fine and points. A reckless driving charge is a criminal misdemeanor, so a plea creates a criminal conviction that follows the driver for life. Commercial drivers and drivers under 21 carry added exposure, because a reckless driving conviction may affect a CDL or a provisional license in ways a speeding fine does not. That is why a high-speed ticket should never be treated as "just a ticket."

If your first question is the dollar amount, see the fines section below. It explains how Georgia sets speeding and traffic fines and why the number printed on the citation is rarely the full cost.

What Counts as Reckless Driving in Georgia?

What counts as reckless driving in Georgia is any driving that shows reckless disregard for the safety of persons or property, and speed is only one route to that charge. Officers write this citation every day for conduct that has nothing to do with the speedometer.

Georgia courts and prosecutors have treated conduct like this as reckless disregard:

• Aggressive weaving through lanes in traffic
• Tailgating at highway speed
• Passing a stopped school bus with its stop arm out
• Street racing
• Running red lights in heavy traffic
• Driving the wrong way on a divided road or an exit ramp
• Distracted driving that causes a near-collision
• Impaired driving, where the state may charge or resolve the case as reckless driving instead

Three offenses get confused constantly, and the difference is not cosmetic:

• Reckless driving is OCGA 40-6-390. It is a traffic offense prosecuted as a misdemeanor.
• DUI is OCGA 40-6-391. It is a separate criminal charge with its own license consequences and its own proof requirements.
• Reckless conduct is OCGA 16-5-60. It sits in Georgia's criminal code, not the traffic code, and it is a different offense entirely. It reaches conduct that endangers another person's bodily safety whether or not a vehicle is involved.

Readers who search for one of these often land on material about another. If your citation says 40-6-390, you are facing the traffic offense described on this page.

A reckless driving conviction in Georgia is a misdemeanor. It carries a fine of up to $1,000, up to 12 months, and four points on a Georgia driver's license. Drivers under 21 face harsher license consequences, including a six-month suspension on conviction, and a nolo plea does not shield them from the points.

Top 20 Georgia Reckless Driving Questions

1. What is reckless driving? Well over half of all states have a virtually identical reckless driving definition as the reckless statute in Georgia. But you won't find a long statutory definition to help see examples of "what is reckless driving in GA?" The reckless definition within the statutory wording was written by the Georgia General Assembly to fit hundreds of different driving scenarios. Because the reckless driving meaning is so nebulously worded, challenges to vagueness have been attempted in the Georgia courts. In 1951, the Georgia Court of Appeals rejected a vagueness challenge under an earlier statutory wording. Lancaster v. State, 83 Ga.App. 746 (1951). Again, in 1980, in a felony homicide by vehicle case, Wilson v. State, 245 Ga. 49 (1980), the Georgia Supreme Court stated that the language of today's reckless driving law in Georgia is "sufficiently definite" to apprise a motor vehicle driver that his or her acts put others at risk.

2. What does reckless mean? To define reckless driving, see the statute, which is printed out below, in the next section. To simplify the crime, it is any dangerous driving that (based upon the location and the driver's conduct) puts other person's or property at risk. Trying to define careless operation of a car or truck is usually supplied by witnesses to the crime, or forensic analysis of a crash scene and electronic data recorder box.

3. How much is the reckless driving fine in GA? People looking for a cheap Georgia lawyer will often call our law office to ask, "how much is a reckless driving ticket in Georgia?" For more sophisticated citizens who may lose a valuable job, the issue of the reckless driving ticket cost never comes up. Their concern (when arrested for DUI cases) is focused on asking if our lawyers in Atlanta possess a good record for successfully reducing a reckless driving citation, or if we can get a DUI reduced to reckless driving.

4. How fast is reckless driving in Georgia? As opposed to states like NC and VA that build in a number (miles per hour over the posted speed limit) for being charged reckless driving. Georgia does not have that same statutory wording. Fraser v. State, 263 Ga. App. 764 (2003).

5. Can I go to jail for a reckless driving in GA misdemeanor? A reckless driving charge in GA is a misdemeanor. So, the answer to "can you go to jail for reckless driving" is YES, for as much as 12 months.

6. If convicted on my Georgia reckless driving ticket, will my driver's license be suspended? If under age 21, yes. Or, if you are a South Carolina licensee with a prior reckless driving on your record, "yes," unless our attorneys in Atlanta can get the offense reduced for you. Read more in the next question, below.

7. For a GA reckless driving citation, how many points on license if convicted? Under the Georgia point system four (4) points are assessed. DDS Georgia assigns 4 points for a violation of OCGA 40-6-390. Plus, a nolo contendere plea (if obtained) can mean zero points being added at the DDS GA (the Georgia Department of Driver Services). However, for young drivers under age 21, the points cannot be avoided with a nolo plea, and a conviction of reckless driving in Georgia suspends for six (6) months. Depending on the age of the driver, and the accumulation of points from prior errant driving, a license suspension can occur. For a 17-year-old driver, 4 points within 12 months suspends, and for adult drivers 15 or more points within the last 24 months suspends.

8. Is reckless driving a criminal offense? Yes, in all states, including Georgia. As shown below in the GA reckless statute, 12 months of jail time is possible.

9. How to get a reckless driving ticket off your record. Hire an experienced traffic ticket lawyer to fight the case for you. If you lack the funds to pay for private counsel, apply for the public defender. The Sixth Amendment protects your right to have legal counsel.

10. How long does reckless driving stay on record? Like all misdemeanors and felonies, a conviction remains on your criminal history for life, if convicted. Georgia does have a record restriction law, but its purpose is not to permit the passage of time alone to merit expunction. Don't expect to expunge reckless driving charges in GA.

11. How does Georgia law define reckless? It is best to read the statutory language of OCGA 40-6-390, below.

12. How long is reckless driving on record? See number 10 above to learn how long does reckless driving stay on your record. Once again, these cases can be won if handled correctly, and (if necessary) the case goes to trial.

13. How is an aggressive driving ticket GA different from GA reckless driving? The aggressive driving definition is found in OCGA 40-6-397, under the Georgia code. The language of this more recently enacted law differs substantially from the Georgia reckless statute. The GA aggressive driving law says. "with the intent to annoy, harass, molest, intimidate, injure, or obstruct another person," and even points to reckless driving under OCGA 40-6-390 as a possible basis.

14. What is considered reckless driving in GA? Some of the cases highlighted above give reckless driving examples. The Fraser case was a city of Atlanta arrest for a drinking driver traveling at high speed (24 mph over the limit) in a metro Atlanta area (Piedmont at Monroe) which had a great deal of pedestrian traffic at night at this "popular night spot."

15. Can a criminal defense lawyer help me reduce a DUI to reckless driving in Georgia? Yes, in many cases. The skill level and experience of criminal lawyers near me can be found by using lawyer ratings and awards and legal industry recognitions for the law group's attorneys.

16. Is it better to be convicted of reckless than DUI? A person charged with DUI is often viewed more harshly by employers, when convicted of DUI. A GA charge of recklessly driving in the Peach State may affect job options (e.g., trying to driver for Uber or Lyft and be covered under their secondary insurance coverage), but it is deemed to be less harmful that a drunk driving conviction. In almost every analysis of reckless driving vs DUI, our clients are preferring reckless disposition over a conviction of a DUI in Georgia.

17. When is reckless driving a felony? When another person dies or suffers serious injury that is caused by one or more motorists driving recklessly, a serious felony can and will be indicted or accused for a conviction of this traffic violation. Unlike other states, the state of Georgia does not have any felony reckless driving law that makes a repeat offender a felon.

18. Is reckless driving a felony in VA? Jail is a more likely outcome for reckless driving in Virginia than in Georgia. Virginia reckless driving is normally a Class 1 misdemeanor under Va. Code 46.2-868. It becomes a Class 6 felony when the driver was operating on a license suspended or revoked for a moving violation and the reckless driving was the sole and proximate cause of another person's death. Georgia has no comparable felony reckless driving provision.

19. Is reckless driving causing serious injury or death a felony? Yes. While (in Georgia), a traffic ticket for reckless driving is a misdemeanor in 100% of the cases, it is also a serious motor vehicle crime. So, this misdemeanor offense is one of Georgia's "serious" motor vehicle crimes that can act as the "predicate" dangerous driving event to support a felony vehicular homicide charge under OCGA 40-6-393 in GA, or a serious injury by vehicle felony under OCGA 40-6-394.

20. Is it better to be convicted of reckless driving or speeding? For most purposes, speeding is preferred. But a high-speed traffic ticket can also carry a fine of $1000 plus surcharges and can add up to 6 points on your driving record, while a reckless only puts 4 demerit points on your DDS GA record.

The Civil Law Aspect of a Car Accident Caused by Reckless Driving in GA

Personal injury attorneys know that accidents based upon any serious traffic offense like DUI, hit and run, attempting to elude an officer, aggressive driving or reckless driving in GA tend to bring higher jury verdicts. Plus, for such egregious driving acts, the injured parties can seek punitive damages, which are not covered by auto liability insurance companies. In addition, when permanent injury in car accidents such as crippling orthopedic or spinal damage occurs, the future losses easily go into the millions of dollars on civil verdicts. A wreck caused on purpose is a different matter, because intentionally damaging another person's vehicle can support a separate charge of criminal damage to property in the second degree under OCGA 16-7-23.

Statutory Wording of the Georgia Reckless Driving Law

OCGA 40-6-390, Georgia's reckless driving statute, reads in full: (a) Any person who drives any vehicle in reckless disregard for the safety of persons or property commits the offense of reckless driving. (b) Every person convicted of reckless driving shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $1,000.00 or imprisonment not to exceed 12 months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, provided that no provision of this Code section shall be construed so as to deprive the court imposing the sentence of the power given by law to stay or suspend the execution of such sentence or to place the defendant on probation.

Local practice shows how that language is applied. An arrest for reckless driving in Emerson and Bartow County, for example, starts in a municipal court that handles the charge very differently than a metro Atlanta state court would.

Georgia Speeding and Traffic Fines Compared to Reckless Driving

Drivers searching for the 40-6-181 Georgia fine are usually looking at a speeding citation, not a reckless driving charge. OCGA 40-6-181 is Georgia's maximum speed limits statute, and it is the section a standard speeding ticket is written under. A companion section, OCGA 40-6-180, covers driving too fast for conditions. That one can apply even when the driver is at or under the posted limit.

Here is the part that surprises people: the statute sets the offense, not the price. Fine amounts for these citations come from local fine schedules, and those schedules vary by county and municipality. A Fulton County citation, a DeKalb citation, a Gwinnett citation, and a Cobb citation may each carry a different number for the identical speed. The amount printed on the ticket is also rarely the full cost, because statutory surcharges are added on top of the base fine. Schedules change, so the citing court listed on your citation is the only reliable source for the current amount, and counsel can explain what else attaches to it.

Reckless driving under OCGA 40-6-390 sits in a different category. A conviction is a misdemeanor. The driver faces a fine of up to $1,000 and up to 12 months, and the conviction becomes a permanent criminal record entry. A speeding conviction, in most cases, means a fine and points with no criminal record of that kind.

Other common companion citations work the same way. Failure to obey a traffic control device, OCGA 40-6-20, and failure to yield when turning left, OCGA 40-6-71, both carry locally set fines under the same misdemeanor cap. Two drivers with identical citations in adjoining counties can pay different amounts for the same conduct.

Finally, the fine is usually the smallest part of the exposure. Points, insurance surcharges, and the collateral effect on a commercial or provisional license often cost far more over several years than the ticket itself. Depending on the circumstances, a driver may be better served challenging the citation than paying it, and paying it is a guilty plea.

Our Atlanta Lawyers for Reckless Driving and DUI Defense

Atlanta DUI attorney William Head practices with two law partners who focus on serious traffic charges in Georgia. The attorneys at William C. Head, PC appear regularly in metro Atlanta municipal, state, and superior courts, and they handle reckless driving, high-speed and Super Speeder citations, DUI, drug charges, and vehicular homicide cases.

Veteran Georgia traffic ticket lawyer Larry Kohn has worked with Bubba Head since 1996, after finishing his first year in law school at Georgia State University. He later graduated magna cum laude. His undergraduate degree was from Emory University. Super Lawyers named Lawrence Kohn to its list each year from 2017 through 2020. He has personally handled over 4,500 traffic offense cases, both misdemeanor and felony, in more than 22 years of law practice. That work includes several highly publicized criminal trials, among them the defense of a circus elephant abuse case in the City of Atlanta.

Partner and ex-police officer Cory Yager came to the firm after nearly a decade as a law enforcement officer and has practiced only with William C. Head, PC. That background shapes how the firm reads a traffic stop, from the officer's speed estimate and radar or laser use to what the dash and body camera actually recorded.

Mr. Head is Board-Certified in DUI defense by the National College for DUI Defense. He was one of the 12 attorneys who founded the National College and later served as a Regent. Super Lawyers has recognized him 17 times. He has defended criminal cases for athletes, including Atlanta Braves pitcher Derek Lowe, and for public figures such as former UGA and Pittsburgh Steelers player Hines Ward. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case depends on its own facts, the court, and the prosecutor assigned to it.

Most people who call after a serious traffic stop want to know what can realistically be done. In many of our cases, that comes down to whether a DUI can be reduced to reckless driving. In a few cases each year, when the facts support it, our attorneys negotiate a Title 16 reckless conduct disposition instead, an offense similar to some states' careless operation laws. Whether either result is available depends on the evidence, the county, and the prosecutor.

Searching online for a defense lawyer is both helpful and confusing, because many attorneys make similar claims. Ask specific questions instead. How many Georgia reckless driving cases has the lawyer tried? How does the lawyer handle a case that started as a DUI in Georgia? What is the realistic range of outcomes in the court printed on your citation?

Other related links: When Is a DUI a Felony in Georgia? Georgia Hit and Run Laws DUI License Suspension How Much Jail Time for a DUI Warrant

Speak With a Georgia Reckless Driving Defense Attorney

A reckless driving citation in Georgia is not a payable ticket. It is a criminal misdemeanor under OCGA 40-6-390, and paying it works as a guilty plea. William C. Head, PC offers a free consultation on reckless driving and high-speed traffic charges across metro Atlanta.

Timing matters. The arraignment or court date printed on your citation may be only weeks away, and some challenges get harder to raise once that date passes. Bring the citation itself, any notice you received about dash or body camera footage, and the speed the officer stated at the stop. Write down the road, the weather, the traffic, and the time of day while you still remember them.

What can be done depends on the specific facts, the court, and the prosecutor handling your case. We cannot promise a dismissal or a reduction. We can review the evidence and explain your realistic options before your court date.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is There a Specific Speed That Automatically Becomes Reckless Driving in Georgia?

No. OCGA 40-6-390 contains no mile-per-hour number. Georgia charges reckless driving based on driving in reckless disregard for the safety of persons or property, so an officer weighs speed together with the road, the traffic, and the conditions.

Can You Be Charged With Reckless Driving in Georgia Without Speeding at All?

Yes. Weaving through traffic, tailgating, running red lights, passing a stopped school bus, and driving the wrong way can each support the charge at or below the posted limit.

What Is the Difference Between Reckless Driving and Reckless Conduct in Georgia?

Reckless driving, OCGA 40-6-390, is a traffic offense. Reckless conduct, OCGA 16-5-60, is a separate criminal offense and is not a traffic charge at all. The two are sometimes discussed together in plea negotiations, but they have different elements and different consequences.

How Many Points Does a Reckless Driving Conviction Add to a Georgia License?

Four points, assessed by the Georgia Department of Driver Services. Drivers under 21 face added consequences, including a six-month suspension on conviction.

Is Reckless Driving in Georgia a Criminal Charge or Just a Traffic Ticket?

It is a criminal misdemeanor. A conviction carries a fine of up to $1,000, up to 12 months, and a permanent entry on your criminal history.