mikonuj

So here's what happened, it was a really nice saturday afternoon and I was taking a drive in the El Dorado Regional Park in Long Beach. I saw a little stretch of dirt road and decided I wanted to have a little bit of fun.
*sigh~~...
Turns out, the park ranger was not far off when he saw me kicking up dirt and drifting around... next thing you know....
I was given a citation for "CVC 23103(b): A person who drives a vehicle in an offstreet parking facility, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 12500, in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property is guilty of reckless driving." (DMV)

Yeah it was stupid, but it was *******g fun xD lmfao, but now all i'm worried over is how much the fine is gonna be...

anyone with some insight?
thanks!

AkaSigFreak

Make sure its just a fine. Not sure about Cali, but in Fla it can result in jail time. Besides the fact that your insurance is about to go through the roof.
1. Were their people present?
2. Were you in the open? Any chance of hitting anything or causing permanent damage?

mikonuj

yeah, i'm pretty sure i won't get any jail time. the officer told me about paying stuff online and other options as he was letting me off. 1. it was just me and an open dirt road. 2. yup. only thing i damaged was their "paved" dirt road riddled with bumps, lol. Any idea on how much the fine will be for a misdemeanor like this?

PS. where did you buy your grill? I've been looking for those, but all the ones I've bought had a huge gap between the grill and the hood...

AkaSigFreak

Hope it works out for you. I don't recall where I bought the grill. It was on ebay almost 4 years ago and I thought it was 4-A motors from Canada. Mine didn't fit right at first due to the T-bar support. It was a different length than the OEM and caused the top of the grill to stick out.

hyperion667

lol, at least fun was had,

the only ticket I have gotten in the last year, (in my 550)
for passing on a double yellow solid, but the people in front of me were
driving like BUTTheads.....
the cop was RIGHT there too, I should have seen him, but he was one of those unmarked jonnies...........lol

vdemon311

if you are tried for a reckless driving... you are looking at a $100 to 250 fine.. 5 points on your license...a 250$ surcharge as well as an extreme hike in your insurance premium. This is all just for a first offense. I strongly recommend going at this with a lawyer. When I had this happen to me, I paid a lawyer $500, took a plea bargain from the prosecutor which amended the fine to a 97.2 I believe ( known as unsafe driving). The upside to this is that it becomes a 0 point violation (no hike in insurance), but the downside is that it's a $230 fine and a $250 surcharge. Soooo...$350 and 5 points on your license or $1000 and no points on your license? Choose your fate wisely...
Here's also some other good information that might help you decide

Pursuant to the California Code, 38316. (a) It is unlawful for any person to drive any off-highway motor vehicle with a willful and wanton disregard for the safety of other persons or property. (b) Any person who violates this section shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not less than five days nor more than 90 days or by fine of not less than fifty dollars ($50) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500) or by both such fine and imprisonment, except as provided in Section 38317. This code section may be found online, on the California Department of Motor Vehicles website, http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d16_5/vc38316.htm II. With regard to your questions: 1. Can you get this misdemeanor offense reduced to a lesser charge? The short answer to this question is "probably yes". The long answer is that your ability to get a reduction in the charge depends in part upon the policies of the police agency that issued the ticket, your driving record, and the prosecutor's office handling the prosecution. I have typically had good luck getting misdemeanor charges of "reckless driving" reduced to civil infractions. However, some prosecutors will defer to the police officer or operate under office policies which restrict their ability to offer deals. 2. Should you hire an attorney even if you plead guilty? You are charged with a criminal offense. If possible, you should hire an attorney before you make the choice to plead guilty. With this type of offense, the lawyer's greatest potential value is in negotiating a more favorable charge prior to the entry of a guilty plea. In this case, your attorney could attempt to negotiate a plea bargain, and may also be able to manage your case so that you do not have to return from Chicago to California for any court appearances. 3. If convicted of this misdemeanor, what are the implications? The implications are as follows: * You will have a criminal record. * You will be subject to a fine of $50 to $500. * You will be assessed court costs, typically in an amount comparable to the fine. * You will be subject to a sentence of five to ninety days in jail. (It is likely that any jail time would be suspended.) * You may be placed on a term of probation. * The conviction will be reflected on your driving record. * Your insurance rates will go up. * Your ability to get a commercial driver's license (CDL), or other specialized driver's licenses, will be impaired.

AkaSigFreak

"It is unlawful for any person to drive any off-highway motor vehicle with a willful and wanton disregard for the safety of other persons or property"
What is the definition of "off-highway motor vehicle"?

Doanster

Wait a minute.... is there a court date/summons associated with this? No fine whatsoever listed either? You said he was letting you off, so maybe it was a very strong warning of how bad it could've been?
Either way, hope things work out for you with the least amt of pain...

dcjwlee

If reckless driving is that guy's idea of letting you off easy he is one mean son of a...

Letting you off would be a "non-moving" violation.

Edit: Oops, misread your post OP. Nvm.

I always thought reckless driving was reserved for the worst of the worst. Like the occasional dopehead who is practically running people off the road.

I don't think I'd check guilty and send in the payment just yet...

snarlingchicken

Might wanna take those other youtube videos down then Juno. :3

mikonuj

****...completely forgot about those!...

Thanks for the heads up yo!

mikonuj

The officer mentioned that this misdemeanor would put 2 points on my record, but I could clear it off with traffic school.

No joke tho, the officer was being a dick trying to sound nice and all...he said, "you know, i could charge you for destroying our property by kicking up dirt, i could charge you for speeding, i could charge you for your tinted windows, i could've even called your parents because with all this, you wouldn't be able to drive home because i could just take away your car right now."