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Because reckless driving is a weak signal. It covers a huge spectrum of behavior. It should really be called "driving on the aggressive end of reasonable in t

Because reckless driving is a weak signal. It covers a huge spectrum of behavior. It should really be called "driving on the aggressive end of reasonable in the presence of a cop" because that describes more of the behavior it's written for than "reckless". Where I'm from it's what you get when they actually have no good reason to pull you over but did it anyway on a hunch that you look like you have drugs or something or if you're dumb enough to talk back at the cop. Sure, a few people are actually "reckless" but there are fancier charges with bigger fines that they actually get and that's what the insurance flags people on.

whenchamenia 7y ago
I got that charge for "shifting gears" which was "unusual behavior". I won in court, because I drive a manual. But you arent joking. It all needs more perspective.
- dsfyu404ed 7y ago
  I got it from campus cops for driving a university owned obvious project vehicle over a speed table on said university campus at exactly the speed limit (in order to ensure that our equipment didn't go out of adjustment if you bottomed out hard). I changed my behavior for the remainder of my time there to ensure that was the most expensive ticket they'd ever write.
alistairSH 7y ago
Why the downvotes? My experience mirrors that of the parent comment. Police in VA use reckless driving (along with several other statutes) as catch-all "I don't like the way you look, so I'm gonna pull you over and hassle you" rules. Also in VA, anything over 80mph is automatically reckless driving, even when the posted limit is 70mph. Empty, straight interstate and 80mph? Criminal charges, a night in jail (better hope its not a Friday evening, or it becomes a weekend in jail), and expensive lawyer bills. At least residents know about the racket - anybody passing through better hope they don't look get on the wrong side of Johnny Law.
- chillydawg 7y ago
  I mean, you could just not break the speed limit...
  - lancepioch 7y ago
    Where I live and have been, it's not uncommon to get pulled over for going the speed limit or lower.
  - alistairSH 7y ago
    In most states, going 10 over is not a criminal offense (most traffic offenses != criminal offenses since the mid-1970s in the US, which is why you can usually pay the fine remotely, no court, no lawyer, no jail). It is a criminal offense in VA. And the police use it to selectively harass people. Anyways, that was just one example. Reckless driving ("you pulled away from that light too fast" even when you were slower than the minivan in the next lane), illegal lane change ("I saw you swerve" even when you didn't), and other statutes are used to pull over anybody the police want with impunity.
wildrhythms 7y ago
Please read the article. The article says: >Both drivers worked for Amazon contractor JW Logistics, based in Frisco, Texas. It was unclear how long Zghair had worked for the company, but in 2015, he was convicted of reckless driving in Lewis County after leading police on a chase in excess of 100 mph (161 kph), running red lights, driving across multiple lanes of travel and crashing into a field.

whenchamenia 7y ago

I got that charge for "shifting gears" which was "unusual behavior". I won in court, because I drive a manual. But you arent joking. It all needs more perspective.

dsfyu404ed 7y ago
I got it from campus cops for driving a university owned obvious project vehicle over a speed table on said university campus at exactly the speed limit (in order to ensure that our equipment didn't go out of adjustment if you bottomed out hard). I changed my behavior for the remainder of my time there to ensure that was the most expensive ticket they'd ever write.

alistairSH 7y ago

Why the downvotes? My experience mirrors that of the parent comment. Police in VA use reckless driving (along with several other statutes) as catch-all "I don't like the way you look, so I'm gonna pull you over and hassle you" rules. Also in VA, anything over 80mph is automatically reckless driving, even when the posted limit is 70mph. Empty, straight interstate and 80mph? Criminal charges, a night in jail (better hope its not a Friday evening, or it becomes a weekend in jail), and expensive lawyer bills. At least residents know about the racket - anybody passing through better hope they don't look get on the wrong side of Johnny Law.

chillydawg 7y ago
I mean, you could just not break the speed limit...
- lancepioch 7y ago
  Where I live and have been, it's not uncommon to get pulled over for going the speed limit or lower.
- alistairSH 7y ago
  In most states, going 10 over is not a criminal offense (most traffic offenses != criminal offenses since the mid-1970s in the US, which is why you can usually pay the fine remotely, no court, no lawyer, no jail). It is a criminal offense in VA. And the police use it to selectively harass people. Anyways, that was just one example. Reckless driving ("you pulled away from that light too fast" even when you were slower than the minivan in the next lane), illegal lane change ("I saw you swerve" even when you didn't), and other statutes are used to pull over anybody the police want with impunity.

wildrhythms 7y ago

Please read the article. The article says: >Both drivers worked for Amazon contractor JW Logistics, based in Frisco, Texas. It was unclear how long Zghair had worked for the company, but in 2015, he was convicted of reckless driving in Lewis County after leading police on a chase in excess of 100 mph (161 kph), running red lights, driving across multiple lanes of travel and crashing into a field.