When Does Speeding Become Reckless Driving in New Jersey?

Drivers stopped for excessive speeding in New Jersey are sometimes charged with both speeding under N.J.S.A. 39:4-98 and reckless driving under N.J.S.A. 39:4-96.

This raises an obvious question: How fast do you have to drive before speeding becomes reckless driving?

Is it 100 miles per hour? Thirty miles per hour over the limit? Twice the posted speed limit?

The answer is that New Jersey does not establish a specific speed at which speeding automatically becomes reckless driving.

Driving 100 mph, traveling twice the posted speed limit, or engaging in another form of extreme speeding may provide strong evidence of reckless driving. However, reckless driving requires more than simply proving that a driver exceeded a particular numerical speed.

The surrounding circumstances matter.

What Does New Jersey Consider Reckless Driving?

New Jersey’s reckless driving statute, N.J.S.A. 39:4-96, applies when a person drives a vehicle:

“heedlessly, in willful or wanton disregard of the rights or safety of others,”

and does so in a manner that endangers or is likely to endanger a person or property.

This standard is different from ordinary speeding.

To establish a speeding violation, the State generally must prove that the driver exceeded the applicable speed limit. Reckless driving requires evidence concerning the manner of driving, the danger created by that conduct, and the driver’s willful or wanton disregard for safety.

The New Jersey Supreme Court explained the mental-state component in State v. Moran, 202 N.J. 311 (2010). The Court stated that, in the context of the reckless driving statute, “willful” signifies a deliberate or intentional disregard for the lives and property of others in the manner in which the vehicle is operated.

Accordingly, intentionally exceeding the speed limit is not necessarily the same thing as intentionally disregarding the safety of other people.

Is Driving 100 MPH Automatically Reckless Driving in New Jersey?

No New Jersey statute provides that driving 100 mph automatically constitutes reckless driving.

A driver traveling 100 mph can certainly be charged with reckless driving, and the extreme speed may be powerful evidence supporting the charge. But the State must still establish the elements of N.J.S.A. 39:4-96.

An unpublished Appellate Division decision illustrates this distinction.

State v. Mitchell: Extreme Speed Did Not Automatically Establish Reckless Driving

In State v. Mitchell, No. A-3524-10T3 (App. Div. Feb. 27, 2012) (unpublished), a State Trooper testified that the defendant’s vehicle accelerated rapidly and that the trooper reached approximately 130 mph while pursuing it.

The municipal court initially found the defendant had been traveling approximately 130 mph. On the municipal appeal, however, the Law Division found that the State had proven a speed of approximately 90 mph in a 65-mph zone. The Law Division nevertheless found the defendant guilty of both speeding and reckless driving based upon his “excessive rate of speed and rapid acceleration.”

The Appellate Division affirmed the speeding conviction but reversed and dismissed the reckless driving charge.

Of particular significance, the trooper testified that he considered the driving reckless because any vehicle traveling more than 100 mph was reckless. The Appellate Division observed that no additional evidence had been presented to establish that the defendant drove heedlessly, in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of others, in a manner that endangered or was likely to endanger person or property.

The court also noted that the reckless driving conviction rested entirely upon the same evidence supporting the speeding conviction.

Because Mitchell is an unpublished opinion, it is not binding precedent and should not be read as establishing a rule that extreme speed can never support reckless driving. It is nevertheless a useful illustration of why police and courts should not treat 100 mph as an automatic statutory threshold for reckless driving.

Can Extreme Speed Support Reckless Driving?

Absolutely.

The absence of a specific numerical threshold does not mean that speed is irrelevant. The faster a vehicle is traveling, the easier it may become for the State to argue that the driver’s conduct demonstrates willful or wanton disregard for safety.

An older published New Jersey decision demonstrates the other side of the analysis.

State v. Willhite: Speed Combined With the Circumstances Supported Reckless Driving

In State v. Willhite, 40 N.J. Super. 405 (Cty. Ct. 1956), the defendant drove through Bernardsville at approximately 55 to 65 mph in 30- and 40-mph zones, later reaching approximately 90 mph during a police pursuit.

Importantly, the court did not analyze the speed in isolation.

The defendant drove at a high rate of speed through the main business area of the community and crossed the dividing line while attempting to negotiate a traffic circle.

The court found reckless driving based upon the manner in which the defendant raced through the main street and swerved at the circle.

Willhite therefore illustrates an important principle: the same speed can carry very different implications depending upon where and how the vehicle is being operated.

Driving 65 mph on an open interstate is obviously different from driving 65 mph through a congested 30-mph downtown business district.

What Does the Case Law Say Reckless Driving Requires?

In State v. Roenicke, 174 N.J. Super. 513 (Law Div. 1980), the court described the essence of reckless driving as grossly improper operation of a vehicle that threatens others.

Similarly, New Jersey cases recognize that reckless driving requires more than merely establishing the technical elements of another traffic violation.

For example, State v. Francis, 67 N.J. Super. 377 (App. Div. 1961) explained that reckless driving requires proof of the heedlessness and willful or wanton disregard required by N.J.S.A. 39:4-96. The mere commission of another traffic violation does not necessarily establish reckless driving.

Taken together, these cases reinforce that reckless driving is a fact-sensitive determination.

Is Driving Twice the Speed Limit Automatically Reckless Driving?

No.

There is no New Jersey rule stating that traveling at twice the posted speed limit automatically constitutes reckless driving.

However, doubling the speed limit can be extremely significant evidence.

Consider the difference between the following situations.

90 MPH in a 65-MPH Zone on an Empty Highway

The driver is traveling 25 mph over the limit and can certainly receive a serious speeding summons. Whether the conduct also establishes reckless driving depends upon additional circumstances.

60 MPH in a 30-MPH Downtown Area

The numerical speed is much lower, but the potential danger may be substantially greater because of pedestrians, intersections, businesses, parked vehicles and cross traffic.

The second situation could therefore present a stronger factual basis for reckless driving even though the vehicle never approached 100 mph.

What Factors Can Turn Speeding Into Reckless Driving?

There is no mechanical formula. Courts may consider the entire manner in which the vehicle was operated.

Relevant circumstances can include:

• the amount by which the driver exceeded the speed limit;
• whether the driving occurred on an interstate, residential street or congested business district;
• the amount of other traffic on the road;
• pedestrians or bicyclists in the area;
• weather and visibility;
• road conditions;
• weaving or unsafe lane changes;
• following other vehicles too closely;
• running traffic signals or stop signs;
• crossing lane markings;
• proximity to other vehicles;
• duration of the excessive speed;
• racing or competing with another vehicle; and
• other conduct demonstrating a conscious disregard for safety.

The greater the combination of extreme speed plus objectively dangerous circumstances, the stronger the State’s reckless driving case may become.

Does Intentionally Speeding Make It Reckless Driving?

Not automatically.

There is an important distinction between intentionally speeding and intentionally disregarding the safety of other people.

A driver who knowingly travels 80 mph in a 65-mph zone is intentionally exceeding the speed limit. That fact alone does not necessarily establish the willful or wanton disregard required for reckless driving.

As the New Jersey Supreme Court explained in State v. Moran, the “willful” component of reckless driving involves deliberate or intentional disregard for the lives or property of others in the manner in which the vehicle is operated.

Extreme speed may allow a court to infer that state of mind, particularly when combined with other dangerous conduct. But intentionally pressing the accelerator is not automatically synonymous with reckless driving.

What About Street Racing?

Racing presents a much stronger factual basis for a reckless driving charge.

A driver who deliberately accelerates to extreme speeds while competing against another vehicle may be engaging in precisely the type of intentional risk-taking that supports an allegation of willful or wanton disregard for public safety.

New Jersey also has a separate statute addressing racing on public highways, N.J.S.A. 39:4-52.

Therefore, depending upon the circumstances, a driver involved in a street race could potentially face a racing summons, speeding charges, reckless driving and other related traffic offenses.

The existence of a separate racing violation does not automatically establish reckless driving. However, evidence that two drivers were deliberately racing at high speeds may significantly strengthen the State’s argument that the driving was reckless.

Can You Be Charged With Both Speeding and Reckless Driving?

Yes.

A police officer may issue both a speeding summons and a reckless driving summons arising from the same traffic stop.

That does not necessarily mean that the State will ultimately be entitled to separate convictions and punishments for both offenses based upon precisely the same conduct.

For example, in Willhite, the court determined that the speeding was such an integral part of the reckless driving that the speeding offense merged into the reckless driving offense.

In the unpublished Mitchell decision, by contrast, the Appellate Division reversed the reckless driving conviction where the reckless charge was supported entirely by the same excessive-speed and rapid-acceleration evidence underlying the speeding conviction and there was no additional evidence establishing the statutory reckless-driving standard.

Whether merger or another issue arises depends upon the specific proofs and charges in an individual case.

What Are the Penalties for Reckless Driving in New Jersey?

Reckless driving under N.J.S.A. 39:4-96 is a serious motor vehicle offense.

For a first conviction, the statute authorizes a fine of $50 to $200, imprisonment for up to 60 days, or both.

For a second or subsequent conviction, the statute authorizes a fine of $100 to $500, imprisonment for up to three months, or both.

A reckless driving conviction also results in five New Jersey MVC points.

In aggravated circumstances, a court can also consider a discretionary driver’s license suspension under N.J.S.A. 39:5-31.

The New Jersey Supreme Court addressed this issue in State v. Moran. The Court held that a suspension under N.J.S.A. 39:5-31 requires an aggravated form of willful violation and instructed courts to evaluate factors including the seriousness and danger of the driving, the defendant’s prior driving history, likelihood of recurrence, hardship and the need for deterrence.

Therefore, an extreme-speed reckless driving case can involve consequences beyond simply paying a traffic fine.

Is 100 MPH More Serious Even If Reckless Driving Cannot Be Proven?

Yes.

The fact that 100 mph does not automatically establish reckless driving does not make a 100-mph speeding charge insignificant.

Under New Jersey’s MVC point schedule, speeding 30 mph or more above the limit carries five points.

Extreme speeding can also influence how a prosecutor or municipal court views the case and may create exposure to additional charges depending upon the driver’s conduct.

The legal point is simply that extreme speeding and reckless driving remain distinct offenses with different elements.

The Bottom Line: There Is No “Magic Number” for Reckless Driving in NJ

New Jersey does not have a rule stating that:

100 mph automatically equals reckless driving.

Nor does New Jersey law provide that:

twice the speed limit automatically equals reckless driving.

The State must establish the elements of N.J.S.A. 39:4-96.

Speed can be extremely important evidence. In some circumstances, very high speed combined with the location, traffic, road conditions or other dangerous conduct can present a strong case for reckless driving.

In other circumstances, the evidence may establish speeding without establishing the additional elements necessary for reckless driving.

The critical question is not simply:

“How fast was the vehicle going?”

It is:

“Considering the speed and all of the surrounding circumstances, did the driver operate heedlessly, in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of others, in a manner that endangered or was likely to endanger a person or property?”

Charged With Speeding and Reckless Driving in New Jersey?

Drivers accused of extreme speeding in New Jersey are frequently concerned about whether a speeding summons can also result in a reckless driving conviction.

The answer depends upon the evidence.

The location of the alleged speeding, traffic conditions, manner of operation, police observations, video evidence, speed-measuring evidence and the relationship between the speeding and reckless-driving charges may all be significant.

If you have been charged with both speeding and reckless driving in New Jersey, the Law Offices of Anthony J. Vecchio, LLC can review the specific circumstances of the stop and determine what defenses may apply to each charge.

Anthony J. Vecchio, Esq.
Law Offices of Anthony J. Vecchio, LLC
New Jersey Criminal, DWI & Traffic Defense Attorney

This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case depends upon its particular facts and evidence.