Amazingly enough, the answer is yes. Under California law, you could theoretically receive a county jail sentence for squealing your tires.
Vehicle Code 23109(c) sets out the crime of “exhibition of speed.” This “crime” consists of nothing more than accelerating or driving at an unsafe speed in order to show off or impress other people.
You can be convicted of an exhibition of speed even if you weren’t driving fast enough to get a ticket – if you accelerate at what some officer deems an “unsafe speed.”
Exhibition of speed is most often used as a plea bargain from DUI charges. But it is also sometimes charged as a stand-alone offense.
Punishment for Squealing
Fortunately, California prosecutors have the discretion to charge exhibition of speed as an infraction, in which case it carries only a $250 fine.
But in theory, it can be charged as a misdemeanor, with a potential jail sentence of up to 90 days.
