NRS § 484B.653 – “Reckless Driving” Laws in Nevada

NRS § 484B.653 defines reckless driving in Nevada as operating a vehicle with willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property. Examples may include:

• going significantly over the speed limit
• ignoring traffic control devices, such as running red lights
• hitting medians and shoulders while driving or making U-turns
• swiftly overtaking vehicles or changing from the left- to right-most lane in a several-lane highway without signaling
• overly aggressive driving during road rage

This chart illustrates the penalties:

Reckless driving offense	Nevada penalties
The incident does not cause substantial bodily harm	Misdemeanor: $250 to $1,000, 8 DMV demerit points, and up to 6 months in jail
The incident does cause substantial bodily harm.	Category B felony: 1 to 6 years in prison and $2,000 to $5,000

NRS § 484B.653 states that:

1. It is unlawful for a person to:
(a) Drive a vehicle in willful or wanton disregard of the safety of persons or property on a highway or premises to which the public has access.
(b) Drive a vehicle in an unauthorized speed contest on a highway or premises to which the public has access.
(c) Organize an unauthorized speed contest on a highway or premises to which the public has access.
(d) Drive a vehicle in an unauthorized trick driving display on a highway or where the public has access.
(e) Facilitate an unauthorized trick driving display on a highway or where the public has access.
A violation of paragraph (a), (b) or (d) of this subsection or subsection 1 of NRS 484B.550 constitutes reckless driving.

Nevada’s penalties for causing serious car accidents are much steeper whenever drugs or alcohol are involved:

Vehicular crimes causing injury or death	Nevada penalties
Vehicular homicide (NRS 484C.130): Fatal DUI following three prior DUIs	Category A felony: 25 years or life in prison
DUI causing injury or death (NRS 484C.430): Causing a fatality or substantial bodily injury from drunk or drugged driving	Category B felony: 2 – 20 years in prison and $2,000 to $5,000
Reckless driving causing injury or death (NRS 484B.653): Driving with willful or wanton disregard of the safety of persons or property (no alcohol or drugs)	Category B felony: 1 – 6 years in prison and $2,000 to $5,000
Vehicular manslaughter (NRS 484B.657): Proximately causing another’s death by driving with “simple negligence” (no alcohol or drugs)	Misdemeanor: Up to 6 months in jail and/or $1,000

In this article, our Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys discuss:

• 1. Reckless Driving Defined
• 2. Best Defenses
• 3. Record Sealing
• 4. Reduced From DUI
• Additional Reading

1. Reckless Driving Defined

The legal definition of reckless driving is operating an automobile in an extremely risky manner. You are not simply being careless or negligent. Your traffic violations are endangering public safety.

The penalties for violating reckless driving laws depend on the circumstances of the case. The punishment can be doubled if the traffic offense occurs in a work or pedestrian safety zone.

Note that if you are just cited for reckless driving (instead of arrested), the police can still tow your car.¹

Driving in willful or wanton disregard for safety of persons or property

The most common form of reckless driving in Nevada is driving in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of people or property. This is more serious than minor traffic law violations such as going five miles over the speed limit or yielding rather than stopping. Reckless driving can potentially cause major damage.

Reckless driving by acting in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of people or property is a misdemeanor in Nevada, punishable by a fine, eight DMV demerit points, and a possible jail sentence of up to six months. A first offense carries $250 to $1,000 in fines. A second offense carries $1,000 to $1,500 in fines. A third or subsequent offense carries $1,500 to $2,000 in fines.

However, reckless driving that causes death or substantial bodily harm is a category B felony, punishable by one to six years in Nevada State Prison and a fine of $2,000 to $5,000. The maximum prison term is 10 years if the case involves speeding at least 50 mph over the speed limit or happens in a pedestrian safety zone, school zone or a school crossing zone. ²

Eluding a police vehicle

It is a type of reckless driving in Nevada to willfully fail to stop for peace officers in a readily identifiable vehicle, signaling the driver to pull over. Eluding a police officer’s vehicle is a misdemeanor, carrying up to six months in jail and/or up to $1,000 in fines. If death or bodily harm results, eluding is a category B felony carrying two to 20 years in prison and/or a maximum $50,000 fine.³

Learn more about evading police in Nevada (NRS 484B.550).

Colliding with a pedestrian or cyclist

It is a type of reckless driving in Nevada that causes a collision by failing to exercise due care towards pedestrians, electric scooter drivers, bicyclists, or electric bicyclists. A common example is hitting a jogger after not yielding right of way at a crosswalk. This misdemeanor offense is punishable by fines, community service, a driver’s license suspension of six months to two years, and a possible jail sentence of up to six months.

A first offense carries $250 to $1,000 in fines and 50 to 99 hours of community service. A second offense carries $1,000 to $1,500 in fines and 100 to 199 hours of community service. A third or subsequent offense carries $1,500 to $2,000 in fines and 200 hours of community service.⁴

Unauthorized speed contests

Drag racing is a type of reckless driving in Nevada if you have no official permission and permits. Driving in an unauthorized speed contest in a public area is a misdemeanor in Nevada, punishable by fines, community service, a driver’s license suspension of six months to two years, and possible jail time of up to six months.

A first offense carries $250 to $1,000 in fines and 50 to 99 hours of community service. A second offense carries $1,000 to $1,500 in fines and 100 to 199 hours of community service. A third or subsequent offense carries $1,500 to $2,000 in fines and 200 hours of community service.

In addition, you may have your racing vehicle impounded for 15 days. If it is a repeat offense, you will have your racing vehicle impounded for 30 days.

Note that the above penalties apply to you if you merely organized a speed contest and did not drive.⁵

Unauthorized trick driving

Performing or participating in an unauthorized trick driving display is a type of reckless driving in Nevada. A “trick driving display” means using a vehicle to perform stunts on a highway (or where the public has access) where traffic has been impeded or blocked to enable the performing or filming of the stunts.

Driving a vehicle in an unauthorized trick driving display is a gross misdemeanor, punishable by fines, community service, a possible driver’s license suspension of six months to two years, and possibly up to 364 days in jail. A first offense carries $1,000 to $1,500 in fines and 100 to 199 hours of community service. A second or subsequent offense carries $1,500 to $2,000 in fines and 200 hours of community service.

Meanwhile, a first offense of facilitating an unauthorized trick driving display is a misdemeanor – carrying up to $1,000 in fines, 50 to 99 hours of community service, a possible driver’s license suspension of six months to two years, and a possible jail sentence of up to six months. A second or subsequent offense is a gross misdemeanor, carrying $1,000 to $1,500 in fines, 100 to 199 hours of community service, a possible driver’s license suspension of six months to two years, and a possible jail sentence of up to 364 days.

You also face a 30-day impoundment of your vehicle used in the display.⁶

2. Best Defenses

Here at Las Vegas Defense Group, we have represented literally thousands of people charged with traffic offenses such as reckless driving. In our experience, an effective defense is to argue that your actions did not rise to the level of “reckless disregard of the safety of others.”

What constitutes reckless driving can be very subjective, and different police officers have different thresholds. We have seen several cases where police officers were overzealous and falsely arrested innocent drivers.

In felony reckless driving cases where death occurred, we would argue that an intervening cause unrelated to your driving caused the death. Examples we have seen include:

• Debris such as a fallen tree branch flew into the road, and you reacted as any reasonable person would;
• Your car malfunctioned due to a defect; and/or
• Another driver or the victim caused the accident.

Alternatively, we can show you were acting negligently rather than recklessly. This way, your charge could be reduced to vehicular manslaughter (NRS 484B.657) – which is only a misdemeanor.

Common evidence we rely on in reckless driving cases includes:

• Traffic surveillance footage
• Smartphone video and photographs
• Eyewitness testimony
• Accident reconstruction expert testimony
• Vehicle GPS records
• Weather and road reports

3. Record Sealing

Reckless driving convictions can be sealed from your criminal record in Nevada, but there is a waiting period. However, criminal charges that get dismissed are sealable immediately.⁷

Category of reckless driving conviction	Record seal waiting period in Nevada
Misdemeanor	1 year after the case closes
Gross misdemeanor	2 years after the case closes
Category B felony	5 years after the case closes
Dismissal (no conviction)	No wait

Learn how to seal Nevada criminal records.

4. Reduced From DUI

We may be able to persuade prosecutors to reduce your drunk driving charge down to reckless driving as part of a plea bargain. You would still have to complete all the standard Nevada DUI criminal penalties, such as a victim impact panel and DUI School. However, the benefits of pleading down are twofold:

1. Once the case ends, your criminal record will show only a reckless driving conviction, not a DUI. Potential employers are less likely to disqualify you for driving recklessly than for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, which has a greater social stigma.
2. DUI penalties get harsher with each successive conviction. However, DUI charges that get reduced to reckless driving convictions do not count as “priors” if you ever get arrested for DUI again. So any future drunk driving case will be treated as if your prior DUI case never existed because it was changed to reckless driving.

The following table compares and contrasts DUI with reckless driving laws:

NEVADA LAW	Reckless Driving	DUI
Definition	Driving with willful or wanton disregard for safety of persons or property	Driving with a BAC of .08% or higher or while under the influence of drugs or alcohol
Penalties for a first-time misdemeanor conviction	$250 to $1,000, 8 DMV demerit points, up to 6 months in jail, and community service in some cases*	Up to $1,000, DUI School, Victim Impact Panel, 185-day driver’s license revocation, and up to 6 months in jail
Penalties increase with successive convictions?	Yes, unless the case involves eluding a police officer	Yes, if the prior case was within 7 years
Triggers a license suspension?	No	Yes
Record seal wait time	1 year after the case closes	7 years after the case closes
*If your DUI charge was reduced to reckless driving as part of a plea deal, the judge will likely impose DUI penalties.

Learn more about how to reduce a DUI in Nevada.

Additional Resources

For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:

• Deportation and Driving: Felony DUI and Reckless Driving as Crimes of Violence following Leocal v. Ashcroft – Journal of Crime & Criminology.
• Criminal Law: Reckless Driving Is Not a Lesser Included Offense of Driving While under the Influence of Alcohol – Washburn Law Journal.
• Reckless and Careless Driving: Is There a Difference? – The Journal of Criminal Law.
• Sociodemographic, behavioral, and substance use correlates of reckless driving in the United States: Findings from a national Sample – Journal of Psychiatric Research.
  
• Death on the Highway: Reckless Driving as Murder – Oregon Law Review.

See our related article, When is reckless driving a felony in Nevada?

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Legal References