Traffic Matters
Short answer: Tennessee has no “wet reckless” statute, but a DUI charge can be amended to reckless driving by agreement with the prosecutor when the State’s proof has problems. The difference is large. A first DUI conviction means at least 48 hours in jail, a one-year license revocation, a fine of $350 to $1,500, and a record that can never be expunged. Reckless driving is a Class B misdemeanor with no mandatory jail, no revocation written into the sentence, six points, and a conviction that can be expunged after five years. Nothing about the reduction is automatic. It is earned by attacking the stop, the field sobriety tests and the chemical evidence until the prosecutor would rather settle for the lesser charge than risk the DUI at trial.
This page is part of our Memphis DUI lawyer guide. Patrick Brooks is a member of the National College for DUI Defense and handles every DUI case personally in Shelby County General Sessions and Criminal Court, the Germantown, Bartlett, Collierville and Millington courts, and the Fayette, Tipton, Haywood and Lauderdale county courts. Call (901) 324-5000, or call or text the criminal line at 901-412-2973. Se habla español.
What a reduction actually is
A DUI is not “reduced” by a judge deciding the driving was less bad than charged. It is amended: the prosecutor agrees to change the charge on the paperwork from driving under the influence, Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-401, to reckless driving, § 55-10-205, and the driver pleads guilty to the amended charge. The judge approves the plea and sentences on reckless driving. The DUI is gone from the case; what remains is a Class B misdemeanor conviction for how the vehicle was driven, with no finding about alcohol or drugs.
Other states have a formal “wet reckless” offense with its own alcohol-related penalties and its own place in the DUI prior-offense count. Tennessee does not. The phrase gets used here, but the conviction is ordinary reckless driving, which is exactly why the reduction is worth having. Whether to offer it is the prosecutor’s decision, and it is made case by case, on the strength of the State’s evidence, the driver’s record, whether there was a crash, and the policies of the particular District Attorney’s office. In Shelby County and the surrounding counties the offer is realistic in some cases and not in others, and the facts decide which.
DUI versus reckless driving, side by side
| First-offense DUI, § 55-10-401 | Reckless driving, § 55-10-205 | |
|---|---|---|
| Class | Class A misdemeanor | Class B misdemeanor |
| Jail | Mandatory minimum 48 hours (seven consecutive days if the BAC was 0.15 or higher); up to 11 months and 29 days | No minimum; up to six months, rarely imposed on a first offense |
| Fine | $350 to $1,500 | Up to $500 |
| License | One-year revocation, with a restricted license and an ignition interlock in most cases | No revocation in the sentence; six points on the driving record |
| Other conditions | DUI school, an alcohol and drug assessment, 24 hours of roadside litter pickup, and the cost of the interlock | Whatever the plea agreement includes; probation and a driving course are common, interlock is not required by statute |
| Record | Permanent. A DUI conviction can never be expunged in Tennessee. | Expungeable five years after the sentence is completed, if the rest of the record qualifies |
| Future DUI charges | Counts as a prior for ten years; a second DUI means at least 45 days in jail | Not a DUI prior. A later DUI is charged as a first offense. |
| Commercial drivers | One-year CDL disqualification, in any vehicle, even on a first offense | A “serious traffic violation”; two in three years disqualify for 60 days |
When a reduction is realistic
Prosecutors amend DUI charges when the risk of losing at trial, or at a suppression hearing before trial, is higher than they want to carry. The work of a DUI defense is to make that risk visible. The situations where a reckless driving offer most often follows:
- A weak stop. The officer needs reasonable suspicion of a traffic violation or of impaired driving to make the stop. Weaving inside a lane, a brief touch of the line, or leaving a bar parking lot is often not enough. If the stop fails, everything after it is suppressed.
- Field sobriety tests done badly or not at all. The three standardized tests have to be given and scored the way the NHTSA manual says. Bad footing, bad lighting, a knee injury, an officer who skipped instructions, or a refusal to take the tests leaves the State with little beyond the odor of alcohol and a judgment call.
- A chemical result that can be attacked or does not exist. A breath result close to 0.08, a blood draw taken hours after the stop, a warrant obtained after a long delay, a chain-of-custody gap, or no test at all because the driver refused and no warrant was sought. The breath and blood test page covers these in detail.
- Physical control rather than driving. A driver found asleep in a parked car is charged under the “physical control” part of the statute, and the totality-of-the-circumstances test courts apply gives the defense real room.
- A clean record and a clean stop. No crash, no injury, no child in the car, no prior DUI, a cooperative driver and a BAC that was not far over the line. Prosecutors weigh what a conviction would do to the driver against what a trial would cost them.
The reverse list matters too. A crash with injuries, a BAC of 0.15 or more, a child passenger, a commercial driver, a prior DUI within ten years, or a refusal combined with a bad driving pattern makes a reduction unlikely in most offices, and the case is then defended as a DUI through suppression motions and, where the evidence supports it, trial. Our page on how a Memphis DUI case is defended walks through the motions and the case law.
What you still face after a reduction
A reckless driving conviction is a conviction. It carries six points, it stays on the criminal record until it is expunged, and it will appear on a background check in the meantime. Insurers see the conviction, though most do not price it the way they price a DUI. The plea agreement itself usually comes with terms: a fine, court costs, a period of probation, sometimes DUI school or a driving course, sometimes community service. Those terms are negotiated along with the amendment, and they are part of what makes the offer acceptable to the State.
Two things a reduction does not undo. First, if you refused the breath or blood test, the implied consent case at the Department of Safety is separate from the criminal charge and runs on its own deadline; a first refusal now brings an 18-month revocation, and winning or reducing the DUI does not cancel it. See license revocation and implied consent. Second, if you hold a commercial license, reckless driving is a serious traffic violation under federal rules and the conviction is reported to your CDLIS record; see CDL defense before accepting any plea.
The other landing spots
Reckless driving is the usual reduction, not the only one. Where a passenger or another driver was put at risk, a prosecutor may offer reckless endangerment, Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-103, instead: a Class A misdemeanor rather than Class B, with eight points rather than six, and a felony version when a deadly weapon is involved, which can include the car. It is still expungeable and still not a DUI prior, but it is a heavier charge, and it should not be accepted as though it were the same thing. Where the State’s case is weak enough, the better outcomes are a dismissal, or a retirement of the charge that leads to a dismissal later, both of which can be expunged at once. Our first DUI in Memphis page describes how a first case moves through 201 Poplar and the three ways it typically ends.
Where the reduction happens
In Memphis, a misdemeanor DUI is handled in Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court at 201 Poplar, and the amendment is negotiated with the assistant district attorney assigned to that division, usually across two or three settings while the evidence is reviewed and any motion is heard. In Germantown, Bartlett, Collierville and Millington the same negotiation happens with the city prosecutor in that city’s court. In Fayette, Tipton, Haywood and Lauderdale counties it happens in General Sessions in the county seat with the District Attorney General’s office for that district. The offer, the terms and the timing differ from court to court, and knowing which prosecutor and which judge you are in front of is a large part of getting it. Our DUI fee page lists the courts and what we charge in each.
Frequently asked questions
How hard is it to get a DUI reduced to reckless driving in Tennessee?
It depends almost entirely on the evidence. With a clean record, no crash, a questionable stop or field tests, and a chemical result that is close, missing or attackable, a reduction is a realistic goal. With a high BAC, a crash, a child in the car or a prior DUI, it is unlikely, and the case has to be defended on the DUI itself. Nobody can promise a reduction, and a lawyer who does is not being straight with you.
Can I ask the prosecutor for a reduction myself?
You can ask, but a reduction is offered because the State’s case has a problem the prosecutor can see, and finding and presenting that problem is lawyer’s work: the video, the field-test scoring, the warrant timing, the lab records. Asking without that leverage usually gets the standard first-offense plea offer, which is a DUI conviction.
Does a DUI reduced to reckless driving count as a prior DUI?
No. Tennessee’s ten-year look-back counts DUI convictions. A reckless driving conviction is not one, so a later DUI is charged as a first offense. Prosecutors can see the earlier arrest, however, and are generally less willing to amend a second time.
Will the reduced charge show on a background check?
Yes, as a reckless driving conviction, until it is expunged. The arrest record will show the original DUI charge and its amendment. Five years after the sentence is completed, the conviction can be expunged under § 40-32-101(g) if the rest of your record qualifies, and the arrest record goes with it.
Will I still lose my license?
Not from the reckless driving conviction itself; there is no revocation in the sentence. Six points go on the record, which matters if you have other recent convictions. If you refused the chemical test, the implied consent revocation is a separate case and continues unless it is fought on its own.
What does it cost to have a lawyer pursue a reduction?
It is part of the DUI representation, not a separate fee. Our flat fee for a first-offense DUI starts at $3,500 and covers the evidence review, the motions and the negotiation through resolution in General Sessions; the figures by court are on the DUI fee page. A trial is quoted separately.
Talk to a Memphis DUI lawyer
Whether a reduction is realistic in your case can usually be judged in one conversation about the stop, the tests and the result. Call (901) 324-5000, or call or text the criminal line at 901-412-2973, any time. The consultation is free, and the earlier the video and the records are requested, the more there is to work with. Office at 2299 Union Avenue, Memphis, TN 38104, in Midtown.
This page is general information about Tennessee law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Whether a charge is amended depends on the facts, the evidence and the prosecutor, and no outcome is guaranteed. Please consult a licensed attorney about your situation.