Traffic Matters
Short answer: reckless driving in Tennessee is a Class B misdemeanor. A conviction can carry up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $500, it adds six points to your license, and it is a criminal record that stays until it is expunged, which is possible for most reckless driving convictions five years after the sentence ends. A first offense rarely means jail, but it is a crime, not a ticket. In Memphis the charge is heard in Shelby County General Sessions at 201 Poplar; in Germantown, Bartlett, Collierville and Millington it is heard in the city court; in Fayette, Tipton, Haywood and Lauderdale counties at the county General Sessions court. Our flat fee for a reckless driving charge is $500 in General Sessions, $750 in the suburban courts and from $750 in the outlying counties, quoted before you hire us.
This page is the detail behind our Memphis reckless driving lawyer page: the statute, the sentence, the points, the record, and how reckless driving compares with a speeding ticket, with reckless endangerment and with a DUI. Call (901) 324-5000, or call or text the criminal line at 901-412-2973, any time. Se habla español.
What the statute says
Tennessee Code Annotated § 55-10-205 defines reckless driving in one sentence: any person who drives any vehicle “in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property” commits reckless driving. The statute then names two specific acts that count on their own: riding a motorcycle with the front wheel off the ground on a public road, parking lot or similar place, and knowingly driving past a visible flood warning or barricade into a flooded road. A violation is a Class B misdemeanor.
Two things are missing from that definition on purpose. There is no speed at which driving becomes reckless, and there is no list of maneuvers. “Willful” means intentional; “wanton” means a conscious disregard of a risk the driver knew about. Whether a particular speed, lane change or pass meets that standard is a judgment the officer makes at the roadside and the State has to prove in court. That gap is where most reckless driving defenses live, and our Memphis reckless driving page explains how we use it.
The sentence for reckless driving
| Consequence | Reckless driving, Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-205 |
|---|---|
| Classification | Class B misdemeanor (§ 40-35-111) |
| Jail | Up to six months. There is no mandatory minimum. The judge sets a percentage of any jail sentence to serve before release programs apply, from 0 up to 75 percent, and most first-offense cases resolve with probation, a fine, a reduction or a dismissal rather than jail. |
| Fine | Up to $500, plus court costs, which are separate and set by the court |
| License points | Six points on the Tennessee driving record on conviction |
| License suspension | Not an automatic part of the sentence. Points can trigger one: twelve points within twelve months brings a notice of proposed suspension from the Department of Safety. |
| Criminal record | Yes. A conviction is a misdemeanor on your record and appears on background checks until it is expunged. |
| Insurance | Not set by the court, but a reckless driving conviction is one of the convictions insurers price hardest, usually for three years. |
| Commercial drivers | Reckless driving is a “serious traffic violation” under federal CDL rules. Two serious violations within three years mean a 60-day CDL disqualification, three mean 120 days. See CDL defense. |
Because reckless driving is a misdemeanor, the tools that apply to any Tennessee misdemeanor apply to it: judicial diversion for many first offenders, a negotiated amendment to a non-criminal moving violation, a dismissal on costs after a driver safety course in some courts, or a trial. Our page on Tennessee misdemeanor sentencing explains the classes, the percentage-to-serve rule and diversion in detail.
Points and your license
The Tennessee Department of Safety assigns points to moving violations on conviction, not on citation. Reckless driving carries six points, the same as speeding 36 to 45 miles per hour over the limit, and more than any ordinary speeding ticket below that range. The values that come up most often in reckless driving cases:
| Conviction | Points |
|---|---|
| Reckless driving | 6 |
| Reckless endangerment by vehicle (misdemeanor) | 8 |
| Speeding 1 to 5 mph over | 1 |
| Speeding 6 to 15 mph over | 3 |
| Speeding 16 to 25 mph over | 4 |
| Speeding 26 to 35 mph over | 5 |
| Speeding 36 to 45 mph over | 6 |
| Speeding 46 mph or more over | 8 |
| Careless or negligent driving | 4 |
| Failure to yield right of way | 4 |
| Following improperly | 3 |
| Leaving the scene of a crash | 5 |
Twelve points within twelve months brings a notice of proposed suspension. You can request a hearing, and completing a defensive driving course is often how the suspension is avoided, but a reckless driving conviction on top of an existing ticket or two is frequently the one that pushes a record over the line. If you already have recent convictions, keeping this charge from becoming a conviction is a license question, not only a record question. A suspended license then creates its own criminal exposure the first time you drive on it; see driving on a suspended license.
Your record, and expungement
Reckless driving leaves two records. The driving record at the Department of Safety carries the points and is what insurers read. The criminal record is the conviction itself, and it is what employers, landlords, licensing boards and immigration forms see. A speeding ticket touches only the first. A reckless driving conviction touches both.
How long it stays depends on how the case ends. A dismissal, a retirement later dismissed, or a completed diversion can be expunged with no waiting period and no state fee once the petition is filed. A conviction can be expunged under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-32-101(g) once five years have passed since the sentence was completed, provided the offense is eligible and the rest of your record fits the statute’s limits. Reckless driving is not among the misdemeanors Tennessee has written out of conviction expungement the way it has written out DUI, which can never be expunged. That difference is the reason reckless driving is the outcome DUI lawyers negotiate toward; our page on a DUI reduced to reckless driving covers it. The rules for conviction expungement are on our misdemeanor expungement page.
Reckless driving versus a speeding ticket
The same stop can produce either, and the officer chooses. There is no speed in Tennessee law at which a speeding ticket becomes reckless driving; twenty over might be written as either, and so might thirty over, depending on the road, the traffic and the officer. The two charges are not close in consequence.
| Speeding ticket | Reckless driving | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A moving violation; in Tennessee most speeding is a Class C misdemeanor treated as a ticket | A Class B misdemeanor criminal charge |
| Jail | Not a realistic outcome for ordinary speeding | Up to six months possible |
| Fine | Set by the court, usually modest | Up to $500 |
| Points | 1 to 8 depending on speed over | 6 |
| Record | Driving record only | Driving record and criminal record |
| Expungement | Not needed; it is not a criminal conviction | Conviction expungeable after five years; dismissal or diversion at once |
| Our flat fee | $200 at 201 Poplar, from $250 in the suburban courts | $500 in General Sessions, $750 in the suburban courts, from $750 in the counties |
That gap is also why the most common resolution of a defensible reckless driving charge is an amendment to a plain moving violation: the State keeps a conviction, the driver keeps a clean criminal record. See our Memphis speeding ticket page for the other side of the line.
Reckless driving versus reckless endangerment
People use the two names interchangeably. The law does not. Reckless driving is a traffic offense in Title 55 about how a vehicle was driven. Reckless endangerment, Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-103, is an offense against a person in the criminal code: recklessly engaging in conduct that places or may place another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury. It does not require a vehicle at all, but a vehicle is the most common way it is charged.
| Reckless driving, § 55-10-205 | Reckless endangerment, § 39-13-103 | |
|---|---|---|
| Class | Class B misdemeanor | Class A misdemeanor; a Class E felony if committed with a deadly weapon, and courts have treated a car driven at someone as a deadly weapon |
| Maximum | Six months and $500 | Eleven months and twenty-nine days and $2,500 as a misdemeanor; one to six years as a Class E felony |
| What the State proves | Willful or wanton disregard for safety in the driving itself | That a specific person was put in imminent danger of death or serious injury |
| Points | 6 | 8 for the misdemeanor by vehicle |
Reckless endangerment is the more serious charge and the one to take more seriously when it appears on a citation or a warrant, because the felony version is a short step away on the facts. It also shows up as the other negotiated landing spot in DUI cases where a passenger or another driver was put at risk. If your paperwork says endangerment rather than driving, call before the court date; the defense is built differently.
Where a reckless driving case is heard, and what it costs
Because it is a state misdemeanor, a reckless driving charge written in Memphis or unincorporated Shelby County goes to Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court at 201 Poplar, not to the traffic docket. A charge written by Germantown, Bartlett, Collierville or Millington police is heard in that city’s court, which has General Sessions jurisdiction over misdemeanors. In Fayette, Tipton, Haywood and Lauderdale counties the case is heard in the county General Sessions court in Somerville, Covington, Brownsville or Ripley. Our courts guide has the schedules and addresses for each.
Brooks Law Firm handles a reckless driving charge for a flat fee: $500 in Shelby County General Sessions, $750 in the suburban municipal courts, and from $750 in the outlying counties, confirmed after we see the citation and before you commit to anything. Court costs and any fine are paid to the court and are separate. In most cases we appear for you. If the charge came with a DUI, the reckless driving work is part of the DUI representation, priced on our DUI fee page.
What to do this week
- Do not pay it online. Where a court allows payment on a reckless driving citation, paying is a guilty plea to a Class B misdemeanor, with the points and the record that come with it.
- Write down the stop while it is fresh: your speed, the traffic, the weather, what the officer said, and whether anyone else was in the car.
- Keep the citation and any video. Dashcam footage and a passenger’s account are often the difference between “reckless” and “fast”.
- Note the court date. Missing a criminal setting produces a warrant. If the date will not work, have a lawyer move it before, not after.
- Send us a photo of the citation. We confirm the court, tell you the fee, and tell you honestly whether the charge is likely to be dismissed, reduced or fought.
Frequently asked questions
Can you go to jail for reckless driving in Tennessee?
Yes, in theory: the maximum is six months. In practice a first offense with no crash and no injury almost never results in jail. The realistic outcomes are a dismissal, an amendment to a non-criminal moving violation, diversion, or a conviction with a fine and probation. Jail becomes a real possibility when there was a crash, an injury, a very high speed, a prior record, or a separate charge such as DUI or evading arrest.
How long does reckless driving stay on your record in Tennessee?
A conviction stays on your criminal record until it is expunged, which the statute allows five years after the sentence is completed if the rest of your record qualifies. A dismissed or diverted charge can be expunged right away. On the driving record, the six points count toward the twelve-point rule for twelve months, and insurers typically look back three years.
How many points is reckless driving in Tennessee?
Six, assessed on conviction. Twelve points in any twelve-month period brings a notice of proposed suspension. A charge that is dismissed or amended to a non-moving violation adds no points.
Is 20 over reckless driving in Tennessee?
Not automatically. Tennessee has no speed threshold for reckless driving. Twenty over can be written as a speeding ticket or as reckless driving at the officer’s discretion, and the same is true of thirty over. Speed alone, without something more about the road, the traffic or the way the car was being driven, is a weak basis for proving “willful or wanton disregard,” which is why speed-only reckless charges are so often amended.
Can reckless driving be expunged in Tennessee?
A dismissal or a completed diversion, yes, at once and without a state fee. A conviction, yes for most people, five years after the sentence is completed, under § 40-32-101(g), subject to the statute’s limits on the rest of your record. This is the central difference from DUI, which can never be expunged.
Which is worse, reckless driving or reckless endangerment?
Reckless endangerment. It is a Class A misdemeanor rather than Class B, it carries eight points rather than six, and with a deadly weapon, which can include a car, it becomes a Class E felony punishable by one to six years.
How much does a reckless driving lawyer cost?
At Brooks Law Firm, a flat $500 in Shelby County General Sessions, $750 in the Germantown, Bartlett, Collierville and Millington courts, and from $750 in Fayette, Tipton, Haywood and Lauderdale counties. Court costs and fines are separate. Reckless driving charged alongside a DUI is handled as part of the DUI case.
Talk to a Memphis reckless driving lawyer
Patrick Brooks has handled thousands of criminal and traffic cases in Shelby County and West Tennessee, in General Sessions at 201 Poplar, in the suburban city courts and in the county courts, and the firm appears for clients in most reckless driving cases so they do not take a day off work. Call (901) 324-5000, or call or text the criminal line at 901-412-2973, with a photo of the citation. 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. Statutes, point values and court practices change, and the outcome of any case depends on its facts. Please consult a licensed attorney about your situation.