Can a Person Plead Guilty to Reckless Driving if They Were Stopped at Roadblock?

When a person has been charged with DUI in Georgia, it is considered a favorable outcome to get the DUI reduced to "reckless driving."  That being said, please understand that not every case qualifies for a reduction.  To qualify the case must merit a reduction because there is either a legal or factual reason for it. 

That also being said, clients often ask how a person can plead to reckless driving when the police officer never saw that person drive.  A perfect example is when there has been an accident, or the police charge someone with DUI at a roadblock.

In the case of the accident involving an impaired driver, logically there is sufficient recklessness because of the crash.  As for a roadside checkpoint, it takes a bit more analysis; however, there is still sufficient evidence to warrant a plea to reckless driving.

In Georgia, Reckless Driving is defined as driving a vehicle with reckless disregard for the safety of persons or property (see O.C.G.A 40-6-390).  Nowhere in the statute does it describe a particular kind of driving.  Consuming alcohol before driving, even to less than what would need to have caused a person to be fully impaired, is reckless behavior.  That is why a person could be considered to have driven with reckless disregard for the safety of others, even if the police officer did not observe them driving.