Nebraska Judge Says 128 mph Not 'Reckless'

AP via TBO ^ | December 7, 2005

[ncountylee]

NEBRASKA CITY, Neb. (AP) -- Speeding is not necessarily reckless, even at 128 mph, a judge ruled in the case of a motorcyclist who tried to flee from state troopers.

With some reluctance, County Judge John Steinheider ruled last week that Jacob H. Carman, 20, was not guilty of reckless driving on Sept. 5, when he was spotted by a trooper who then chased him at the top speed of his cruiser's odometer - 128 mph.

"As much as it pains me to do it, speed and speed alone is not sufficient to establish reckless driving," the judge told Carman on Friday. "If you had had a passenger, there would be no question of conviction. If there had been other cars on the roadway, if you would've went into the wrong lane or anything, I would have convicted you."

Otoe County prosecutor David Partsch acknowledged that Carman could have been charged with speeding but, "We felt that the manner in which he was operating the motorcycle was reckless."

[MJY1288]

You asked for the Statute and here it is

60-6,213 Reckless driving, defined.

                       Any person who drives any motor vehicle in
such a manner as to indicate an indifferent or  wanton  disregard
for the safety of persons or property shall be guilty of reckless
driving.

Source:
Laws 1935, c. 134, § 3, p. 485; C.S.Supp.,1941, § 39-11,100;
Laws 1943, c. 99, § 1, p. 339; R.S.1943, § 39-7,107;
Laws 1947, c. 148, § 3(1), p. 410; R.R.S.1943, § 39-7,107;
R.S.1943, (1988), § 39-669.01; Laws 1993, LB 370, § 309.

Cross References:
Applicability of statute to private property,see section 60-6,108.
Motor vehicle homicide,penalty, see section 28-306.
Operator's license,assessment of points and revocation, see
sections 60-497.01, 60-498, and 60-4,182 et seq.

Annotations:
    Speed alone does not support a conviction for reckless driving,
but it does have a bearing on whether one was driving dangerously
under the surroundings and attendant circumstances of the particular
case.  State v. Howard, 253 Neb. 523, 571 N.W.2d 308 (1997).
    Prosecution for traffic infraction is a criminal
action.  State v. Knoles, 199 Neb. 211, 256 N.W.2d 873 (1977).
    Improper turn by defendant while overtaking complainant's
auto, held to be reckless driving.  State v. Kufeldt, 197
Neb. 377, 248 N.W.2d 781 (1977).
    History of statute reviewed in considering municipal
ordinance.  State v. Green, 182 Neb. 615, 156 N.W.2d 724 (1968).
    Upon conviction, suspension of driver's license is
authorized.  Kroger v. State, 158 Neb. 73, 62 N.W.2d 312 (1954).
    Under certain circumstances, careless driving under section 60-6,212
should be instructed as a lesser-included offense of reckless driving.
State v. Howard, 5 Neb. App. 596, 560 N.W.2d 516 (1997).

Here is the LINK

[indcons]

"Excuse me? What am I missing here? Since when is 128 MPH ANYWHERE, whether there are other vehicles around or not (and if other vehicles appeared, the guy was going too fast to react properly) not reckless, if not downright stupid?"

Heard of Germany? The autobahn has NO speed limits.

[Husker24]

Most likely a two lane, I probably live about 50 miles west of Nebraska City.

[MJY1288]

See post #13 :-)

[Torie]

Does safety of persons mean one's own person? Is oneself a person?

[Maury]

Nope, I'd say that Mustang is designed to go that fast. Going that fast safely is mostly driver dependant in a car like that. :)

[Torie]

Thanks for taking the effort by the way to dig up the statute. I appreciate it.

[Petronski]

Any person who drives any motor vehicle in such a manner as to indicate an indifferent or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property shall be guilty of reckless driving.

If they can enforce that language, they have you.

[MJY1288]

Your very welcome my friend, That Statute is pretty much what I thought it would be. Exactly the same statute we have here in my State

[Turbopilot]

Dictionaries are fine, but virtually irrelevant to the law. You may want to cite Neb. Rev. St. § 60-6, 213, which is the definition of reckless driving in NE. It states, in its entirety, that "Any person who drives any motor vehicle in such a manner as to indicate an indifferent or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property shall be guilty of reckless driving."

Did the defendant drive in a manner indicating indifference or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property? Nothing in the facts in the article indicates he did. And according to State v. Howard, 571 N.W.2d 308 (Neb. 1997) (speed alone does not constitute reckless driving), absent evidence other than speed, the defendant did not commit reckless driving as defined by the statute.

[thepizzalady]

"...If the guy had just hit one small pebble on the road, he would be dead. His license to ride a motorcycle should be permanently revoked...."

Sorry, but your statement does not make sense. Do you ride a motorcycle? If so, have you ever hit a pothole? There is always debris in the road from litter to car parts which cannot always be avoided. I knew a biker who ran over a dog that ran into the road right in front of him. He rode over the dog without losing control, and the dog survived also. Do you consider people who race bikes reckless also?

I've had a motorcycle license for 35 years although age and infirmities prevent much riding nowadays, I have driven well over 100mph. The only bike accident I ever had was while moving less than 5mph.

[Ramius]

Driving a car very fast, competently, that is designed to go very fast, would not then fit within the rule.

[Centurion2000]

damn .... just damn....

[Torie]

I concede to the expertise of those expert in, "the art of motorcycle maintenance" and that doesn't include me, except in the metaphorical sense of the book itself, in which case I think I am in the game.

[knews_hound]

I was stunned watching it the first time.

I first posted it here and got little interest.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1530056/posts

I never could figure out why.

Cheers,

knews hound

[spunkets]

"What if a Deer had jumped in front of him while he was going 128 mph. Man that would be a mess. How would you sort out whose guts where whos?"

It's NE, it's flat prairie. Daytime. Do you suppose deer pop up out of thin air?

BTW I wacked a deer at 70 on my scoot. It flew out of the pitch black sky on a bound and plopped down right in front of me. I couldn't stop laughing all night, because I had just left a rifle range. I was sighting infor opening day in Nov. and the deer were watching. Before it happened, I heard, "go, Go, GO!" Then it was, GOT 'EM!" LOL!

[thepizzalady]

"...Being an expert in bike mechanics is irrelevant. Being an expert rider counts. Control at 125 on his bike is not a big problem...."

Agreed. There are people out there who're dangerous at 25 mph. I've driven as much as 75 miles without ever seeing another vehicle in a very rural area with farms of several thousand acres. There are straightaways of 4 or five miles of nothing but open and vacant fields . Not a lot of potential danger.

[MJY1288]

That was a wild ride :-)

[thegreatbeast]

$300 is a peck on the cheek for what this guy was doing.

[Captain Rhino]

Since no one seems to have answered your question by post # 75, let me:

Odometer is "old speak" for speedometer.