Reckless Driving
Veh. & Traf. Law § 1212 — driving that unreasonably interferes with or endangers others on the road, a misdemeanor
Unreasonable interference or danger. Reckless driving is driving or using a motor vehicle, a motorcycle or any other powered vehicle in a manner that unreasonably interferes with the free and proper use of the public highway or a parking lot, or unreasonably endangers the people using it. It is a misdemeanor.
A parking lot here is private property, a driveway included, that gives access to and from a public highway and has room for four or more vehicles. The property of a one or two family home is not one.
While fleeing the police. Reckless driving as this section defines it, while trying to get away from a uniformed officer or a marked police vehicle that has signalled a stop, is one of the ways to commit unlawful fleeing a police officer in the third degree, a class A misdemeanor.
Sources for this section (2)
- Veh. & Traf. Law § 1212 — Reckless driving
- Penal Law § 270.25 — Unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle in the third degree
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed New York attorney.