Reckless Driving in the Virginia Code: §§ 46.2-852 to 46.2-869

The reckless driving law in the Code of Virginia is Article 7 of Chapter 8 of Title 46.2 — sections § 46.2-852 through § 46.2-869. Two sections do most of the work: § 46.2-852, the general rule against driving “so as to endanger the life, limb, or property of any person,” and § 46.2-862, reckless driving by speed at 20 mph or more over the limit or over 85 mph. § 46.2-868 sets the penalty for all of them: a Class 1 misdemeanor, up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine.

Where reckless driving sits in the Code of Virginia

Title 46.2 is the motor vehicle title. Chapter 8 regulates traffic, and Article 7 of that chapter is titled simply “Reckless Driving.” Everything in the article is one offense with many definitions: each section describes a particular way of driving recklessly, and § 46.2-868 attaches one penalty to all of them. The full text of every section is on the General Assembly’s Legislative Information System at law.lis.virginia.gov, which is the official, current version and the one to check before relying on anything you read elsewhere — including this page.

The section number on your summons tells you which definition you are charged under. On most summonses it is 46.2-852 or 46.2-862.

§ 46.2-852: the general rule

Va. Code § 46.2-852 reads, in full: “Irrespective of the maximum speeds permitted by law, any person who drives a vehicle on any highway recklessly or at a speed or in a manner so as to endanger the life, limb, or property of any person shall be guilty of reckless driving.”

Three things follow from the wording. “Irrespective of the maximum speeds permitted by law” means you can be charged under this section at a speed below the limit if the conditions made it dangerous. “In a manner” covers driving that has nothing to do with speed: weaving, running someone off the road, or a crash the officer attributes to you. And “endanger” does not require anyone to have been hurt. This is the section most non-speed reckless charges — and most crash-related charges — are written under, and it is the one that leaves the most room for argument about what actually happened.

§ 46.2-862: reckless driving by speed

Va. Code § 46.2-862 makes it reckless driving to drive on Virginia’s highways “(i) at a speed of 20 miles per hour or more in excess of the applicable maximum speed limit or (ii) in excess of 85 miles per hour regardless of the applicable maximum speed limit.” The 85 mph figure replaced 80 mph on July 1, 2020, one of two recent moves covered in what changed in Virginia’s reckless driving laws.

Unlike § 46.2-852, this section needs no showing of danger; the number is the offense. It is the most common reckless driving charge in the state and the one out-of-state drivers usually meet on the interstates. The thresholds by speed zone are set out in the reckless driving by speed guide.

Is § 46.2-870 reckless driving?

No. Va. Code § 46.2-870 is the general speed-limit section in the next article of the chapter (Article 8, “Speed”). It sets the default maximum of 55 mph, allows 70 mph where posted on interstates and other limited-access divided highways, and 60 mph on certain listed routes. Speeding under § 46.2-870 is a traffic infraction, prepayable and non-criminal. The confusion is understandable because a § 46.2-870 speeding ticket becomes a § 46.2-862 reckless driving charge the moment the speed reaches 20 over the limit set under § 46.2-870, or 86 mph. Sections in the 46.2-870s are speed limits; sections in the 46.2-850s and -860s are reckless driving.

The other sections of Article 7

Beyond the two main sections, the article lists specific acts that are reckless driving by definition. Each carries the same Class 1 misdemeanor penalty.

Section	What it covers
§ 46.2-853	Driving a vehicle “not under proper control” or with inadequate or improperly adjusted brakes — the usual “failure to maintain control” charge after a single-vehicle crash
§ 46.2-854	Passing on or approaching the crest of a hill or a curve where the view is obstructed
§ 46.2-855	Driving with the view obstructed or control impaired by the load or by passengers in the front seat
§ 46.2-856	Passing two vehicles abreast
§ 46.2-857	Driving two abreast in a single lane (motorcycles excepted)
§ 46.2-858	Passing at a railroad grade crossing or an intersection
§ 46.2-859	Passing a stopped school bus
§ 46.2-860	Failing to give proper signals
§ 46.2-861	Driving too fast for highway and traffic conditions (bad weather, regardless of the posted limit)
§ 46.2-861.1	Failing to move over or slow down for stopped vehicles displaying emergency warning lights
§ 46.2-863	Failing to stop and yield when entering a highway from a side road with traffic within 500 feet
§ 46.2-864	Reckless driving on parking lots and premises open to the public — churches, schools, businesses, industrial parking areas, and roads under construction — so the offense is not limited to public roads
§ 46.2-865	Racing, and “exhibition driving” such as burnouts, donuts, and drag racing
§ 46.2-865.1	Racing or exhibition driving with reckless disregard for human life that seriously injures a bystander (a Class 6 felony) or causes a death (a felony punishable by one to 20 years), with license suspension of one to three years
§§ 46.2-866, 46.2-867, 46.2-867.1	Aiders and abettors of racing; seizure of a vehicle used in a race; impoundment of a vehicle used in exhibition driving
§ 46.2-868.1	Aggressive driving — a separate offense covering listed moving violations committed as a hazard to another person or with intent to harass, intimidate, injure or obstruct. It is a Class 2 misdemeanor, or a Class 1 misdemeanor where the intent was to injure

§ 46.2-868: the penalty section

Va. Code § 46.2-868 has three parts. Subsection A makes every reckless driving conviction under the article a Class 1 misdemeanor. Subsection B raises it to a Class 6 felony when the driver was driving on a license suspended or revoked for a moving violation and the reckless driving was “the sole and proximate result” of a death. Subsection C adds a mandatory minimum fine of $250 when the driver was violating the handheld-phone law at the time.

The sentencing range for a Class 1 misdemeanor comes from a different title of the Code. Va. Code § 18.2-11 provides “confinement in jail for not more than twelve months and a fine of not more than $2,500, either or both.” There is no statutory minimum other than the $250 phone-related fine, so the judge has the full range.

License suspension is in yet another chapter. Va. Code § 46.2-392 allows the court, on any reckless driving conviction, to suspend the driver’s license for not less than 10 days nor more than six months, to issue a restricted license for work, school, and medical travel, and to require an alcohol safety action program where the offense appears alcohol- or drug-related. The DMV’s own consequence — 6 demerit points, 11 years on the driving record — comes from DMV regulation rather than the Code.

§ 46.2-869: improper driving

The last section of the article is the escape valve. Va. Code § 46.2-869 lets the judge, “where the degree of culpability is slight,” find a defendant not guilty of reckless driving but guilty of improper driving, and lets the Commonwealth’s attorney reduce the charge at any time before the court’s decision. Improper driving is a traffic infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $500; it carries 3 DMV points for three years and no criminal record. Most negotiation in a reckless driving case is an argument about whether § 46.2-869 applies.

“Reckless endangerment” and other terms that are not in the Code

People searching for a Virginia “reckless endangerment” statute will not find one under that name in the traffic title: the conduct is covered by § 46.2-852’s “endanger the life, limb, or property of any person” language. Likewise, “careless driving,” “negligent driving,” and “wet reckless” are terms from other states; in Virginia the charges are reckless driving, improper driving, or a speeding infraction. If a summons cites a section outside Article 7 — for example a § 18.2 section — it is a criminal-law charge rather than a traffic one, and worth a lawyer’s look.

Reading your summons against the Code

Find the section number on the summons, read that section on LIS, and compare it with what the officer wrote. The charge under § 46.2-862 stands or falls on the speed; the charge under § 46.2-852 turns on whether the driving actually endangered anyone. Either way the penalty is the one in § 46.2-868 and § 18.2-11, the reduction to hope for is § 46.2-869, and the appearance in general district court is mandatory. For what the penalties look like in practice, see Virginia reckless driving penalties and the overview of reckless driving in Virginia.