Reckless driving in Missouri is prosecuted under the state’s careless and imprudent driving statute, Section 304.012, and a first conviction is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail, up to a year if an accident was involved, four points on your driving record, and sharp insurance increases. Missouri holds drivers to a stricter standard than most states, and the consequences reach past the courtroom into your license, your premiums, and your background check.
What Missouri Actually Calls the Offense
Missouri has no statute titled “reckless driving.” The conduct people mean by that phrase is charged under Section 304.012, “Motorists to exercise highest degree of care.” The law requires every driver to operate a vehicle in a careful and prudent manner, at a speed that does not endanger other people or property.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 304.012 – Motorists to Exercise Highest Degree of Care
That “highest degree of care” language matters. It is a stricter duty than the ordinary care standard used in most civil contexts. Prosecutors do not have to prove you intended to hurt anyone. They only have to show your driving fell short of that heightened standard and created danger. Speeding through a school zone, weaving aggressively through heavy traffic, driving without headlights at night, and fleeing from police all sit squarely inside the statute.
Because the law is written broadly, no specific speed or maneuver automatically triggers the charge. Officers and courts look at the whole picture: road conditions, traffic, visibility, and how far your behavior departed from what a careful driver would do.
Jail Time and Fines
If no accident occurred, a violation of Section 304.012 is a Class B misdemeanor.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 304.012 – Motorists to Exercise Highest Degree of Care That carries a maximum of six months in jail.2Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 558.011 – Terms of Imprisonment A judge can add a fine on top. First-time offenders with clean records rarely serve the maximum, but the exposure is real.
If an accident was involved, the offense bumps up to a Class A misdemeanor regardless of whether it’s your first.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 304.012 – Motorists to Exercise Highest Degree of Care The judge can then impose up to one year in jail.2Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 558.011 – Terms of Imprisonment The statute draws a clean line: no accident is Class B, any accident is Class A. Prosecutors do not have to show serious injuries for the enhancement to apply.
Either level is a criminal misdemeanor, not an infraction. It shows up on background checks in a way an ordinary speeding ticket does not.
Points and License Suspension
Separate from the criminal sentence, the Missouri Department of Revenue adds four points to your driving record for a careless and imprudent conviction.3Missouri Department of Revenue. Missouri Driver Guide Chapter 11 – The Point System and How It Affects You A standard speeding ticket runs two or three points, so a single careless driving conviction is a heavy hit.
Eight points in 18 months triggers a suspension.4Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 302.304 – License Suspension and Reinstatement Four points puts you halfway there in one shot; one more moving violation in the same window can push you over. Suspension lengths grow with each occurrence:
- First suspension: 30 days
- Second suspension: 60 days
- Third or later suspension: 90 days
Before the DOR reinstates your license, you have to file proof of financial responsibility, commonly called an SR-22, and pay a reinstatement fee.4Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 302.304 – License Suspension and Reinstatement Skip the SR-22 and the suspension stays in place for two years from the date it began.
This administrative track runs on its own timeline. A judge might give you probation and a fine, and the DOR can still suspend your license through the point system. One conviction, two sets of consequences.
What It Does to Your Insurance
A careless and imprudent conviction tells insurers you are a high-risk driver. Expect a large premium jump at your next renewal, and some carriers will decline to renew the policy at all. Increases in the range of 90 to 150 percent are common for reckless-level offenses, though the exact number depends on your carrier and history.
If you need an SR-22 to get your license back, your insurer files that certificate with the DOR confirming you carry at least the state minimum coverage. Insurers charge more to maintain the filing, and the elevated rates usually last for several years past the conviction date. Shopping among carriers matters here, because SR-22 surcharges vary widely.
When It Becomes a Felony
The misdemeanor penalties above assume no one was seriously hurt. When careless driving causes severe injury or death, the case moves out of misdemeanor territory.
The most common escalation is involuntary manslaughter in the first degree under Section 565.024, a Class C felony. If alcohol is involved, the charge can rise to a Class B felony carrying a mandatory minimum that requires serving at least 85 percent of the sentence before parole eligibility.5Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 565.024 – Involuntary Manslaughter Even without a fatality, reckless driving that causes serious physical injury can support felony assault charges. At that point the original traffic charge becomes a small piece of a much larger case, and the exposure shifts from months in county jail to years in state prison.
Getting the Charge Reduced
Most careless and imprudent driving cases resolve through plea negotiations. Prosecutors have discretion to reduce the charge to a lesser traffic offense, which can be the difference between a criminal conviction and an ordinary infraction. A frequent outcome is a plea down to a basic moving violation like speeding, which carries fewer points and no misdemeanor record.
Whether a reduction is on the table depends on the facts. A driver whose behavior caused a collision and injuries has far less leverage than someone stopped for aggressive lane changes with no crash. Prior driving history matters too. Prosecutors and judges are more willing to give a break to someone with an otherwise clean record.
Hiring a traffic defense attorney is worth considering for exactly this reason. An attorney familiar with the local court and prosecutor can often negotiate an outcome a self-represented driver would never be offered. The fee is frequently less than the long-term cost of higher insurance premiums, reinstatement fees, and a permanent criminal record.
Clearing the Conviction Later
Missouri allows expungement of many misdemeanor convictions, and careless and imprudent driving is not on the list of offenses specifically excluded. Under Section 610.140, you can petition to expunge a misdemeanor at least three years after completing your sentence, probation, and any other court-ordered requirements.6Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 610.140 – Expungement of Certain Criminal Records
You must have paid all fines and restitution, have no pending criminal charges, and have no other felony or misdemeanor convictions during the three-year wait. Traffic violations under Chapters 304 and 307 are excluded from that “no other convictions” rule, so a later speeding ticket will not knock you out of eligibility.6Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 610.140 – Expungement of Certain Criminal Records The court also weighs whether expungement serves the public welfare and whether your conduct since the conviction shows you are not a safety risk. Expungement is not automatic. You file the petition and the court decides.
Effect on Your Job
Because the offense is a criminal misdemeanor, it appears on standard background checks. For most office work, a single traffic misdemeanor is unlikely to be disqualifying by itself. The problem is sharper for people who drive for a living.
Commercial driver’s license holders face the most direct risk. Trucking, delivery, and transportation employers routinely review driving records, and four points from a careless driving conviction can put a CDL job at risk. Rideshare drivers and anyone whose employer requires a clean motor vehicle record can run into the same wall. Part of the reason is insurance: companies that put employees behind the wheel pay higher fleet premiums for drivers with reckless-level offenses, and many will simply pass on hiring them.
Some professional licensing boards also require applicants to disclose misdemeanor convictions. Whether the conviction actually affects licensure depends on the board, but failing to disclose something you were required to report is almost always worse than the underlying conviction.