A conviction for willful reckless driving in Nebraska carries penalties that escalate sharply with each offense: up to three months in jail and a $500 fine for a first conviction, up to six months and $1,000 for a second, and up to a year and $1,000 for a third. Every conviction also brings a mandatory license revocation, six points on your driving record, and, if someone dies as a result of the driving, a Class IIIA felony charge under the state’s motor vehicle homicide statute.
What Makes Driving “Willful Reckless” in Nebraska
The statute covers anyone who drives in a manner showing “a willful disregard for the safety of persons or property.”1Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Revised Statute 60-6,214 – Willful Reckless Driving, Defined That is a step above standard reckless driving, which uses the phrase “indifferent or wanton disregard” and covers careless or heedless behavior.2Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 60-6,213 – Reckless Driving, Defined The difference is intent. Prosecutors have to show you made a deliberate choice to drive dangerously, not just that you were inattentive. Weaving through heavy traffic at extreme speed, running multiple red lights in succession, and road-rage confrontations are the kinds of facts that typically support the charge.
First Offense
A first conviction is a Class III misdemeanor.3Justia Law. Nebraska Code 60-6,216 – Willful Reckless Driving; First Offense; Penalty The maximum penalty is three months in jail, a $500 fine, or both.4Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Revised Statute 28-106 – Misdemeanor Classifications and Penalties There is no mandatory minimum, so a judge can impose probation instead of jail, particularly if no one was hurt.
The court must also revoke your license. The revocation runs from a minimum of 30 days to a maximum of one year, with the judge setting the exact length.3Justia Law. Nebraska Code 60-6,216 – Willful Reckless Driving; First Offense; Penalty It starts at sentencing, when any appeal is finalized, or when probation is revoked.
Second Offense
A second conviction is a Class II misdemeanor.5Justia Law. Nebraska Code 60-6,217 – Reckless Driving or Willful Reckless Driving; Second Offense; Penalty The ceilings double: up to six months in jail and up to $1,000 in fines.4Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Revised Statute 28-106 – Misdemeanor Classifications and Penalties Pay attention to how the state counts priors here. A prior conviction for standard reckless driving under section 60-6,213 also counts, so your second strike does not need to be for the exact same offense.
License revocation on a second offense runs 60 days to two years. The court gets another tool at this stage. If the vehicle you were driving is registered in your name, the judge can order it impounded for two to twelve months at your expense.5Justia Law. Nebraska Code 60-6,217 – Reckless Driving or Willful Reckless Driving; Second Offense; Penalty A lienholder with an existing lien can request release of the vehicle to foreclose on the loan, but that is the only exception.
Third and Later Offenses
A third or subsequent conviction is a Class I misdemeanor, the most serious misdemeanor class Nebraska has.6Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 60-6,218 – Reckless Driving or Willful Reckless Driving; Third or Subsequent Offense; Penalty The maximum is one year in jail, a $1,000 fine, or both.4Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Revised Statute 28-106 – Misdemeanor Classifications and Penalties
License revocation is a flat one year from the date the court orders it.6Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 60-6,218 – Reckless Driving or Willful Reckless Driving; Third or Subsequent Offense; Penalty The judge has no discretion to shorten it.
Six Points and a Separate Risk of Revocation
Every willful reckless driving conviction adds six points to your Nebraska driving record.7Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 60-4,182 – Point System; Offenses Enumerated That is one of the heaviest single-offense assessments in the state’s point system and leaves you halfway to the 12-point threshold that triggers an automatic license revocation on its own.
The state counts points across any two-year window measured from your most recent violation date. A first point-based revocation lasts six months. A second within five years lasts three years.8Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles. Point Revocations This point revocation runs separately from the court-ordered revocation, so another ticket within two years of your willful reckless conviction can stack additional revocation time on top of what the judge already imposed.
Getting Your License Back
When your revocation period ends, you still cannot drive until you complete reinstatement through the Department of Motor Vehicles. That means paying a reinstatement fee and clearing any outstanding requirements. If you picked up other violations or unpaid fines during the revocation, those have to be resolved first.
Expect to deal with proof of financial responsibility, too. Nebraska’s SR-22 filing applies to certain serious driving offenses and requires your insurer to certify to the state that you carry at least the minimum required coverage. Letting that filing lapse can trigger another suspension even after you have served the original revocation.
When a Death Turns the Charge Into a Felony
If someone dies as a result of driving that qualifies as willful reckless driving, the case moves out of misdemeanor territory. Nebraska’s motor vehicle homicide statute makes the death a Class IIIA felony when it was caused by driving that violates the willful reckless statute, and the same classification applies when the death results from standard reckless driving under section 60-6,213.9Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Revised Statute 28-306 – Motor Vehicle Homicide A felony conviction carries far more prison exposure than any misdemeanor and brings lasting consequences for employment, housing, and civil rights that misdemeanors do not.
Insurance and Other Out-of-Pocket Costs
The statutory fine is often the smallest part of what a conviction costs. Insurance premium increases after a reckless driving conviction commonly range from 58% to more than 90%, depending on the insurer and your existing record. For a driver paying $1,500 a year, that is roughly $870 to $1,350 in extra premium annually, and the surcharge can persist for three to five years.
On top of that, you may pay attorney fees running from several hundred to several thousand dollars for a misdemeanor defense, impoundment costs on a second offense, the DMV reinstatement fee, and any restitution for property damage that comes out of a plea deal. Total cost regularly exceeds the statutory fine by a wide margin.
Extra Consequences for CDL Holders
Commercial driver’s license holders face federal disqualification rules on top of the Nebraska penalties. Reckless driving is a serious traffic violation under federal law. Two serious traffic violations within three years bring a 60-day CDL disqualification; three within three years bring a 120-day disqualification. For a driver whose income depends on the CDL, a willful reckless driving conviction can effectively shut down the ability to work for months, even when the criminal sentence is otherwise mild.