Bill Description: House Bill 570 would criminalize certain instances of speeding by deeming them reckless driving.

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NOTE: House Bill 570 is similar to House Bill 490 (2026). This bill uses the phrase “in an active school zone or construction zone” where House Bill 490 says “in a school zone or construction zone.” The change moves this legislation from a minus one to a zero. 

Does it directly or indirectly create or increase penalties for victimless crimes or non-restorative penalties for non-violent crimes? Conversely, does it eliminate or decrease penalties for victimless crimes or non-restorative penalties for non-violent crimes?

House Bill 570 would amend Section 49-1401, Idaho Code, to expand the definition of “reckless driving” to include driving “a vehicle at a speed greater than twenty (20) miles per hour over the posted speed limit in an active school zone or construction zone.”

Reckless driving, unlike speeding, is not an infraction, but a misdemeanor crime that can carry a penalty of up to one year of imprisonment and a $2,000 fine.

This bill would criminalize speeding in an “active” zone, although it does not define what makes a zone active. One could infer that it means children or construction workers are present.

While speeding can rise to the level of recklessness in certain situations based on road and traffic conditions alone, speeding in an active school or construction zone poses more risk to children, pedestrians and workers than speeding on a road free of them. 

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