Bill Description: House Bill 490 would criminalize certain instances of speeding by deeming them reckless driving.

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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 490 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 a school zone or construction zone.”

Unlike speeding, reckless driving 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.

There is no requirement that the instances of speeding criminalized by this bill cause any harm or even put someone at risk. Anyone familiar with driving on Idaho highways has experienced driving through miles of construction zones devoid of any construction workers or equipment (and most of us have probably done so while driving faster than the significantly reduced speed limits set for these zones).

While speeding could potentially rise to the level of recklessness in certain situations, such determinations should be based on the totality of the circumstances, not automatically deemed to exist based on the existence of a (potentially unoccupied) reduced speed zone.

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