Many Michigan Jurisdictions Will Reduce an OWI to Reckless Driving — But That Is Not Always the Win It Sounds Like
In many Michigan jurisdictions, it is possible to get a drunk driving charge reduced to reckless driving. I have obtained reckless driving resolutions in a significant number of OWI cases over the years — far more than I have written about on this site. For many of my clients, a reckless driving offer sounds like an obvious victory, and sometimes it is. But it is critically important that you understand exactly what a reckless driving conviction means for your driver’s license before you accept any plea agreement, because the consequences are not trivial and in some situations they are actually worse than what you would face if you simply pleaded to the underlying OWI charge.
A Reckless Driving Conviction Is Not a Free Pass
Reckless driving is a misdemeanor under MCL 257.626, punishable by up to 93 days in jail, a fine of up to $500, or both. More significantly for most of my clients, a reckless driving conviction carries a 90-day hard suspension of your driver’s license. A hard suspension means exactly what it sounds like. During those 90 days, you may not drive under any circumstances — not to work, not to the doctor, not for any reason at all. The Secretary of State does not issue restricted driving privileges during a hard suspension, and the Secretary of State does not care that you will lose your job, that you have family members who depend on you, or that public transportation is not a realistic option where you live.
If you are caught driving during a hard suspension, you face additional sanctions and a new criminal charge of Driving While License Suspended, Denied, or Revoked — commonly known as DWLS. That is a criminal charge on top of the one you were already trying to resolve.
It is also worth noting that probation departments in many Michigan counties treat a reckless driving conviction exactly the same way they treat a drunk driving conviction. The label on the charge changes; the substance of how the court supervises you often does not.
How the Driving Penalties Actually Compare
Understanding why the reckless driving suspension is intentionally harsher than the OWI suspension requires a brief comparison of the three possible outcomes in most first-offense drunk driving cases.
A first-offense OWI conviction carries a 30-day hard suspension — not 90 days. The legislature and the Secretary of State designed it that way deliberately, to make the reckless driving offer less attractive to defendants and to discourage the use of plea reductions as a routine workaround.
A first-offense conviction for Operating While Visibly Impaired — the lesser charge known as OWVI — carries no hard suspension at all. Instead, it imposes a 90-day period of restricted driving privileges, which is an entirely different animal. During a restricted license period, you are permitted to drive to and from work, for work, to and from emergency medical treatment, and to and from any court-ordered program. You can still function. You can still keep your job. That distinction matters enormously to most people I represent.
Given the choice among an OWI conviction, a reckless driving conviction, and an impaired driving conviction, the path that best preserves your ability to drive is almost always the impaired driving reduction — not the reckless driving reduction. Many people assume the opposite, and that assumption can be costly.
When the Reckless Reduction Makes Clear Sense
There is one situation where a reduction to reckless driving is often the right call regardless of the license consequences, and that is when my client is facing a charge of OWI Second Offense within seven years of a prior alcohol-related conviction. Under Michigan law, two alcohol-related driving convictions within seven years results in permanent revocation of the person’s driver’s license. Permanent revocation is not a suspension with a defined end date — it is the loss of your driving privileges with no guaranteed path back. Faced with that outcome, a 90-day hard suspension from a reckless driving conviction is not just acceptable; it is frequently the best resolution available.
A Special Note for CDL Holders
If you hold a commercial driver’s license, the calculus around a reckless driving reduction is more complicated than it is for other drivers. A reckless driving conviction will cost you both your CDL and your regular driver’s license for the duration of the 90-day hard suspension. After those 90 days, you will be eligible to drive again. However, many commercial employers will not accept a reckless driving conviction on a driving record because it increases their insurance costs. Before you accept any plea involving a reckless driving charge, we need to have a candid conversation about what your employer’s policies are and what the realistic consequences will be for your livelihood — not just your license.
