Conn. Crim. Jury Instr. 8.3-7

The defendant is charged [in count __] with reckless driving. The statute defining this offense

reads in pertinent part as follows:

No person shall recklessly operate any motor vehicle <insert as appropriate:>

• upon any public highway of the state.

• upon any road of a specially chartered municipal association or district, a purpose of

which is the construction and maintenance of roads and sidewalks.

• in any parking area for ten cars or more.

• upon any private road on which a speed limit has been established.

• upon any school property.

For you to find the defendant guilty of this charge, the state must prove beyond a reasonable

doubt the following elements:

Element 1 - Operated a motor vehicle

The first element is that the defendant was operating a motor vehicle at the time and place

alleged. “Motor vehicle” includes any vehicle used on a public highway.

A person “operates” a motor vehicle within the meaning of the statute when, while in the vehicle,

such person intentionally does any act or makes use of any mechanical or electrical agency that

alone, or in sequence, will set in motion the motive power of the vehicle. A person acts

“intentionally” with respect to conduct when (his/her) conscious objective is to engage in such

conduct. <See Intent: General, Instruction 2.3-1.>

Element 2 - On certain roadways

The second element is that the defendant was operating the motor vehicle <insert as

appropriate:>

• upon any public highway of the state. This includes any state or other public highway,

road, street, avenue, alley, driveway, parkway or place, under the control of the state or

any political subdivision of the state, opened to the public for travel or other use.

• upon any road of a specially chartered municipal association or district, a purpose of

which is the construction and maintenance of roads and sidewalks.3

• in any parking area for ten cars or more. “Parking area” includes lots, areas or other

accommodations for the parking of motor vehicles off the street or highway and open to

public use with or without charge.4

• upon any private road on which a speed limit has been established.5

• upon any school property.

Element 3 - Recklessly

The third element is that the defendant was operating the motor vehicle recklessly. Operating

recklessly, within the meaning of the statute, requires a conscious choice of a course of action

either with knowledge of the serious danger to others involved in it or with knowledge of facts

that would disclose this danger to a reasonable person. It is more than negligence or gross

negligence. It is reckless indifference to the safety of others.6

In determining whether the defendant was operating the motor vehicle recklessly, consider the

width, traffic and use of such highway, road, school property or parking area, the intersection of

streets and the weather conditions.

<Include if any of the four circumstances in the statute are alleged:>

If you find that the state has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant <insert as

appropriate:>

• operated a motor vehicle at such a rate of speed as to endanger the life of any person

other than the operator of such motor vehicle,

• operated on a downgrade portion of any highway any motor vehicle with a commercial

registration with the clutch or gears disengaged,

• knowingly operated a motor vehicle with defective mechanism,

• operated a motor vehicle at a rate of speed greater than eighty-five miles per hour but not

greater than one hundred miles per hour,

then you must find that this element has been satisfied.

Conclusion

In summary, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that 1) the defendant was operating

a motor vehicle, 2) the defendant operated the motor vehicle on <insert type of road>, and 3) the

defendant operated the motor vehicle recklessly.

If you unanimously find that the state has proved beyond a reasonable doubt each of the elements

of reckless driving, then you shall find the defendant guilty. On the other hand, if you

unanimously find that the state has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt any of the

elements, you shall then find the defendant not guilty.

1 General Statutes § 14-212 (5).

2 General Statutes § 14-212 (1) adopts the definition of “highway” in General Statutes § 14-1

(39). “The plain meaning of the word ‘highway’ is ‘a main road or thoroughfare; hence, a road

or way open to the use of the public. . . .’” State v. Harrison, 30 Conn. App. 108, 118 (1993).

Thus, “[t]he expression ‘private highway’ is a misnomer and ‘public highway’ is tautology.”

Stavola v. Palmer, 136 Conn. 670, 684 (1950). The dictionary definition of highway is “any

road freely open to everyone; public road.”

3 Municipalities may charter municipal associations or special districts for various purposes, one

of which is the construction and maintenance of roads and sidewalks. See General Statutes § 7-

326.

4 General Statutes § 14-212 (6).

5 The speed limit on a private road is established pursuant to General Statutes § 14-218a.

6 Definition derived from State v. Edwards, 22 Conn. Supp. 391, 393-94 (1961), with some

additional language from State v. Miller, 122 Conn. App. 631, 634 (2010); State v. Sandra O., 51

Conn. App. 463, 467 (1999).