Careless driving in Nebraska is a Class II misdemeanor, not a simple traffic infraction. The standard fine is $100 plus $49 in court costs, and a conviction adds 4 points to your driving record. Because it’s a misdemeanor, a judge also has the authority to impose up to six months in jail and a fine as high as $1,000, though jail time is uncommon for a first offense with no injuries.1Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 28-106 – Classification of Misdemeanors The charge creates a permanent criminal record, and the consequences reach well past the ticket itself.
What the Statute Actually Prohibits
Nebraska Revised Statute 60-6,212 makes it illegal to drive any motor vehicle “carelessly or without due caution so as to endanger a person or property.”2Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 60-6,212 – Careless Driving, Defined You don’t have to actually hit anything. If your driving created the danger, that’s enough. Common examples are drifting into another lane while distracted, rolling through a stop sign without checking cross-traffic, or following too closely and nearly rear-ending the car ahead.
The statute is about inattention, not deliberate risk-taking. That matters because careless driving is a lesser-included offense of reckless driving, and prosecutors sometimes offer a careless driving plea to resolve a reckless or willful reckless charge.3Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 60-6,213 – Reckless Driving, Defined
The Real Cost of a Conviction
Nebraska’s uniform waiver and fine schedule sets the baseline fine at $100.4Nebraska Judicial Branch. Waiver Fine Schedule Rule Amendments If your ticket is marked “waiver allowed,” you can pay that amount plus court costs without appearing. Every traffic citation in Nebraska county court carries $49 in court costs on top of the fine.5Nebraska Judicial Branch. Filing Fees and Court Costs So the minimum out-of-pocket cost, if you waive your appearance, is $149.
Once you go before a judge, the numbers can climb. Because this is a Class II misdemeanor, the ceiling is six months in jail, a $1,000 fine, or both.1Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 28-106 – Classification of Misdemeanors There’s no mandatory minimum, so the sentence depends on the circumstances and the judge.
If your careless driving caused a crash, the sentencing court can also order restitution paid directly to the victim, on top of the fine and court costs. That can cover repair or replacement of damaged property, and the goal is to put the victim back in the position they were in before the accident.
Four Points and What They Do to Your License
A careless driving conviction adds 4 points to your Nebraska driving record.6Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles. Nebraska Point System Points count from the date of the violation, not the date of conviction, and they stay on your record for five years. The number that actually controls your license, though, is the two-year total.
Four points from one ticket is a lot. A basic speeding ticket (1 to 5 mph over) is just 1 point, and reckless driving is 5. If you already carry 8 or more points from the last two years, a single careless driving conviction pushes you across the 12-point line.
Twelve or more points in any two-year window triggers automatic revocation.7Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles. Point Revocations The revocation runs six months from the date the order is signed, or six months from release if you served jail time, whichever is later.8Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 60-4,183 – Point Revocation Reinstatement Driving during a revocation is a separate criminal offense.
Getting Your License Back
Reinstatement after a point revocation requires a state-approved driver improvement course.8Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 60-4,183 – Point Revocation Reinstatement You also have to file an SR-22 certificate of financial responsibility with the DMV and keep it active for three years from the date you become eligible for reinstatement.9Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles. SR-22 For Revocations and Suspensions The SR-22 requirement follows you even if you don’t own a car or move out of Nebraska, and SR-22 coverage generally costs more than a standard policy. The financial hit from a revocation can stretch years past the original ticket.
Reducing Points Before They Cost You a License
If you have fewer than 12 points, you can voluntarily take a DMV-approved driver improvement course to remove 2 points.6Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles. Nebraska Point System The course must run at least four hours. If you only have 1 point, the course removes that single point instead. You can use this option once every five years.
The timing rule is where people get caught. The course has to be finished before the date of any violation that would push you to 12. You can’t take it after the fact to pull yourself back under the threshold. So if you already sit at 8 points and pick up a careless driving ticket worth 4 more, the window closed on the date of that new violation.
Pretrial Diversion in Some Counties
Some Nebraska counties offer pretrial diversion for drivers cited with careless driving. Complete a driver safety course and the citation gets dismissed entirely, with no fine, no conviction, and no points. Nebraska statute 29-3606 authorizes these programs for minor traffic violations, using a curriculum approved by the state.10Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 29-3606 – Drivers Safety Training Program
Programs are run by individual county attorneys, so availability and terms vary. Where they exist, they generally require enrollment before your court date, completion within a set window (often 60 days), and a program fee in place of the fine. CDL holders are typically ineligible, and you usually can’t participate if you’ve used a similar program in the last three years. Contact the county attorney’s office listed on your citation to find out whether your county offers one, because not all do.
If You Hold a CDL
Commercial drivers face an extra layer of risk. Nebraska doesn’t list careless driving itself as a “serious disqualifying offense” for CDL holders, but the DMV’s rules count any conviction that results in a license revocation as a serious offense.11Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles. Commercial Drivers License Disqualification A careless driving conviction that pushes your points to 12 becomes a serious offense on your CDL record.
The disqualification thresholds are strict:
- Two serious offenses within three years: 60-day CDL disqualification
- Three serious offenses within three years: 120-day CDL disqualification
For a commercial driver, that’s lost income and possibly a lost job. CDL holders are also generally locked out of pretrial diversion, which makes keeping the conviction off the record harder.
Paying, Fighting, or Pleading No Contest
Your citation names the county court that handles the case, based on where the stop happened. If the ticket is marked “waiver allowed,” you can plead guilty and pay the fine plus court costs through the Nebraska Judicial Branch’s online payment system.12Nebraska Judicial Branch. Nebraska Judicial Branch Internet Payment System Paying the waiver amount is legally the same as pleading guilty. You still receive the full 4 points and a misdemeanor conviction.
To fight the charge, plead not guilty at your court appearance and the judge will set a trial date. At trial, the state has to prove you drove carelessly in a way that endangered people or property. A no contest plea isn’t an admission of guilt, but you accept the conviction; that distinction can matter if a civil lawsuit over the same crash is already brewing. Missing your court date or the waiver deadline can trigger a bench warrant and a separate charge.
Setting Aside a Careless Driving Conviction
Nebraska’s set-aside statute, 29-2264, lets people petition the sentencing court to nullify certain convictions after completing the sentence. But subdivision (3)(b)(iii) specifically excludes “any misdemeanor or felony motor vehicle offense” under the Nebraska Rules of the Road from the petition process in subsection (3).13Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 29-2264 – Probation, Completion, Conviction May Be Set Aside Careless driving falls under the Rules of the Road, so that door is closed.
A narrower path exists under subsection (2) of the same statute, which covers people sentenced to a fine only, probation, or community service. Subsection (2) doesn’t carry the motor vehicle exclusion. Because most careless driving sentences involve only a fine, some drivers may have grounds to petition under subsection (2) after paying in full. The court weighs your conduct since sentencing, the likelihood of future criminal activity, and whether nullifying the conviction serves the public interest. The interplay between the two subsections is complicated enough that this is worth talking through with a Nebraska attorney before filing anything.