Speeding As Lesser Included Offense

At trial, the State contended that Speeding in violation of Section 4169 of Title 21 of the Delaware Code is a lesser included offense of the Unreasonable Speed statute found at Section 4168 (a) of Title 21. the State's contention is incorrect. Section 206 (b) of Title 11 of the Delaware Code provides a three-prong test to determine whether a defendant may be convicted of an offense included in an offense charged in the Information. State v. Willis, Del. Super., Cr. A. No. IN95-01-0246, Cooch J. (November 21, 1995). When reviewing this test, it cannot be concluded that the offense of Speeding pursuant to Section 4169 is a lesser included offense of Unreasonable Speed pursuant to Section 4168 (a) of Title 21. Unreasonable Speed makes it unlawful to drive a vehicle in excess of the reasonable speed due to the conditions that exist, while Speeding is applicable when the defendant drives in excess of the posted speed limit. Speeding contains an additional element, of exceeding the posted speed limit, that is not included in an Unreasonable Speed violation. Additionally, Speeding does not consist of an attempt to commit the offense of Unreasonable Speed and does not involve an offense that results in a less serious injury or risk of injury, or a lesser kind of culpability, than the offense of Unreasonable Speed. Therefore, it fails the three-prong test of 11 Del. C. 206 and is not a lesser included offense of Unreasonable Speed.