Many of us will receive a traffic ticket during our driving careers and for most of us it will be a short-term inconvenience with insignificant financial consequences. However, in some cases a traffic ticket can result in suspension of your driver’s license, expensive fines and long term insurance rate hikes. A little research can significantly increase your odds of minimizing the consequences of a traffic ticket.
Take these first steps
(1) Determine your court date. Often this date will be written on your citation. Failure to appear at your court hearing may result in a bench warrant for your arrest. You may be able to obtain a continuance by calling the court and politely requesting that your case be continued to the next month.
(2) Request a copy of your driving history from the state agency that issued your driver’s license. The prosecutor and judge will take into account the number of prior offenses on your record and how far in the past they occurred.
(3) Determine the amount of your fine. In most cases you can call the court and ask the clerk to calculate the fine. In some cases you will not know the amount of the fine until you appear in court.
Young drivers and drivers with a commercial driver’s license (CDL) have a lot at stake
Drivers under age 21 and CDL drivers are held to a higher standard and are allowed fewer points before suspension. Minor traffic offenses may have dire consequences for younger drivers and commercial drivers. A speeding ticket could mean suspension of your driving privileges, and in turn, loss of your job or ability to attend school.
Pay attention to out-of-state tickets
Courts report the disposition of traffic tickets to the DMV or equivalent agency in the state that issued your driver’s license. If you get a ticket in another state, your home state will give you the same number of points as if you had received the ticket in your home state. It may be inconvenient for you to return to the state where you received the ticket, however, it is often possible for an attorney to handle the ticket without your presence.
Resist the urge to pay your fine in advance
There is nothing wrong with the impulse to take responsibility for your traffic ticket; however, consulting an attorney can expand the options available to you. Most drivers are not aware that in some cases the prosecutor and judge can defer adjudication of your ticket to a later date, allow you to enter a pre-trial diversion program, reduce your ticket violation to a zero points offense or non-reportable offense, or reduce the amount of your fine. An attorney familiar with the policies and procedures of the court will know the likelihood of negotiating such a resolution given the circumstances of your case.
Atlanta based attorney, James
M. Miskell has been practicing criminal and
traffic law for 17 years.
