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If you’ve been given a ticket in South Carolina, you might be tempted to pay it and move on with your life. Many people feel that way when they get a speeding ticket. Others may want to fight their ticket, but they feel intimidated by the legal system, and retaining an attorney seems out of reach. However, the legal system can help you, and if you can find a qualified traffic attorney in South Carolina, you’ll be in good hands as you tell your side of the story and fight your case. Even if you don’t think the price of your ticket is expensive, you have to factor in the long-term costs of a speeding ticket to really assess the true cost. For instance, even after a single speeding violation your insurance rates will likely rise — and stay at the higher rate for a number of years. You’ll also accumulate points against your license, which, depending on your specific situation, could put you in jeopardy of having your license suspended. You could take defensive driving courses, but that’s more money out of your pocket just to remove a few points from your license.
It’s easy to see that the true cost of a speeding ticket is much higher than the original fee. Taking all of this into consideration, you might want to consider fighting your ticket. If you decide to fight it, you’ll need two things: a qualified South Carolina traffic attorney and a basic understanding of the traffic laws in South Carolina. The following information should help you with both.
In many states, the cost of a traffic ticket is printed on the ticket itself and set in stone. However, in South Carolina, the only real law about how much you can be charged for a moving violation is that it can’t exceed $500. That means it’s up to each individual judge to decide how much you owe for your ticket. This seemingly arbitrary system is what leads many drivers who have been given a ticket for a moving violation to fight their ticket, given that if their ticket had been reviewed by a different judge they may have had a lower overall cost. Also, there is an exception to the $500 cap for DUI and DWI infractions, so if you’ve been accused of either of those violations, you should definitely consider fighting your ticket as you could be paying much more.
The points system in South Carolina issues a certain number of points for each type of moving violation ranging from two points to six points. If you are traveling at 10 miles per hour over the posted speed limit or less, you’ll get two points added to your license. However, if you’re traveling at 25 miles per hour or more over the posted speed limit, you’ll take a hit of six points against your license. If 25 miles per hour over the speed limit seems like a lot, consider that traveling 85 on a freeway with a 60 miles per hour limit is a six-point violation. Many people have traveled that fast along the freeway if traffic is light, so it doesn’t necessarily take an extreme violation to warrant a hefty number of points against your license. Those points stay on your license for a year. Once every three years you can take a defensive driving course to get up to four points removed, but you’ll have to pay for that course out of your own pocket, and it has to be approved by the South Carolina Department of Transportation.
Also, in the state of South Carolina, if you accumulate 12 cumulative points against your license, regardless of the time frame, you’ll face license suspension of at least 30 days. If you’ve already done the math, that means all you have to do is go 85 on the freeway twice in your life and get caught in order for your to have a suspended license on your record.
Yes, and in most cases you should. As the information above indicates, it’s worth it to fight your ticket and clear your driving record. Fighting your ticket gives you the opportunity to tell your side of the story, and you’re completely within your right to do so. If you get your ticket voided, you’ll be saving yourself the financial burden, the points against your license, and any other consequences that might have stemmed from having that ticket on your record — up to and including license suspension.
Ticket Void has been working for years with South Carolina drivers just like you. We help you by matching you with the best South Carolina traffic lawyer for the job given the specifics of your case. This takes the guess work out of retaining an attorney and makes the process much simpler and less stressful. By giving us just a few pieces of information, we can email you the information for an attorney that will best suit your needs. Your initial consultation is free, so what do you have to lose? Get started today, and exercise your right to fight.
Ticket Void is a web service that can help you find an experienced lawyer for Driving Under the Influence (DUI), Driving While Intoxicated (DWI), speeding tickets, careless driving, license plate violations, and other serious traffic violations. Ticket Void expedites your legal search for experienced and reliable DUI and traffic ticket lawyers.
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