If you get a ticket and you either decide to pay it or you lose your case in court, you’ll likely incur points against your license. While a few states don’t use a points system, most do, and getting points onto your license is a lot easier than getting them off. The individual nature of state laws makes it difficult to predict, generally, how long the points you acquire will stay on your license. However, there are five main factors that can influence the duration of the points.
Depending on the state you were driving in at the time, you could be looking at a point duration of anywhere from a year to five years. It’s very rare to have points on your license for less than a year, as that’s the most common time frame. A few states don’t have points systems at all, but even they tend to keep records of the number of times you’ve been ticketed, so you’ll still have a kind of record that will hang around for awhile. In a few rare cases, points are calculated over your lifetime.
More serious infractions often warrant longer point durations than simply rolling through a stop light or something similar. In many states, any ticket involving dangerously high speeds or driving behavior that the state considers reckless or negligent will have stiffer penalties, and the points will stay on your record longer than those things that are not considered negligent or reckless. Anything that falls under the “reckless and dangerous” or “negligent” categories usually carried a three-year point duration as opposed to the standard one year for other types of infractions. But, again, you’ll have to check with the state in which you got a ticket.
Your driving record and the number of points you already have on your license can also play into how long the new points stay and whether or not you’ll face license suspension or revocation. If you have a clean record or you only have a few points from a minor infraction a year ago, you’ll probably face the standard year or year and a half, depending on location, until those points leave your record. However, if you’ve accumulated too many points in a certain period of time or if the nature of the offense was serious, you could face license suspension.
Finally, whether or not you’re eligible for traffic school is also a factor in how long the points stay on your license. If you got ticketed for something pretty minor and you have a clean record, you can typically opt to take traffic school. Traffic school has many names depending on the state you’re in, but you’ll most likely hear it referred to as “driver education”. If you’re eligible, you could have the points on your license removed in just a few weeks.
As always, it’s important to understand the laws governing your state when you’re out on the road. If you received a ticket, it’s usually in your best interest to fight it. Points can accumulate quickly and stay on your record for a year or more. If you get a ticket, act quickly, and hire a traffic attorney.
At Ticket Void, we’ve been working with drivers just like you for years. We’ll help you find the attorney that’s best for you, someone who’s qualified and experienced in the area of law that most applies to your case. With just a few pieces of information, we can find an attorney in our network that’s close to you and has the experience you need. We’ll send you their information, and you can get started right away. The initial consultation is free, so what do you have to lose?
Start 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.
All Right Reserved to Copyright © 2010 – 2024