There are two broad categories of traffic tickets. Knowing which you have is important when determining what to do in your situation.
A lot of times when you have a minor violation and it wont result in any points on your license its best to go ahead and pay it and avoid trying to challenge it in traffic court.
Traffic violations come under two main headings. They can either be moving violations or non moving violations. They usually involve smaller fines and can be something as simple as a parking or headlight ticket.
These can be a nuisance but at least they wont go on your driving history or be reported to your auto insurance.
Non moving violations can be things such as not wearing your seatbelt, a broken headlight or improperly parking your vehicle.
In most cases these should just be paid. It can be a big hassle to go to traffic court for these kinds of violations. The reason is the fines for these are usually no more than $50 or so, and you could end up being in traffic court for hours. Not worth it in my judgment.
But if you felt the ticket was given unjustly, you should always attempt to resolve it in some way. For example a broken head light ticket will usually be tossed if you show proof you fixed it.
On the other hand, a moving violation is any law broken by the automobile driver while the vehicle is in motion. This type of violation is distinguished by the term ‘motion’. While a non moving violation is charged against the vehicle, a moving violations are charged against the driver of a vehicle. While usually only classifies as infractions or misdemeanors, serious violations can be felonies.
Moving violations normally involve the payment of fines, and also having points assessed against the driving record of the driver. As points are accumulated more severe punishment can be ordered such as having to take defensive driving courses up to having your drivers license suspended.
In the US fines are in set amounts that can vary from $50 or so, up to and even surpassing $750 in some instances. In other countries traffic violation fines can be set proportional to the individuals income, and judgments of $100,000 or more aren’t unheard of!
More common moving violations can include speeding (THE most common), failure to secure a load, failure to yield right of way, violating high occupancy vehicle lanes, or not stopping for a pedestrian.
More serious moving violations include: racing on a public street, road rage, drunk driving, and vehicular homicide
A traffic violation can also be civil or criminal in nature. They both carry points and fines, but only a criminal charge can wind you up in jail. The sentence in a criminal case can result in an order to pay a fine, a sentence of probation or time in a jail.
Sentences handed down in criminal violations are obligations to the state for acts committed. The term ‘state’ can be a city, town, state or federal government or any other kind of m municipality. These are moving violations to avoid at all costs, obviously.
Want to find out more about moving violations? Then visit Chuck Spencer’s site on how to choose the best traffic defense for your individual needs.
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