There are two main differences between traffic violations. Knowing which kind you have can be very important when determining how to handle your particular situation.
Sometimes if your ticket is not a serious one that gets reported to your auto insurance company, you may be better off just paying the fine and not challenging it in court.
Traffic tickets fall under one of two categories: non-moving violations and moving violations. Non-moving violations typically involve parking your car illegally or minor ‘fix-it’ tickets. These violations are not as serious as their counter-parts (moving violations) and usually involve much smaller fines.
Plus, as a bonus they do not show up on your driving record, which means your auto insurance company won’t find out about them.
Some common non-moving violations include: improper registration, failure to use seatbelt, broken taillights, no license plate, no license lamps, and improper parking.
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.
However if the ticket can cleared easily you should certainly try. For example a ticket for a non working tail light can be dismissed if you show proof you fixed it in most cases.
Moving violations are a violation of the law committed while the vehicle is in motion, and this term ‘motion’ distinguishes it from a non moving violation. While most moving violations are considered misdemeanors or infractions, more 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.
You may think we have it bad in the US, and we do, because traffic fines can go all the way up to $500 and more. But in some countries around the world, traffic can be set according to an individuals income, and in some rare cases be more than $100,000!
Some of the more common moving violations include speeding, failure to stop at a stop sign or red light, failure to yield, crossing the median, violating HOV lanes or driving too slow for current road conditions.
Some of the more serious types of moving violations can include racing, driving under the influence, 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.
The sentence imposed in a criminal case is an obligation that a person has towards the “state” for violation of law; that is, it is a punishment for the act that was committed. The ’state’ could be a local township, municipality, city, county, state or the federal government. These are moving violations to avoid at all costs, obviously.
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