Too many speeding tickets could cost your license

Of all of the legal infractions you could commit, a traffic violation might seem like the least serious. Especially when there is no collision that results but instead only a technical infraction that causes a citation, a traffic violation may barely seem like illegal activity at all.

Many people don’t even think twice about breaking traffic laws during their daily commute. They do so believing they can act with impunity. However, New York does take traffic violations seriously. If a driver breaking the law crosses paths with a police officer, they will likely get pulled over and leave with a ticket.

Every citation carries a fine which serves as the primary penalty for breaking traffic laws. However, New York also imposes a secondary penalty in the form of traffic ticket points. Every traffic violation carries a certain number of points that will show up on your driving record. When you accumulate too many points in a short amount of time, the state may decide to suspend your driver’s license.

How many points will be too many?

You can potentially pay multiple tickets in just a few years without any major consequences other than the fines and an increased insurance premium. Every ticket could add hundreds of dollars to your annual insurance premium.

However, if you have too many points in a short amount of time, you could lose your license altogether. Accruing 11 points in 18 months might be all that it takes to lose your license. It would take four basic speeding tickets to lose your license but only one or two more serious infractions, like reckless driving or excessive speeding.

You have the right to defend against any ticket you receive

If you pay the ticket that a police officer writes during a traffic stop, you essentially plead guilty to the traffic violation. You have the option of defending against traffic citations, which could help you avoid adding more points to your license and prevent an increase in your insurance costs. The type of infraction will determine the best defense strategy for your circumstances.

Fighting back against a traffic ticket could be the most cost-effective and responsible choice for a driver with a pending citation.