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Difference Between Traffic Tickets

All traffic tickets are NOT the same. Some are more serious (and costlier) than others.

By Lawrence Black

There are differences between traffic tickets. Determining the type of ticket you have is important when evaluating your situation.

Sometimes if your ticket is not a serious one that gets reported to your 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
  • Moving violations

Non-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 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
  • Improper parking

These types of violations are usually better dealt with by just paying the fine. Taking the matter to court is more of a hassle on your part because the fine being imposed is normally not more than $50.

The amount of time, energy and cost involved in contesting the charged violation is not worth it. Besides, these types of tickets are very hard to beat in court. I mean, either you parked illegally or you didn't.

However, if you feel you were unjustly ticketed for any reason, you should always make an attempt to try and resolve the matter in some way. For instance, a broken tail light ticket can usually be beat by showing a recent receipt that you have fixed the tail light.

Moving violations

A moving violation is any violation of the law, committed by the driver of a vehicle, while it is in motion. The term "motion" distinguishes it from 'non-moving' violations.

While parking tickets are charged against a vehicle (which will be towed if violations go unpaid or are frequent), moving violations are charged against the person driving.

Moving violations are usually classified as infractions or misdemeanors, but serious violations can be considered felonies.

In most places, moving violations involve fines which must be paid as well as punitive points assessed to the license of the driver. As a driver accumulates points, he or she may be required to attend defensive driving lessons, re-take his or her driving test or even surrender his or her license.

Here in the United States, citation fines are nominal dollar amounts, usually between $50 and $500. In some countries, however, they are proportional to the violator's income and fines in excess of $100,000 can be assessed to wealthy individuals.

Common moving violations include:

  • speeding (by far the most common violation)
  • running a stop sign or red traffic light
  • failure to yield to someone with the right of way
  • failing to maintain a single lane
  • not stopping for a pedestrian in a crosswalk
  • crossing the gore (striped area)
  • failure to secure a load to a truck or lorry
  • driving in a car pool lane illegally
  • driving too slow for road conditions, particularly in a left-hand lane

More serious violations include:

  • racing on a public street
  • road rage
  • drunk driving
  • vehicular homicide

Civil or criminal?

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.

 

Related Articles:
The Traffic Court System
Traffic Court Tips

More Articles...

 

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