Ohio Traffic Attorney
The state of Ohio is one of the most populous in the United States. It is home to millions of licensed drivers and registered vehicles. At any given time, there are thousands of vehicles on Ohio’s roads, including highways. Safety of the drivers, passengers and others on the road, is of primary concern. Therefore, Ohio has adopted strict traffic laws, violation of which will invite strict penalties.
The state has a Point Law which means that people convicted for traffic law violation are given a specific number of penalty points. For example, those convicted of extreme violations like homicide by vehicle or driving a vehicle while under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol are assigned six-points, the highest number given for any traffic violation.
If the convicted driver commits another traffic violation within two years of the first conviction, points are added to their previous total. If a driver accumulates 12 or more points in a two-year period, he/she may be penalized with the following:
- Suspension of driving privileges for up to 6 months
- Retaking the complete driver exam
- Paying a reinstatement fee of $40
- Attending a remedial driving course approved by the director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety. 25% of these classroom hours are usually devoted to making the convicted driver’s driving attitude better
- Filing the proof of financial responsibility with the state’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV)
Operating a vehicle while impaired (OVI) is another very serious offence in Ohio. If convicted, your driving privileges may be suspended, adversely affecting your everyday life. If you think the police officer was acting outside of his/her official capacity and wrongfully cited you for an OVI offence, you may request a court hearing. An Ohio traffic attorney can help you establish that the officer did not have reasonable grounds of an OVI conviction such as not requesting you to take the blood-alcohol test, not telling you the consequences of failing or refusing to take the test or that you did not refuse or fail the test if requested.