Texas Traffic Tickets
Texas ranks amongst the top five states in United States for issuing the most traffic tickets. The staggering amount of Texas traffic tickets is understandable as there are more than 13.5 million licensed drivers on roads in Texas. Traffic tickets are given out against violations like speeding, reckless driving, disobeying traffic signs and signals, and failure to wear seat belts. Other more serious offenses include driving without a license, driving under influence (DUI), driving without insurance and driving without a valid license.
A ticket usually comes with a fine. You can pay this off through mail, in person or online. The amount payable varies with violations. Your traffic citation will list the total fine that has to be paid. But if you choose to pay the ticket, you will have points added to your driving record depending on the nature of your offense. It can also lead to increased insurance costs. You can contact your local DMV office to find out your current points. In case a driver refuses to pay off their ticket, their driver’s license may be suspended or revoked. Texas laws also state that a driver’s license will be suspended if a person is involved in more than four moving traffic violations within one year. Also, a person will lose their license if they are involved in more than seven traffic violations within a 24 month period.
If you decide to contest a ticket in court, you will need to present concrete evidence in your defense. Every case is assigned a trial date and every person may hire an attorney or choose to represent themselves in court. While winning the case will cancel the ticket, if a person loses, he/she will have to pay for both the ticket as well as the court fees.
If the court allows it, a person may take a defensive driving course. They may then have their ticket dismissed or points reduced from their driving record. In addition to this, they may also become eligible for a discount from their insurance company. This option is available only if a person was not going more than twenty five miles per hour above the speed limit. If traffic tickets have become a regular feature of a person’s driving record, they should definitely consider hiring an attorney to assist them with their legal proceedings.
For what kinds of violations can Texas DM traffic tickets be issued?
In most cases, traffic tickets in Texas are issued when you commit what is termed as a “strict-liability” offense. In such a case, the only thing that the officer needs to convict an offender is proof that the person was guilty of either over-speeding, had overdue parking tickets, wasn’t using turn signals or wrongly parked in a handicapped zone. Click on more links on our site for additional information.