TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS
The last thing anyone wants when driving is to see flashing lights and hear sirens behind you. It gets even worse when the officer hands you that small slip of paper with a citation on it. The decision then becomes: do I pay it to get it out of the way or do I go fight it in court? While many people just pay it so they don’t have to bother, what many people don’t know is that, since the State of Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles operates on a demerit point violation system, this means that if you pay the fine and don’t go to court, you admit to being guilty and the points are assessed to your license. If, however, you go to court, even if you are still ordered to pay the fine and deemed guilty, in many cases the judge may waive the points on your license depending on the severity of the charge and possibly just throw out the charge altogether.
Did you know that if you get enough points on your license, it can be revoked for a period of time or even possibly permanently? Also, different violations stay on your record longer than others so this makes having those points even harder to calculate and understand. Having a qualified traffic violations attorney that can help you understand your rights and where you stand will make this situation a lot easier to handle and possibly prevent the loss of your ability to drive.
What counts as a violation?
3 Point Violations:
Speeding
- Speeding 1-9 mph above the posted speed limit
- Impeding traffic, slow speed
Passing/Driving
- Improper passing
- Improper passing on the right
- Improper driving
- Improper stopping on highway
- Changing course after signaling
- Coasting with gears in neutral
- Failure to give way in favor of overtaking vehicle
- Failure to give way when abreast of another car
- Driving through safety zone
- Driving over fire hose
- Unauthorized use of crossover on controlled highway
- Driving/riding on sidewalk
Turning/Backing
- Improper turn
- Improper U-turn
- Violation of right turn on red
- Violation of left turn on red
Signs/Signals
- Failure to obey highway sign
- Evading traffic control device
Lights
- Driving without lights/excessive lights
- Failure to dim headlights
- Parking without proper lights displayed
- Inadequate hazard lights
Licenses/Permits
- No Virginia driver’s license
- No Virginia license plate
- Failure to obtain a driver’s license
- No driver’s license – vehicle/motorcycle
- Failure to have license revalidated
- Learner’s permit violation
- Permitting unlicensed person to drive
- Driving in violation of restricted license (restrictions related to physical limitation, such as mechanical control device)
Commercial Motor Vehicles
- Driving commercial motor vehicle with alcohol in blood
- Driving commercial motor vehicle without license
- Driving commercial motor vehicle with more than 1 driver’s license
- Driving commercial motor vehicle without endorsement(s)
- Driving commercial motor vehicle without license in possession
- Commercial driver’s license/commercial learner’s permit violation
- Driving commercial motor vehicle in left lane of interstate
- Driving in excess of 13 hours in a 24-hour period
- Driving public passenger-carrying vehicle under age
- Driving bus transporting school children without a safety belt
- Driving school bus without license
- Driving school bus under age
- Vehicle height exceeds limit for tunnels
Other Violations
- Failure to stop at the scene of a crash, unattended property
- Failure to leave the scene of a crash at the direction of officer
- Failure to report a crash, unattended property, less than $250 damage
- Following/parking within 500 feet of fire apparatus
- Emergency vehicle violation
- Drinking while driving
- Improper driving/riding motorcycle
- Driving with TV screen visible to driver
- Driving while using earphones
- Passenger restriction violation
- Curfew violation
- HOV violation, second or subsequent offense – Northern Virginia planning district 8
4 Point Violations:
Reckless Driving/Speeding
- Reckless driving – failure to stop before entering a highway
- Speeding
- Speeding 10-14 mph above the posted speed limit
- Speeding 15-19 mph above the posted speed limit
- Speeding 10-19 mph above the posted speed limit
Passing
- Passing when unsafe
- Passing to the left of approaching vehicle
Stopping/Yielding
- Failure to drive to the right and stop for police/fire/emergency vehicle
- Failure to stop for pedestrian with white cane
- Failure to stop and yield right-of-way
- Failure to yield right-of-way
- Failure to yield when turning left
- Failure to yield to funeral procession
Keeping to the Right
- Failure to drive on right half of highway or street
- Failure to keep to the right when crossing an intersection
- Driving to the left of rotary traffic island
Following/Signaling
- Following too closely
- Failure to signal before moving from curb
- Improper signal
Railroad Crossings
- Failure to obey railroad crossing signal
- Failure to stop at railroad grade crossing
- Failure to keep to the right at a railroad crossing
- Failure to stop passenger-carrying vehicle at railroad grade crossing
- Railroad crossing/stopping
- Improper operation of crawler-type tractor over railroad crossing
6 Point Violations:
Reckless Driving (Felony or Misdemeanor)
- Reckless driving – speeding in excess of 80 mph
- Reckless driving – speeding 20 mph or more above the posted speed limit
- Reckless driving – racing
- Reckless driving – passing or overtaking an emergency vehicle
- Reckless driving – passing a school bus
- Reckless driving – passing on the crest of a hill
- Reckless driving – passing at a railroad crossing
- Reckless driving – passing two vehicles abreast
- Reckless driving – driving two vehicles abreast
- Reckless driving – driving too fast for conditions
- Reckless driving – failing to give a proper signal
- Reckless driving – faulty brakes/improper control
- Reckless driving – on parking lots, etc.
- Reckless driving – with an obstructed view
- Reckless driving – generally
- Speeding 20 mph or more above the posted speed limit
Driving Under the Influence
- Driving while intoxicated
- Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- Driving under the influence of drugs
- Driving after illegally consuming alcohol (persons under age 21)
- Driving while intoxicated – maiming
- Involuntary manslaughter/alcohol
- Refusing blood/breath test
- Driving while your license is suspended or revoked for driving while intoxicated
- Driving while your license is revoked for driving while intoxicated – maiming
- Driving while your license is revoked for driving while intoxicated – involuntary manslaughter
Manslaughter
- Manslaughter
- Involuntary manslaughter
- Involuntary manslaughter/aggravated
Habitual Offenders
- Driving after being declared a habitual offender
- Authorizing person suspended for habitual offender and/or driving while intoxicated to drive
Licenses/Permits
- Driving on suspended license
- Driving while your license is suspended or revoked
- Driving while your license is suspended or revoked for non-payment of court fines and costs
- Driving under suspension or revocation before giving proof of financial responsibility
Commercial Motor Vehicles
- Driving commercial motor vehicle while disqualified
- Driving commercial motor vehicle with blood alcohol .04 or more
- Driving commercial motor vehicle with blood alcohol .08 or more
- Driving commercial motor vehicle under influence of drugs
- Driving commercial motor vehicle under influence of drugs/alcohol
- Refusing blood/breath test while operating commercial motor vehicle
- Violating out of service order
Other Violations
- Speeding 20 mph or more above the posted speed limit
- Injuring person while racing – felony
- Failure to stop at the scene of a crash – injury
- Failure to stop at the scene of a crash – death
- Failure to stop at the scene of a crash – property damage of $1000 or more
- Emergency vehicle violation – death
- Vehicular assault or willful stopping, impeding or damaging vehicle
- Blocking access to service facility
- Attempting to elude police
- felony offense
- misdemeanor offense
- Operating unsafe vehicle
Many of these will stay on your driving record for years and some will stay permanently. Most carry heavy fines and can even be sentenced with jail time as well as causing a suspended driver’s license or revoked driver’s license. In a lot of instances, the severity of the charge is also determined by the opinion of the officer and may or not be substantiated through radars or video either. Having a defense attorney that is also a retired police sergeant and knows all of the ins and outs of the traffic laws could be the determining point between keeping and losing your ability to drive.
Don’t wait until the last moment to talk to a defense attorney. The McClenney Law Group is here to help you know and understand your rights and help you in your defense. Call us today for a consultation.