If you’ve been issued a traffic ticket, unless it was a traffic accident or for a very serious offense such as a DUI, reckless driving, or other type of criminal misdemeanor, you’ll likely be given the option to pre-pay your ticket and avoid appearing in court. But what happens if you simply prepay a traffic ticket? 

 

IF YOU PAY NOW, YOU MIGHT ALSO HAVE TO PAY LATER

 

When considering whether to prepay a ticket, in addition to the fee for the ticket itself, you need to factor into the equation the potential points you may accrue on your license and auto insurance as a result. These points can lead to auto insurance rate increases and possibly even the loss of your driver’s license. Even a modest increase to your annual car insurance premium can total thousands of dollars when multiplied by the 3-5 years that a ticket-related increase can stick around.

 

By prepaying a traffic violation, you’re by default admitting guilt to the violation and you will be found guilty by the court. Depending on the following factors and more, the consequences that follow the prepayment of a ticket could be more trouble than challenging the ticket yourself or hiring lawyers that handle traffic tickets:

 

• Severity of the traffic violation
• The number of and recency of other tickets on your driving record
• Your immigration status
• If you have a Commercial Drivers License or drive for your profession
• If you are on probation

 

WHAT ARE DRIVERS LICENSE POINTS VS INSURANCE POINTS?

 

Most DMVs in the United States (the State of Virginia being among them) use a point system to track your driving record. You are awarded safe driving points when time elapses without any infractions on your record, but you are penalized with demerit points when you are caught driving unsafely or in a manner that’s illegal in your state. You can read about the Virginia DMV’s point system here.

 

Insurance companies also keep track of your driving record using a points system, however every insurance company’s points system is unique to their business and none are directly related to your DMV points. These systems weigh aspects of your MVR (Motor Vehicle Record) to determine whether you should be considered a high-risk driver, and if so, to what degree. The points they associate with your MVR are the penalty you pay for the risk you present to your insurance agency.

WHAT IS A MOTOR VEHICLE RECORD (MVR)?

 

Every person in possession of a legal driver’s license in the U.S. is in a national database which keeps a record of individual citizens’ driving history. This is record is your Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) and includes all of your personal details such as social security number, all information published on your driver’s license, and the details of your traffic accidents, ticket citations, any DUI convictions as well as the current number of points on your driver’s license.  

 

Typically, your insurance company will take into consideration the most recent five year history of your MVR when calculating your insurance premium rate. But potential employers may also consult your MVR to evaluate your suitability for a job. Particularly if you will need to operate a commercial vehicle or even just a company car for your position.

 

SHOULD I FIGHT MY TRAFFIC TICKET INSTEAD OF PREPAYING?

 

Because insurance companies’ point systems are not made transparent to the public, there’s no way to calculate with exact certainty how your recent traffic ticket will affect your insurance. But, it’s safe to predict that the greater the severity of your ticket or citation, the greater the number of points your insurance company will penalize you with. The result of which will be higher increases to your annual insurance premiums.

 

The cumulative expense of non-misdemeanor traffic citations on your insurance rates can be more expensive than your cost to hire a traffic attorney. Further, if you are ticketed for reckless driving, driving without a license, Driving Under the Influence (DUI), or other misdemeanor traffic violation you will not be able to prepay the ticket and you should talk to an attorney about contesting the ticket or working to mitigate the consequences. 

 

 

We can help you to learn what happens when you fight a traffic ticket, and save you time and money by appearing on your behalf in court to negotiate to have your charges dropped, dismissed or reduced.

 

Contact us our team of lawyers in Harrisonburg VA to learn more about how we can help you.

CAN A VIRGINIA TRAFFIC TICKET AFFECT A LICENSE IN ANOTHER STATE?

The consequences of traffic violations vary state-by-state in the US, but that doesn’t mean the states aren’t coordinated in their effort to monitor traffic tickets. If you’re issued a traffic ticket in Virginia and your driver’s license is from another state, you may be subject to penalties from both states. Therefore, it’s important that if you’re ticketed, you familiarize yourself with the policies in your home state as well as in the state where you’ve received a traffic citation. The consequences for reckless driving in VA are particularly serious and are best handled by lawyers that handle traffic tickets.

 

HOW STATES SHARE DRIVER INFORMATION 

More than 50 years ago in the 1960s, the Driver’s License Compact was formed to enable and encourage states to share driver information with each other. Today, all states keep information on your license and vehicle in nationally-linked databases such as the National Driver Register and the Driver License Compact. 

Once the state of Virginia reports your VA traffic violation to your home state, it will depend on your home state’s policies whether it gets added to your home state driving record. Immediately following receipt of a VA traffic ticket, we recommend that you consult with a traffic attorney in your home state familiar with your local DMV’s procedures who can advise you the pros and cons of fighting the ticket in Virginia versus prepaying the ticket. 

WHAT IF YOU RECEIVE A CRIMINAL MISDEMEANOR TRAFFIC CHARGE IN VA?

Many out of state drivers are alarmed to learn that on the interstate in Virginia (which has some of the strictest traffic laws in the country) a speeding violation for travelling a mere 11 miles over the speed limit can result in a reckless driving charge and a license suspension in your home state. In VA, reckless driving as well as driving on a suspended license are both classified as misdemeanor crimes. We strongly advise you to talk to an attorney about contesting these types of charges. 

 

OUR HARRISONBURG VIRGINIA TRAFFIC LAWYERS CAN HELP YOUR CASE 

If you live out of the area and have been issued a moving violation on Interstate 81 in the Shenandoah Valley, our Harrisonburg VA traffic attorneys at Cook Attorneys can offer you a free traffic defense consultation by telephone and may be able to appear in your place on the court date. In most situations you will not need to return to Virginia to contest your ticket.

 

Most initial consultations regarding traffic cass take less than twenty minutes. Let us reduce your worry and free up your time. Se habla español. We look forward to speaking with you.

 

If you’ve received a traffic ticket in the State of Virginia, you may find yourself subject to fines or even be required to appear in court. Your penalty will depend on the type of ticket you’ve received. 

 

TYPES OF TRAFFIC TICKETS

Traffic tickets are typically categorized as moving or non-moving violations. The latter are usually considered more serious offenses for which you may need to seek the help of lawyers that handle traffic tickets or if it was a DUI or DWI charge, a Harrisonburg DUI attorney.

Examples of Common Moving Violations:

• Speeding
• Distracted driving
• Illegal lane changes
• Failure to follow the right-of-way 
• Failure to signal when changing lanes or making a turn
• Seatbelt violations
• Driving without a valid driver’s license
• Driving without valid auto insurance
• Driving past a school bus when passengers are loading or unloading
• Running (failure to stop at) a red light or stop sign
• Reckless driving (such as racing or trying to escape the police)
• Leaving the scene of an accident
• Driving While Intoxicated (DWI)
• Driving Under the Influence (DUI)

 

Examples of Common Non-Moving Violations: 

• Parking violations (such as parking in a no-parking zone, in front of a fire hydrant or in front of a driveway, expired meter, or parking in a handicapped spot without a valid permit).
• Expired State inspection tags
• Damage/problems to the vehicle (such as a broken tail light or obscured vehicle plates or tags)

 

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU LOSE A TRAFFIC TICKET?

If you’ve lost your Virginia-issued traffic ticket you can use the State of Virginia’s Online Case Information System to access the details of your lost paperwork. You’ll need to be prepared with the name of the County in which you received your ticket. Since you likely won’t have the Citation Number of your lost ticket, you can also search by name. An alternative to using the online system is to directly contact the Traffic Court in the Virginia County where you received your citation. This online map is a useful reference for the names of Counties in Virginia.

Be sure to confirm the details of your required deadline to respond to your ticket so as not to miss the deadline and face more severe penalties.

 

AFTER YOU HAVE THE DETAILS OF YOUR TICKET, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The consequences of traffic tickets can range from merely annoying (the fee for the ticket) to life changing (the loss of your driver’s license or jail time). The cost to hire DUI lawyers in Harrisonburg VA or a traffic lawyer in Harrisonburg VA may be expensive in the long run compared to the potential cost of higher insurance rates or opportunity costs than can follow severe traffic citations. You’ll need to keep this in mind when deciding whether you simply want to plead “guilty” by directly paying your Virginia traffic fine, or if you should plead “not guilty” and challenge your ticket in the court system.

 

HOW TO DECIDE IF YOU SHOULD FIGHT A TRAFFIC TICKET?

Many reputable law firms will offer free consultations. For example, our lawyers in Harrisonburg VA offer free traffic defense consultations by telephone to make the process as quick and convenient for you as possible. Receiving expert advice from a traffic lawyer near you will help you to make this important decision. 

If you’ve received a traffic ticket and believe you’ve been ticketed incorrectly or unfairly, then undoubtedly you should seek to fight the ticket. For example, if you have a witness who will verify that you did not violate the law or if the equipment that recorded your violation was faulty (such as a red light camera), these are grounds on which to win a traffic ticket fight.

However, even if you were ticketed for a less arguable infraction, you may still want to challenge your ticket in court to try to reduce or eliminate the penalties of your ticket. In addition to the immediacy of a high ticket fee, you may be at risk for long term increased expenses through elevated insurance premiums. Worse still, you may be facing the suspension or loss of your driver’s license which can have huge negative consequences for your job and your family’s life.

 

FIGHTING A TRAFFIC TICKET IN COURT

In Virginia, police officers are usually assigned a court date and time each month and write all of their summonses to be in court on their assigned date. The date of your court date should be clearly marked on your ticket as well as the address of the court where you need to appear. On the summons just below your signature is a box that, if checked, indicates that you can avoid appearing in court by admitting guilt and prepaying a fine.

If the court date is not convenient for you, most court clerks will allow you to call the court before your court date and easily postpone the case to the officer’s next court date on one occasion.  

When your court date arrives, you’ll need to be prepared to present your traffic defense. When the judge calls on you to do so, keep your defense short and to the point. When it’s the officer’s time to present their case against you, do not interrupt or argue with them, as this will cause the court to look unfavorably on you. However, after the officer has finished their testimony, it is okay for you (or better still, for your hired traffic ticket attorney) to ask the officer questions that will serve to establish doubt in the judge’s mind. 

If the judge rules for you, congratulations! But if they don’t, you have the right to appeal. You should seek out the court clerk for more information on the local jurisdiction’s appeals process.

In some Virginia courts, the judges regularly allow drivers with good records to enroll in a defensive driving program in order to reduce or even dismiss the ticket. The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles can provide you more information on “Driver Improvement Clinics”.

 

 

HIRING AN ATTORNEY TO FIGHT A TRAFFIC TICKET

You may worry that hiring an attorney to fight a traffic ticket could be prohibitively expensive. Therefore it might surprise you to know that lawyers that handle traffic tickets can potentially save you money in the long run by preventing you from having to pay increased insurance rates and ticket fee penalties. 

The majority of traffic tickets in Virginia and in the US are categorized as infractions, but the more serious such as DUI (Driving Under the Influence AKA Driving While Intoxicated), vehicular homicide, hit and run, and extreme cases of reckless driving can be charged as misdemeanors or even felonies. In these cases, we recommend hiring legal representation to ensure the best possible outcome for your case. If you need a traffic lawyer in Harrisonburg VA or DUI lawyers in Harrisonburg VA, our team of experienced professionals at Cook Attorneys can support you. You can read more about our traffic defense services.

Another reason to consider hiring lawyers in Harrisonburg VA is if you are ticketed as an out of State driver. For example, our firm can represent you in court so that you don’t need to suffer the expense and inconvenience of returning to Virginia for your court hearing. You can learn more about our traffic defense consultations which we make available by telephone, here.

We can save you time and money by appearing on your behalf in court and negotiate to have your charges dropped, dismissed or reduced.

Contact us to learn more about how we can help you.

 

 

If you’ve received a traffic ticket in the State of Virginia, you may find yourself subject to fines or even be required to appear in court. Your penalty will depend on the type of ticket you’ve received.

 

TYPES OF TRAFFIC TICKETS

Traffic tickets are typically categorized as moving or non-moving violations. The latter are usually considered more serious offenses for which you may need to seek the help of lawyers that handle traffic tickets or if it was a DUI or DWI charge, a Harrisonburg DUI attorney.

Examples of Common Moving Violations:

• Speeding
• Distracted driving
• Illegal lane changes
• Failure to follow the right-of-way
• Failure to signal when changing lanes or making a turn
• Seatbelt violations
• Driving without a valid driver’s license
• Driving without valid auto insurance
• Driving past a school bus when passengers are loading or unloading
• Running (failure to stop at) a red light or stop sign
• Reckless driving (such as racing or trying to escape the police)
• Leaving the scene of an accident
• Driving While Intoxicated (DWI)
• Driving Under the Influence (DUI)

 

Examples of Common Non-Moving Violations:

• Parking violations (such as parking in a no-parking zone, in front of a fire hydrant or in front of a driveway, expired meter, or parking in a handicapped spot without a valid permit).
• Expired State inspection tags
• Damage/problems to the vehicle (such as a broken tail light or obscured vehicle plates or tags)

 

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU LOSE A TRAFFIC TICKET?

If you’ve lost your Virginia-issued traffic ticket you can use the State of Virginia’s Online Case Information System to access the details of your lost paperwork. You’ll need to be prepared with the name of the County in which you received your ticket. Since you likely won’t have the Citation Number of your lost ticket, you can also search by name. An alternative to using the online system is to directly contact the Traffic Court in the Virginia County where you received your citation. This online map is a useful reference for the names of Counties in Virginia.

Be sure to confirm the details of your required deadline to respond to your ticket so as not to miss the deadline and face more severe penalties.

AFTER YOU HAVE THE DETAILS OF YOUR TICKET, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The consequences of traffic tickets can range from merely annoying (the fee for the ticket) to life changing (the loss of your driver’s license or jail time). The cost to hire DUI lawyers in Harrisonburg VA or a traffic lawyer in Harrisonburg VA may be expensive in the long run compared to the potential cost of higher insurance rates or opportunity costs than can follow severe traffic citations. You’ll need to keep this in mind when deciding whether you simply want to plead “guilty” by directly paying your Virginia traffic fine, or if you should plead “not guilty” and challenge your ticket in the court system.

 

HOW TO DECIDE IF YOU SHOULD FIGHT A TRAFFIC TICKET?

Many reputable law firms will offer free consultations. For example, our lawyers in Harrisonburg VA offer free traffic defense consultations by telephone to make the process as quick and convenient for you as possible. Receiving expert advice from a traffic lawyer near you will help you to make this important decision. To learn more about what happens when you fight a traffic ticket, you can read our blog article here.

WE CAN HELP YOU TO ACHIEVE THE BEST POSSIBLE OUTCOME

If you received a traffic violation in the Harrisonburg VA are we e invite you to contact us to schedule a free telephone consultation. Most consultations only require fifteen minutes, so what do you have to lose? Se habla español. We look forward to working with you.

 

Traffic Tickets Can Bring Unexpected and Severe Consequences

Imagine this all-too-common scenario: You’re driving on Interstate 81 through Virginia on your way to a business meeting or a vacation. Out of nowhere, a police officer pulls you over and issues you a speeding ticket.

If you live outside of the state of Virginia and have been issued a citation for a traffic violation, you’re not alone: The above scenario is familiar to us at Cook Attorneys, the Virginia traffic lawyers. Traffic tickets can cost you much more than just a fine.

If your operator’s license is from Virginia, the Virginia DMV will issue points on your license which can lead to an increase in the cost of your auto insurance; if you are licensed outside of the state, your state may have reciprocity with Virginia.

Simply put, a single traffic ticket can cost you thousands of dollars. Fighting every traffic ticket is important.  

Get A Free Traffic Lawyer Consultation With Cook Attorneys

While receiving a ticket can be frustrating, fighting it doesn’t have to be. Cook Attorneys offers free lawyer consultation over the phone for traffic offenses and can appear in court on your behalf so that you may not need to return to Virginia to fight your ticket. 

You can feel confident about choosing Cook Attorneys when you need lawyers that handle traffic tickets, as our law firm handles a significant number of driving offense cases.

 

 

What Will Be Discussed with the Traffic Attorney During the Free Consultation?

Cook Attorneys will assign a free consultation lawyer to speak with you, and that lawyer will be the one who sees your case all the way through to the end—there won’t be any shuffling around of your case, to someone who doesn’t know you or hasn’t heard your side of the story.

 

During the phone call, we will talk to you about:

• The incident in question
• Any legal challenges to the traffic stop
• Any acceptable and appropriate lesser offenses to the charge
• What defenses might be appropriate in your case
• The likely outcome of your case
• Whether we think you will need to be present in court
• Any questions or concerns you have at the time

 

You should also let us know your prior driving record, especially any traffic tickets within the last ten years. We’ll take it from there!

 

What Happens After The Free Consultation With a Traffic Lawyer?

 

After the traffic lawyer free consultation meeting, you will need to decide if legal counsel is the route you’d like to go with your case. If you decide you do, then all you have to do is hire Cook Attorneys, and we’ll take it from there! 

We will contact the court and notify them that we are the lawyer on your case, and then contact the prosecutor or police officer to begin working toward a trial or toward a negotiated plea. We will keep you updated each step of the way, so you can trust that your case is in safe hands.

We know your time is valuable: Our team can save you time and money while giving you the peace of mind that our experienced Virginia traffic lawyers will fight for you on your behalf.

 

Schedule a FREE Traffic Defense Consultation with Cook Attorneys

We can help you to achieve the best possible outcome for your case. We invite you to fill out the form below to schedule a free telephone consultation. 

Most consultations only require fifteen minutes, so what do you have to lose? Se habla español. We look forward to working with you.

 

Experienced. Local. Effective.