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.