Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney Blog
A Jacksonville woman was ticketed for careless driving after driving into a police cruiser on Christmas Eve. The police officer had just passed through a green light when the driver drove her minivan into the officer’s driver’s side door, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. The officer was hospitalized with neck and shoulder pain, though the injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, according to the newspaper report.
The driver was given a ticket for careless driving in this Jacksonville Traffic Case, the newspaper reported. Traffic violations can be expensive, in both the sort and long term, and punishment is broken down in two ways: fines and points. While the fines have an immediate financial impact, the points can end up being more critical. First, the points from a Jacksonville Traffic Case are reported to your insurance company, which may allow the company to charge you more for insurance. Secondly, the points add up and can result in your license being suspended. For example:
12 points in one year leads to a 30-day license suspension 18 points in 18 months equals a three-month suspension 24 points in a three-year period will result in losing your license for a full year
Different traffic violations carry different point penalties and the maximum in Jacksonville Traffic Cases is 6 points – the penalty for either leaving the scene of an accident or unlawful speed resulting in an accident. Any other moving violation that results in an accident, such as this Christmas Eve accident with the police cruiser, carries a 4-point penalty. The majority of Jacksonville Traffic Cases have point penalties of either 3 or 4 points. But that means three or four tickets in a year could result in a license suspension.
If you simply pay the ticket and the fine, you are essentially pleading guilty and accepting the points on your license. There are other options, including attending traffic school if you qualify, which would eliminate the points from that ticket. Completing traffic school also means your insurance rates cannot go up and your insurance company is barred from dropping your coverage. In some cases, a Jacksonville Traffic Attorney can appear in traffic court for you and end up getting the points or the fine reduced. Simply paying the ticket and moving on may seem like the best and easiest option, but it could have long-term consequences you may not be aware of.
If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a FREE CONSULTATION. Our Jacksonville Traffic Attorney, Victoria “Tori” Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.