The Hard Facts About Traffic Tickets
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What is a traffic ticket?
A traffic ticket is a penalty issued by a government official (specifically a law enforcement agent) to an operator of a motor vehicle or road user, to notify the individual that they have violated the specific jurisdiction’s traffic laws.
Traffic tickets are delivered to motorists who violate traffic laws; traffic tickets are typically attached with a fine. The monetary fine is paid by the violator of the traffic violation to the underlying municipality’s court system.
Every jurisdiction in the United States’ possesses traffic laws to minimize accidents and fatalities associated with traffic accidents. Contact a traffic lawyer for legal advice and assistance.
Traffic tickets are categorized in two forms, although each is used to cite a traffic violation, the two categories is used to clarify whether the underlying incident was a moving violation or a parking violation. Generally, because of the increased severity associated with moving violations, traffic tickets for moving violations are attached with an increased fine.
A traffic ticket, in the form of a moving violation, will be given to a motorist if they violate the following traffic laws: if the motorist exceeds the designated speed limit, if they violate the jurisdiction’s passing laws, if they run a red late etc. Traffic tickets, in the form of non-moving violations, will be distributed for offenses such as parking violations.
The punishments attached to a traffic ticket will differentiate based on the jurisdiction in which the traffic violation occurred. For instance in some jurisdictions, a traffic ticket will constitute a notice that a penalty (typically a fine or a deduction of points on the individual’s driver’s license) has been assesses against the owner or driver of the motor vehicle.
A failure to pay a traffic ticket will generally lead to prosecution or to civil recovery proceedings for the attached fine. In other jurisdictions, however, a traffic ticket constitutes only a citation and a summons to appear at a traffic court, where a determination of guilt will be made to the court.
NEXT: Why Did You Get a Parking Ticket
