I was speaking recently with litigants outside of a local courtroom while waiting for a trial, and I happened to overhear a few of them talking about just paying traffic infractions. I could not believe that individual traffic defendants did not know that there are other options besides paying traffic tickets and incurring points on their Indiana driver’s license.
There are a few consequences to consider before paying a traffic ticket:
1. When you pay a fine for a traffic ticket, you are admitting guilt to the traffic infraction you are accused of. Once you pay your traffic ticket, it will be made a traffic conviction, it will be reported to the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and it will be made part of your permanent driving record.
2. When you pay a fine for a traffic ticket, you incur all of the driving record points associated with the traffic infraction as described in #1.
3. If you have received enough driving record points within a three (3) year period, your Indiana driver’s license could be suspended as a result, and/or you may be forced to take an Indiana driver improvement course in order to obtain a valid Indiana driver’s license.
4. When you pay a fine for a traffic ticket, your auto insurance carrier will find the traffic conviction in the Bureau of Motor Vehicles records, which will likely result in increased auto insurance premiums.
5. When you pay a traffic ticket, you may be subject to the harsh consequences of becoming a habitual traffic offender. Being adjudicated a habitual traffic offender can result in a five (5) year, a ten (10) year, or a lifetime driver’s license suspension.
There are other options. If you hire an experienced traffic ticket attorney at SFT Lawyers, we may be able to help! A traffic ticket attorney may be able to negotiate a lower fine, negotiate your traffic infraction to a non-moving and/or non-pointable offense, and may even be able to qualify you for a traffic deferral or pretrial diversion program. If either of these options is successful, the traffic conviction and driving record points will not appear on your permanent driving record, you will likely be able to avoid increased auto insurance premiums, and you may avoid possible adjudications and penalties of being a habitual traffic offender. Call the experienced traffic ticket attorneys at SFT Lawyers TODAY FOR A FREE CONSULTATION! (219) 841-5683
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