In every state, there is a deep labyrinth of laws, a compendium of rules and regulations, that governs everything we do with regards to our vehicles. These regulations dictate that we must obey the rules of the road. They require, in some states, regular emissions checks, limit tinting or other physical characteristics of your car, and may even require annual or biennial safety inspections to ensure your tires don’t fall off like a Bugs Bunny cartoon.
When you fail to comply with this towering stack of regulations, you’ll probably get a violation ticket - either a moving violation or a non-moving violation. It happens to pretty much all of us at some point, and you should be prepared for the consequences of each type of violation ticket.
What is a violation ticket?
Pretty much all tickets are violation tickets - the ticket itself will tell you what law you allegedly violated. Violation tickets are either moving violations, which are generally more serious, or non-moving violations, which are typically trivial.
If you were ticketed for an offense committed while in motion, it is most likely a moving violation, such as speeding. In most states, moving violations usually lead to points if you don’t beat the ticket. Get enough points and your license may be suspended and you will pay more for insurance. In New York state, the DMV is even insane enough to assess a “driver responsibility assessment” fee for anyone who accumulates enough points. Needless to say: racking up points gets very expensive, very fast and if there is any way to avoid points, you should take it.
Some examples of moving violations include:
- Speeding: This includes the obvious (driving faster than the posted speed limit signs indicate) and less obvious (driving within the posted limit, but faster than is safe for current conditions, such as a rainstorm);
- Failure to stop: Examples include running a stop sign or a red light.
- Reckless driving: This is most commonly a case of excessive speeding - going far beyond the posted speed limit, though the offense also covers many other forms of unsafe driving, such as street racing or driving while intoxicated. In many states this goes far beyond a simple ticket and is instead charged as a misdemeanor crime.
The opposite of a moving violation is - you guessed it - a non-moving violation. These are a class of offenses that cover parked vehicles, equipment issues, and other trivial matters. Non-moving violations typically do not carry points, do not go on your record, and won’t affect your insurance rates. Some examples include:
- Parking offenses: Beating these tickets is usually a matter of paying attention to detail: ticket jockeys will often mistakenly write the ticket for the wrong law (such as citing you for double-parking when you actually were guilty of parking in an ambulance parking zone), misidentify your vehicle’s make, model, or color, or lazily forget to fill out sections of the ticket altogether.
- Equipment violations: Any failure to keep your vehicle “up to code.” Examples include excessive window tint, failure to keep up with inspections or registration, and illegal modifications (such as underbody lighting). In some places, such as California, an equipment failure will result in a “fix-it ticket,” which is a ticket that has a minimal fine if the violation is corrected within a few weeks - and a much bigger fine if not.
- Camera tickets: These, unexpectedly, are often grouped in with non-moving violations even though your car is in motion. Examples include speeding and red light camera tickets. Beating these can be tricky or simple - in Washington, simply swearing under oath that you were not the driver (don’t lie - it is immoral and constitutes perjury, a much more serious crime) will result in a dismissal, since the state, by law, cannot use the camera photos to identify the driver. In other places, if your face is on the ticket, you’ll have to devise a more complicated defense.
Obviously, moving violations, which can result in suspensions and insurance rate jacking, are far more serious. But even the line between moving and non-moving violations can be fuzzy, and for many moving violations, getting it “reduced” to a non-moving violation is a big win, even if you end up still having to pay a ticket.
The truth is, it is not all that important what the police call your ticket: moving, non-moving, violation, offense, or some other indecipherable legalese. What is important are the consequences of the ticket, such as a fine, points on your license, a suspension, criminal charges, jail time, traffic school, driver safety assessments, and insurance rate hikes.
Before you make any decision on whether or not to contest a ticket or take a plea deal, make sure you understand the consequences of your ticket, which go far beyond the initial fine. Discussing your situation, driving record, and employment with an attorney who sees a lot of these tickets can help you to gain perspective on what you stand to lose if you plead guilty or your challenge to a ticket falls flat.
Is A Speeding Ticket A Moving Violation?
Yes. By definition, if you are speeding, you are moving. Simple enough, right?
But because the law can never be that easy, there are a couple of times where a speeding ticket may not be a simple moving violation. The first is when you are really speeding: in many states, violating the speed limit by an excessive amount can result in misdemeanor criminal charges. That’s definitely not a run-of-the-mill moving violation and reckless driving will likely mean larger fines, a suspended license, and perhaps even jail time!
Virginia, for example, is notorious for its draconian speeding laws:
- Exceeding the speed limit by 20 mph is reckless driving;
- Exceeding 80 mph is reckless driving, even when the posted limit is 70 mph;
- Reckless driving is a criminal offense (typically a misdemeanor but it can even be charged as a felony) that can carry jail time and adds six points to your license.
Speeding camera tickets are another example of an odd exception to common sense: in many states, speeding cameras are not considered a moving violation even though you were moving. It’s a minor distinction, but it does usually mean no points on your license.
And of course, one other time when a speeding ticket is not a moving violation is when your attorney successfully negotiates your ticket down. A deal brokered by your lawyer may turn a speeding moving violation into a non-moving violation - the prosecutor may charge you with a trivial equipment failure ticket (such as a burned out taillight) instead, saving you from accruing license points and insurance rate hikes.
Is A Parking Ticket A Moving Violation?
No. If your car isn’t moving, it isn’t a moving violation. Even a lawyer can’t make it more complicated than that. A parking ticket is a non-moving violation and they come in many varieties:
- Exceeding your paid time at a meter;
- Parking in a handicapped spot;
- Forgetting to move your car on a street-sweeping day;
- Parking in a bus lane or ambulance zone;
- Parking in a no-standing zone;
- Double-parking;
- NYC alone has 99 varieties of parking tickets, including a catch-all: “All other parking, standing or stopping violations.”
A quick side note and tip: if you want to become an expert on parking tickets, marry a medical resident. And no, “there were other cars parked there” is not a defense, but missing or vandalized street signage and tickets that omit vital information like a license plate number are solid defenses. Take pictures of your car, still in its spot with the ticket under the wiper, and take more pictures of the surrounding area. Make it easy to tell where the pictures were taken by capturing both your car and a geographical landmark or sign. If you have to combine a few pictures to demonstrate the location of the ticket, do so. (For example, a picture of the car and a nearby distinctive church building, then another picture of the church with a visible street intersection sign next to it, would prove the location.) These pictures may prove helpful when you, or your lawyer, devise a defense.
Parking tickets sound harmless, but accrue enough of them and you’ll not only risk your license and your car - many jurisdictions impound vehicles or install a “Denver boot” after only a few unpaid tickets (thanks again, doctor!) - but you may even risk your ability to obtain professional licensure. Law students are told the urban legend of the guy denied admission to the bar over unpaid parking tickets, and after a quick Google search, it appears to be mostly true (it has happened multiple times, but all of the cases were more than a few parking tickets).
Is A Seatbelt Ticket A Moving Violation?
Ah, a far better question. Depending on your state’s laws and the language of the rule, a seatbelt ticket very well may be a moving violation. It varies greatly by state and the facts of your case. And what really matters here are the points. Call it a moving violation, non-moving violation, or just a godforsaken ticket, but the bottom line is this: will you get those pesky points that can result in a license suspension or insurance hikes? For example:
- In New York: If the violation ticket is for operating a vehicle with a passenger who is under age 16 and not wearing a seat belt or in a child safety seat, that ticket results in 3 points assigned to the driver's record upon a conviction. However, if the violation is for the driver or a passenger age 16 or older, that ticket equals zero points.
- New Hampshire, shockingly, does not have a seatbelt requirement for drivers and passengers 18 and older. As a result, fewer people in New Hampshire actually wear seatbelts, reports New Hampshire Public Radio.
- In California, everyone is required to wear a seatbelt unless they are passengers in a taxi (and even then, seatbelts must be available) or they work in certain professions that require them to jump in and out of the vehicle (such as a sanitation worker). A seatbelt ticket is, technically, a moving violation but it does not result in points, unless the ticket is for failure to properly restrain a child.
The most frustrating part about a seatbelt ticket is that they are entirely preventable. Some people get a ticket because they never wear a belt, a decision that risks their safety. Others just left it off because they were only going a block or two. And sometimes, it is just a matter of urban legends taking over (such as the “I don’t have to wear a belt in the backseat” belief that is only true in some states, not so much in California).
Take note: for those who cannot wear a belt due to health reasons, you should definitely consult a lawyer if you have been ticketed, as this is a defense in many states. For anyone else? Just wear the seatbelt.
Can I Pay A Violation Ticket Online?
In most jurisdictions, yes. Courts like to get paid. In fact, most tickets will tell you exactly how to pay the ticket online. In New York, for example:
- NYC is especially courteous and developed a “Pay or Dispute” app to handle the parking violations that so many of us have come to regard as a “rite of passage.” You can use the absurdly clunky interface to pay your ticket or, as the name suggests, contest it and try to have it dismissed.
- For all other tickets, the New York DMV will allow you to “eplead” and set up a hearing or plead guilty and pay your ticket in a matter of seconds. Super convenient!
But wait! It’s a trap! Courts don’t want you to fight the ticket. They don’t want their docket clogged with people fighting back and trying to reduce their violations to non-moving violations or get them dismissed outright. That’s precisely why they make it so easy to pay the ticket online or through an app and make the process of fighting back so much more difficult. After all, who can afford to take off an entire day to go to the Traffic Violations Bureau in New York City, where you’ll wait all day to speak to a DMV “Administrative Hearing Officer,” who is not a lawyer, and who will almost certainly treat you like every other DMV employee does - like they’d rather be talking to anyone but you. The experience is especially bad in NYC, but not that much different in other courts and DMVs throughout the nation. Spend five minutes paying a ticket online, or take a day off from work and spend it in hell?
It is quite understandable, then, why most people just cave and pay the ticket, not considering the impact it will have on their license and their insurance rates. And it is almost as understandable why many don’t hire a lawyer and fight back: they are afraid that they’ll pay for a lawyer and still lose - costing them double or more than the original ticket. (That’s not a problem with Off The Record’s money-back guarantee.) But hiring a lawyer gives you your best bet of beating the ticket or negotiating a plea deal, helps you to evaluate the potential consequences of a guilty plea and, perhaps best of all, saves you from spending a day at the DMV or in court!
Whether you decide to pay or fight, hire a lawyer or go it alone, you should move quickly, as tickets often have to be paid or contested within a set time period or the fine can skyrocket.
How Do I Get A Speeding Violation Reduced To A Non Moving Violation?
This is where good lawyering comes in. Most prosecutors or hearing officers aren’t going to cave immediately, especially to an unrepresented party. That would be like Kobe Bryant fearing a pick-up game against a junior high-schooler - it’s not happening. Instead, when a prosecutor sees a lawyer on the case, and gets hit with all sorts of annoyances (discovery requests, subpoenas that require the police and others to testify), she will quickly see that this one isn’t going away easy. And if, like most prosecutors, she has hundreds of these tickets on her desk, she’ll likely want to move this one along so she can churn through the rest.
Of course, there’s more than intimidation and gamesmanship to ticket defense. Your lawyer will look for legitimate avenues for attacking your ticket. A few common strategies that may work include:
- Reviewing the ticket itself: does the ticket correctly identify the law that was allegedly broken, the car, and the driver? Trivial typos won’t cut it, but more substantial mistakes can undermine the cop’s credibility or get the ticket tossed altogether.
- Is the equipment working? Like all scientific machines, RADAR and LIDAR guns have to be calibrated periodically. Lawyers will routinely ask to see the records of calibration or, if there are none, force the prosecution to provide the testimony of the person who maintains the equipment.
- More gamesmanship: The oldest trick in the book is to reschedule the hearing multiple times, hoping that the officer has a conflict or forgets and misses the date. It rarely works, as police departments routinely pay overtime for court appearances. Lawyers also typically ask for discovery (a copy of all evidence that the prosecutor will use) close to trial. The prosecutor is required to respond, and any evidence they fail to disclose cannot be used at trial. A busy prosecutor might let the deadline slip, leaving her with no way to prove the case.
- School zone speed traps: If you were caught by a real-life officer, these are no different from a regular speeding ticket. But increasingly, cities are turning to speed cameras in school zones. If so, check the time on the ticket against school hours - in some states, this includes after-school activities and pretty much any other time a child could reasonably be expected to be in or near the school. Also, were there functional warning signs around the school zone?
By locating and highlighting these weaknesses and others, your lawyer may get the ticket dismissed, or at least, encourage the prosecutor to budge on a deal and reduce it to a lesser violation.
Except in a few places, like New York City, violation tickets are fair game for negotiation. (NYC does not allow negotiations to reduce charges - it’s a win or lose scenario only.) The prosecutor’s opening offer will likely be a simple reduction of the fine, while preserving the moving violation and accompanying points. For example, if you were ticketed for driving 20 miles per hour over the speed limit, she may offer 10 miles per hour over, which typically carries a lesser fine but still carries points. Pushing back with an attorney, and poking holes in the case, is the key to getting it reduced to a non-moving violation - where you walk out with a fine, sure, but no points, no license suspension, and no impact on your insurance rates.
Whether Your Violation is Moving or Not, You’ll Face Real Consequences
Too many people cave and pay - not considering the consequences for their license, insurance, and even employment (rideshare drivers and car dealers come to mind). No matter what the ticket is called, you need to be aware of all of the consequences first. Look up the offense and research what the fine will be, whether it goes on your driving record, and whether points will be assessed.
If, after researching the penalties and collateral damage, you are comfortable with caving and paying, go for it. But if not, Off The Record is here for you. All you have to do is snap a picture of the ticket, answer a couple of questions, and we connect you to an attorney in your area. Fees are flat, so no surprises. And if you don’t win, you don’t pay. Dare we say, it may even be easier than the caving and paying option.
This information on this site is provided solely for informational purposes. It is not legal advice. Off The Record is not a law firm, does not provide legal services, and is not a lawyer referral service. The attorney listings on the site are paid attorney advertisements. Off the Record has not evaluated this content for accuracy, completeness, or changes in law. No representation is made here about your specific rights. Off The Record is not a substitute for an attorney or a law firm. Legal advice can only be provided by a licensed lawyer.
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