March 29, 2024

Taking Responsibility on the Road SeriouslyObeying Traffic Laws

Dui attorney lakewood

Most people are anxious to get a driver’s license once they turn of age. However, until they are able to gain time on the road, most do not completely understand its value.

A driver’s license is not only an open door to travel, whether near or far, it is also a major responsibility in more than one way. It is true that a license gives the holder the opportunity to be responsible for their own car, their own actions, and their own life, but, the truth is, the license owner also shares responsibility toward the other people on the road. Much of driving is learned by training, and some of driving is intuition; however, another portion of knowing what to do on the road is gained by experience. Some experience is unpleasant, but can be used toward a positive outcome.

Many people, once they have some experience driving under their belt, become lackadaisical. Not careless, hopefully, just a little less cognizant of what other drivers around them are doing. On the flip side of the coin, there are other reasons that will steal a driver’s attention from the road. Driving drunk, for instance, impairs a driver’s thinking and concentration, and too often will cause accidents. Drunk drivers will get behind the wheel an average of 80 times before they are actually caught. Once caught it is best for the driver to consult a dui attorney as soon as possible in order to learn what options they have and, if possible, how they can avoid a suspended drivers license. Laws vary from state to state; therefore, legal advice in the state where traffic infractions take place is the best option. Most drivers want to avoid a suspended drivers license at any cost, although 58% of people actually convicted of driving drunk will continue to drive, even after their license has been suspended. The approximate number of people arrested every day for drunk driving is 4,000.

While driving under the influence is serious enough as traffic infractions go, speeding is another common culprit that is a widespread problem. The average number of people who receive a speeding ticket each day is 112,000. Interestingly, the percentage of speeding tickets contested in court is only 5%.

Every state has its own assessment of which traffic tickets result in the loss of how many points on the person’s license. Some states do not use a points system, but evaluate the infractions of the license holder by systems that they devise themselves. In most states a suspended drivers license will happen after the driver receives a certain number of points within a predetermined number of months, for moving violations. Sometimes a traffic violation does not incur any points for the driver, but the ticket has to be paid anyway, and the driver’s insurance may increase depending upon the nature of the ticket. Insurance companies have their own systems that determine which traffic infractions will cause an increase in the driver’s car insurance premiums. The number of people who receive speeding tickets each year, 41 million, is staggering. That breaks down to one out of every five drivers on the road receiving a ticket for speeding in a single year.

Other traffic infractions that may or may not tack on points to a driver’s license are texting, or using any type of electronic device while driving, or running a red light. As stated earlier, laws differ from state to state; however, in some states a driver will be given a ticket and points will be triggered, and other states will require a ticket be given, but no points will be involved.

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