Speeding Tickets and the Taconic State Parkway.
You’ve just finished a much needed weekend upstate and now you’re headed home or, it’s Friday evening and you just can’t wait to get out of the City and start your weekend. As the drive takes you closer to your destination, it happens. The State Police lights glare in your rearview mirror and immediately looking down at the speedometer you realize you’ve messed up. You never saw it coming, you didn’t realize how fast you were going or, you made the common mistake of following someone who was also speeding. Whatever the reason, you now face defending a moving violation in a remote town hours away from home.
Faced with the time and expense of fighting a moving violation may lead you to thoughts of giving up and pleading guilty by mail. However, a guilty plea to a speeding ticket can have unexpected repercussions.
When the Court receives a guilty plea for a moving violation, the clerk reports the conviction to the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles and the moving violation becomes part of the driver’s permanent record. Every moving violation has a “point” value assigned, ranging from two (2) to eleven (11) points depending on the seriousness of the charge.
Convictions and their accompanying points remain on the driver’s DMV abstract for eighteen (18) months and if the driver’s points total reaches eleven (11) or more, the driver’s license is suspended or, if the driver is convicted of three (3) speeding tickets within an eighteen (18) month period, their driver’s license is automatically suspended for six (6) months regardless of the point total.
Even if driver’s point total is under the eleven (11) point limit, if the driver accumulates just six (6) points in 18 months they are subject to a “driver responsibility assessment” which mandates additional fines paid once a year for three (3) years to the DMV. The driver assessment fine is one hundred dollars ($100.00) a year for the first six (6) points and an additional twenty-five dollars ($25.00) a year for each additional point, for three (3) years.
Auto insurance companies base their premiums on a person’s driving record and typically go back three (3) years. Insurance companies routinely check the insured’s driving records when their policies are renewed or an incident is reported and sometimes all it takes is one speeding ticket conviction to raise the policy rates or have the insurance canceled outright.
If you are facing moving violations, it is in your best interests to seek legal representation to fight or negotiate the charge down. If you do not live near the Court where the charges are pending I can appear on your behalf via affidavit and help you obtain the best possible results. Call my office (845) 867-2812 for a free no obligation consultation.