You just received a ticket from the local police, and instead of going to traffic court, you decide to pay the fine upfront. A few weeks later, you receive a notice in the mail advising you, from your local Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), you have three points against your license. Now, you are wondering what is a point system and how does the driver point system work?
Driver’s License Point SystemA point violation system is connected to violations of the traffic law committed when you are operating a motor vehicle. Your state DMV keeps a record of your driving history, and in that history is the violations to the traffic laws. Each law correlates to a point for the various traffic codes, and once a specific amount of violation points are reached, the Department of Motor Vehicles will step in to revoke, or suspend, the drivers’ license.
How Does Driver Point System Work
Each state is different and can have varying points for different violations. For example: New York state may have 4 points when speeding in a school zone, while Pennsylvania may only access 2.5 violation points. It is best to review the DMV information for your state to be aware of the point violation system, and how it affects your driving record. Some traffic violation code points do drop off over time.
You may be wondering, why do the Department of Motor Vehicles keep records of traffic violation points in the first place? The DMV keeps track of repeat violators of the traffic laws by use of the system, this is one way they can determine who is either a careless driver, or who is a potential driving danger to fellow citizens, and stop them from operating a motor vehicle.
Once a combined number of violation points is reached, on the repeat traffic offenders’ license, the Department of Motor Vehicles steps in and suspends, or revokes, the drives license for a number of years. The driver then has to wait until the finish of the years stated before they can reapply to drive again.
However, the fines associated with the traffic violation, and the restoration fee for the restoring of the driver’s license, has to be paid first. If the revoking was caused by a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) traffic violation, the driver may also have to show proof of receiving help for the substance, or alcohol abuse, before being allowed to receive their driving license.
How Your Insurance is Affected
It is also important to understand how does driver point system work when it comes to purchasing, or renewing, your insurance. Since the traffic code violation points may affect the amount you pay in insurance as well as whether the drivers’ policy will be renewed, or if it will be canceled, due to the driver being a driving hazard.
If you have received tickets, you should review your driving record to be knowledgeable of the points attached to your driver’s license. This way you will know which traffic violation points will soon disappear, the total violation points accumulated, how close you are to losing your license, and your insurance.