Traffic Tickets Archives - Page 2 of 2

Traffic ticket courts in St. Charles County…

06FebJanuary 28, 2017 By Charles Moore

When we get a call from someone who received a traffic ticket in St. Charles County, one of the first questions we ask is when and where their court date is.

That’s because it makes a difference in what we charge clients and the procedures to handle the ticket for the clients.

St. Charles County has three layers of courts. First, each town has a municipal court. If you get a ticket in O’Fallon, written by a police officer from the O’Fallon Police Department your court date will be at O’Fallon Municipal Court. Makes sense, right?

What most people don’t know is that St. Charles County has their own court for traffic tickets and that is called the St. Charles County Municipal Court. If you get pulled over for a traffic ticket by a St. Charles County Sheriff’s Deputy, your court date will be at St. Charles County Municipal Court. That court is located, by the way, just north of Highway 70 off Highway 79. Certain unincorporated areas of St. Charles County is where the sheriff’s department has jurisdiction. A good example would be the Defiance, Missouri area off Highway DD.

The other court in St. Charles County is the St. Charles County Circuit Court, located on Second Street in downtown St. Charles (one block west of Main Street). This court generally handles violations of state law, but for traffic tickets the cases that are heard here are tickets issued by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. A common example would be a speeding ticket received while driving in St. Charles County on Highway 70 or Highway 64. Incidentally, this court also handles more serious charges like felonies and serious misdemeanor cases.

From the standpoint of speeding tickets, however, the cases are treated pretty much the same in terms of how of our office would resolve them. For relatively minor offenses like speeding, we can usually get very good results and the same outcome for our clients whether we are in St. Charles City Municipal Court, St. Charles County Municipal Court or St. Charles County Circuit Court.

Things get trickier for St. Charles County Circuit court for more serious charges like DWIs, Stealing and Drug Possession. We can still help clients but the fees are higher because the cases take longer to resolve and involve much more investigation.

St. Charles County Driving Without Insurance…

30JanJanuary 28, 2017 By Charles Moore

In Missouri, anyone convicted of Driving Without Insurance, or as is sometimes written on the ticket as “Failure to Maintain Financial Responsibility”, receive four points on their Missouri driving record. That’s a lot of points and this is exactly why you want to hire a firm like Traffic Ticket Center to resolve the matter in your favor.

These tickets are usually written in a couple situations. First, the driver is pulled over for something like speeding or running a stop light and when the police officer asks for proof of insurance, the driver cannot immediately find their insurance card. We work with clients to get a letter of proper coverage from their insurer and can resolve this type of case usually right away. If the driver didn’t have valid coverage we will ask the client to obtain current insurance and often can receive an amended charge after speaking with the prosecutor.

The second type of Driving Without Insurance case in Missouri is where an accident has occurred, the police arrive on scene and no proof of insurance can be produced by the driver. In the case of an accident, things get more complicated. First, in almost all cases the damages to the vehicle must be paid for before the case can be dealt with properly. If you had valid insurance but couldn’t show it at the accident scene, your insurance company can still process the accident claim. If you did not have valid insurance, this can get tricky and is more serious. We can often assist clients to get a favorable outcome anyway if they can pay the damages and obtain insurance after the accident.

Can I Remove Points From My Record After Pleading Guilty to a Speeding Ticket in Missouri?

24JanJanuary 24, 2017 By Charles Moore

Can I Remove Points From My Record After Pleading Guilty to a Speeding Ticket in Missouri?

That depends.

In some counties in Missouri, particularly the rural ones, prosecutors will often not reduce a speeding ticket to a non-moving violation. If you plead guilty in that case, you might be able to take a class called the Driver Improvement Program (DIP) in Missouri. If you are eligible, taking the class will remove the points from your record. The judge has to approve your taking the class and it must be completed within 60 days after a guilty plea.

Now here’s the catch. Even if you take the class, the points will be taken off your record but the conviction for speeding can and will show up on your driving record. That means your insurance company will probably still increase your rates.

Remember, in Missouri if you get eight points on your Missouri driving record within 18 months your license is suspended for 30 days. Your license will be revoked for a year if you get 12 points within 12 months.

That is why DIP could be really important for you if you already have several points on your driver’s record.

Here is a link for more information about the Driver Improvement Program in Missouri: https://www.courts.mo.gov/page.jsp?id=1940

What Is An SR-22?

18Jan By Charles Moore

What Is An SR-22?

An SR-22 is a document prepared by an insurance company that can verify whether someone has car insurance. It is not only prepared by the insurance company but also filed by them with the Missouri Department of Revenue (the Department of Motor Vehicles, or “DMV” in Missouri).

So now that we know what an SR-22 is, when would a person need one? It is normally required when a person is seeking to either have their driver’s license reinstated or after someone has been convicted of a DWI or DUI in Missouri. An SR-22 can also be necessary if a person is convicted of reckless driving or was an uninsured driver that caused an accident.

With respect to a DWI conviction in Missouri, the SR-22 will be required for a set number of years. If the person fails to pay the premiums, the SR-22 can be cancelled and when that happens another document called an SR-26 is filed with the Missouri Department of Revenue, which notifies them of the cancellation and once received, the person’s license is suspended until a new SR-22 can be obtained and filed.

The SR-22 can be costly because the insurance company considers the person who needs one to be a high risk driver. The higher the risk of insuring someone, the higher the premiums.

The SR-22 also requires a minimum amount of coverage in Missouri, which $25,000 for one person who is killed or injured, $50,000 for two or more persons killed or injured and also $10,000 for property damage.

It’s important to remember that if you need an SR-22 that you don’t delay in getting one. If you’re license is suspended, you can’t drive and if you drive, you can get additional driving while suspended tickets in Missouri, which can lead to further costs and further problems on your driving record.

A sample of what an SR-22 document looks like can be found here: http://dor.mo.gov/pdf/sr22.pdf

Traffic tickets and points…

03JanJanuary 3, 2017 By Charles Moore

You probably know that when you receive a traffic ticket for a moving violation in Missouri, including a speeding ticket, pleading guilty to that ticket means you have “points” imposed on your driver’s record. That’s why you want to hire a firm like Traffic Ticket Center to handle any ticket you receive. Accumulating points not only could lead to a suspension of your driver’s license, but also increase your insurance premiums because your insurance company views you as riskier to insure.

What you probably do not know is how many points are assessed for certain violations. Let’s take a look at point totals for specific traffic ticket violations in Missouri*:

Leaving Scene of an Accident: State Violation 12 / County Ordinance Violation 6 / Municipal Violation 6 points
Careless and Imprudent Driving: State / County / Municipal = 2 points
Careless and Imprudent Driving (RSMo. 304.016) (passing on right side of the highway) for State Violation Only = 4 points
Failure to Produce Insurance: State / County / Municipal = 4 points
Speeding (5 + MPH over): State 3 / County 2/ Municipal 2 points
No Driver’s License (different than driving without proof of a license): State / County / Municipal 2 (note that under state law a second violation is 4 points and a third or subsequent violation is 6 points)
Stop Sign Violation (running a stop sign): State 2 / County 2 / Municipal 1 (if no accident) – 2 points (if accident)
Driving While Suspended Revoked: State / County / Municipal = 12 points
Driving While Intoxicated (DWI): State / County Municipal = 8 points (first violation) / 12 points (subsequent)
Improper Turn: State / County / Municipal = 2 points
Driving Too Fast For Conditions: State / County / Municipal = 2 points
Failure to Maintain Lane: State / County / Municipal = 2 points

Here is the link to review the Missouri points chart yourself: http://dor.mo.gov/forms/899.pd

*This article refers to non-CDL drivers. Some of the above violations can result of CDL privileges for one violation and generally speaking, any moving violation has much more serious consequences for the CDL driver versus the non-CDL driver.

Careless and Imprudent Driving in Missouri…

30AugAugust 30, 2016 By Charles Moore

Careless and Imprudent Driving in Missouri

Careless and imprudent driving is a common charge in Missouri. This charge is sometimes referred to as a "C&I" ticket. It is a four (4) point violation if it is charged by the officer on the scene as a violation of Missouri state law and a two (2) point ticket if charged under municipal law.

These tickets should be taken seriously because they are considered to be a more serious violation than an ordinary speeding ticket. In my practice, I often see these tickets issued to younger drivers for lane weaving, driving at a high rate of speed or for drag racing at a stop light. They are often given by an officer who witnesses a driver squeal his tires or run a stop light or stop sign at a high rate of speed.

Additionally, drivers should understand that a careless and imprudent driving ticket can be given in conjunction with another ticket. Let's say that a driver speeds through a stop sign at a high rate of speed. The driver can and probably will be given a ticket for careless and imprudent driving plus a ticket for speeding, which carries either three (3) points for a state law violation or two (2) for a municipal law violation.

Careless and Imprudent Driving tickets are often given to a driver when there is an accident that occurs. Often the officer will cite the driver for Careless and Imprudent Driving for doing something to cause or not avoid an accident.

Traffic Ticket Center can and often do get these tickets amended to non-moving violations, saving clients increased insurance premiums and points on their license.

If you've received a careless and imprudent driving ticket, call us today so we can help.

St. Charles County Speeding Tickets

04AugAugust 4, 2016 By Trafficadmin

St. Charles County Speeding Tickets

If you receive a speeding ticket or other traffic violation in St. Charles County from the Missouri Highway Patrol, your case will be set for hearing at St. Charles County Circuit Court. Occasionally, but not normally, a ticket from a St. Charles County Sheriff will also be handled in St. Charles County Circuit Court, but in most cases, these tickets are resolved in the municipality where you received them.

By hiring Traffic Ticket Center, we can notify the court we are representing you, attend your court hearing on your behalf and meet with the prosecutor to discuss your case. In the vast majority of cases, our clients do not need to attend their court date.

At court, we can negotiate with the prosecutor handing your case and you will benefit from our experience in negotiating better results for our clients. An example would be getting a speeding ticket amended from speeding to a non-moving violation, incurring no points on your license and saving you from rising insurance premiums. Once we obtain the best result for you, we’ll contact you and explain the result and what needs to be done to close out the case.

If you get an O’Fallon speeding ticket or St. Peters speeding ticket, or a speeding ticket from another municipal court in St. Charles County, the process is very similar and we can often obtain positive results for our clients similar to those in St. Charles County Circuit Court.

There’s really no downside to hiring an attorney to handle your traffic ticket. It’s not very expensive, it’s convenient to hire our firm, you’ll likely save a lot of time and avoid having to go to court and we can quickly send all the information you need to close out the case once we’ve handled the ticket for you.

Dealing With Traffic Tickets

27JulJuly 27, 2016 By Trafficadmin

Dealing With Traffic Tickets

Getting a traffic ticket, in the grand scheme of life, is not a huge deal. But you should definitely take action to protect your interests when you get a ticket, and the best action to take is to hire a lawyer to resolve the ticket for you.

Moving violations carry what are known as points. The number of points vary depending on the violation. A speeding ticket, the most common ticket we see, is ordinarily a 2 point ticket. Driving without insurance is a 4 point ticket and driving on a suspended license will result in 12 points.

Getting points has two effects. First, it can cause your license to be suspended. If you accumulate 4 points or more in 12 months, the Missouri Department of Revenue will send you a warning letter stating that you are in danger of losing your driving privileges. If you accumulate 8 points or more in 18 months, your driver’s license will be suspended for 30 days. If you accumulate 12 points or more in 12 months, 18 points or more in 24 months, or 24 points or more in 36 months, your Missouri driver’s license will be revoked for 1 year.

The second effect of points is that it can dramatically raise your cost of insurance. When you incur points on your driver record, these points get recorded with the Department of Revenue. Your insurance company will eventually check with the Department of Revenue and find the points and deem you to be a riskier driver to insure. The result is higher premiums for experienced drivers and much, much higher premiums for young drivers.

By hiring an attorney, you can ordinarily have your traffic ticket amended to a non-moving violation, which carry no points and will not raise your insurance.

There are other benefits to hiring an attorney. First, you don’t have to worry about showing up to court. The attorney will handle the ticket and you’ve just saved yourself time and effort to get to a court date, or maybe multiple court dates. Second, you no longer have to worry about the ticket because you’ve hired an attorney to handle it. Peace of mind is important and you get that when you hire an attorney to handle the ticket for you.

Traffic Ticket Center handles all types of traffic ticket matters, as well as more serious charges such as Driving While Suspended and DWI. We make everything as easy as possible for clients. In many cases, we can take all the information about the ticket and payment over the telephone, saving you even more time and headaches.