lawyers » Traffic law

Moving violation

admin — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 14:54:17 +0000

A moving violation is any violation of the law committed by the driver of a vehicle while it is in motion. The term “motion” distinguishes it from other violations such as parking violations, equipment violations, or paperwork violations relating to insurance, registration, inspection, etc.

Theory
In theory, moving violations are more likely to directly cause physical harm to persons and property. The other form of violations may cause theoretical risk (nonfunctional taillight) or be limited to financial risk (failure to maintain insurance).
Types
While some violations, like parking violations, are civil matters involving a vehicle’s owner, moving violations are charged against the actual driver. However, moving violations enforced by automated camera enforcement may be prosecuted as civil violations against the vehicle’s owner.
Moving violations are usually classified as infractions or misdemeanors, but serious violations can be considered felonies.
The most commonly enforced moving violation, and the overwhelmingly most frequent reason for a vehicle pullover (regardless of type of citation issued, if any), are violations of the speed limit. Measurements of motorist speed throughout time have found many roadways where compliance with speed laws is very low, making many motorists liable to be pulled over at the discretion of law enforcement.
Costs
In most places, moving violations involve fines which must be paid as well as punitive points assessed to the license of the driver. As a driver accumulates points, he or she may be required to attend defensive driving lessons, re-take his or her driving test, pay additional taxes, or even surrender his or her license. Additionally, drivers with more points on their driving record often must pay more for car insurance than drivers with fewer.
Sometimes tickets are used in a speed trap as a form of fundraising. For example, a local government that is suffering a budget shortfall may ticket more aggressively within its jurisdiction to increase revenue.
In the United States, citation fines can vary widely between jurisdictions for the same behaviour, usually between $25 and $1000. In countries such as Finland, however, they are specific proportions of the violator’s income, and fines in excess of $100,000 can be assessed to wealthy individuals. In Canada, each province is individual in how they treat similar behaviour and each violation usually includes a set fine and demerit points against the driver’s license. For example, a speeding ticket in Ontario of 50+ km over is 6 demerit points against the driver’s licence with the approximate fine calculated as (km over x 9.75) x 1.25, as well it carries a one week automatic licence suspension and car impoundment. In Manitoba speeding in excess of 49 km is 8 demerit points and a fine of 557 dollars.
Examples of moving violations
speeding, which can be exceeding a limit or simply driving an unsafe speed
driving too slowly for road conditions, particularly in a left-hand lane
running a stop sign or red traffic light
failure to yield to another vehicle with the right-of-way
failure to signal for turns or lane changes
failing to drive within a single lane
crossing over a center divider, median or gore
driving on the shoulder where it is considered illegal under certain conditions
failure to use a seat belt
failure to stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk
failure to stop for a school bus when children are boarding or exiting
failure to secure a load to a truck or lorry
driving in a car pool lane illegally
More serious moving violations include:
driving under the influence
reckless driving
road rage
street racing
vehicular homicide

Traffic

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:30:31 +0000

Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel. Traffic laws are the laws which govern traffic and regulate vehicles, while rules of the road are both the laws and the informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly and timely flow of traffic.
Organized traffic generally has well-established priorities, lanes, right-of-way, and traffic control at intersections.
Traffic is formally organized in many jurisdictions, with marked lanes, junctions, intersections, interchanges, traffic signals, or signs. Traffic is often classified by type: heavy motor vehicle (e.g., car, truck); other vehicle (e.g., moped, bicycle); and pedestrian. Different classes may share speed limits and easement, or may be segregated. Some jurisdictions may have very detailed and complex rules of the road while others rely more on drivers’ common sense and willingness to cooperate.
Organization typically produces a better combination of travel safety and efficiency. Events which disrupt the flow and may cause traffic to degenerate into a disorganized mess include: road construction, collisions and debris in the roadway. On particularly busy freeways, a minor disruption may persist in a phenomenon known as traffic waves. A complete breakdown of organization may result in traffic jams and gridlock. Simulations of organized traffic frequently involve queuing theory, stochastic processes and equations of mathematical physics applied to traffic flow.

Traffic ticket

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:27:31 +0000

A traffic ticket is a summons and citation issued by police officers to motorists and other road users who fail to obey traffic laws. Traffic tickets generally come in two forms, citing a moving violation, such as exceeding the speed limit, or a non-moving violation, such as a parking ticket. Traffic tickets are generally heard in traffic court.
Generally, a ticket is a notification that one has committed a minor or sometimes major legal infraction, for which a fine must be paid and postmarked and sent by the due date, and/or an appearance in court must be made (See: summons). Typically, this means a parking ticket for parking in an unlawful manner or allowing a parking meter to expire, or a traffic ticket for a moving violation such as speeding. The latter are usually issued after traffic stops.
In the United States, most traffic laws are codified in a variety of state, county and municipal ordinances, with most minor violations classified as civil infractions. Although what constitutes a “minor violation” varies, examples include: non-moving violations; defective or unauthorized vehicle equipment; seat belt and child-restraint safety violations; and insufficient proof of license, insurance or registration. A trend in the late 1970s and early 1980s also saw an increased tendency for jurisdictions to re-classify certain speeding violations as civil infractions.[1] In contrast, for more “serious” violations, traffic violators may be held criminally liable, guilty of a misdemeanor or even a felony. Serious violations tend to involve multiple prior offenses; willful disregard of public safety; death, serious bodily injury or damage to property.
Each state’s Department of Motor Vehicles maintains a database of motorists, including their convicted traffic violations. Upon being ticketed, a motorist is given the option to mail in to the local court — the court for the town or city in which the violation took place — a plea of guilty or not guilty within a certain time frame (usually ten days, although courts generally provide leniency in this regard). It has been estimated that approximately three out of every ten drivers in the United States will receive a traffic ticket within the time span of one calendar year.
If the motorist pleads not guilty, a trial date is set and both the motorist, or a lawyer/representative representing the motorist, and the ticketing officer, are required to attend. If the officer or representative fails to attend, the court judge will often find in favor of the motorist and dismiss the charge,[citation needed] although sometimes the trial date is moved to give the officer another chance to attend. The court will also make provisions for the officer to achieve a deal with the motorist, often in the form of a plea bargain. If no agreement is reached, both motorist and officer, or their respective representatives, formally attempt to prove their case before the judge, who then decides the matter.
If the motorist pleads guilty, the outcome is equivalent to conviction after trial. Upon conviction, the motorist is generally fined a monetary amount and, for moving violations, is additionally given “points” demerits, under each state’s point system. In the cases where the motorist is registered in a different state from where the violation took place, individual agreements between the two states decide if, and how, the motorist’s home state applies the other state’s conviction. If no agreement exists, then the conviction is local to the state where the violation took place. In some instances, failure to pay the fine may result in a suspension to drive in only the city or state to whom the fine is owed, and the motorist may continue to drive elsewhere in the same state.