Florida Drivers License
The State of Florida will issue over 4 million traffic tickets in 2007. Most of the citations are for speeding but they run the gamut from running stop signs to aggressive driving. The good news is that Florida drivers have an easy way to avoid any negative effects from a traffic ticket
While Florida does not track how many of the almost 5 million annual traffic tickets are issued to out of state drivers you can imagine its not uncommon. Many drivers think that they can ignore a ticket received in a state that did not issue their drivers license. But ignoring a traffic ticket can result in bigger fine or drivers license suspension. In many cases this catches drivers by surprise.
The Florida DMV has one of the most effective driver improvement systems in the nation for traffic tickets assuming you know your options and meet the schedule. If you have a Florida drivers license then you can take a Florida traffic school course online, receive no points, and your auto insurance cannot go up. Florida drivers can exercise this option five times in their life for most non-criminal infractions such as a speeding ticket or a moving violation.
The Florida Drivers Association provides driver education courses on the Internet and home videos for learner's permits, tickets, accidents and insurance discounts. More than 2 million Florida drivers have taken these courses. Florida Drivers Association courses are approved by the DMV in all 67 counties in Florida
Out of State Drivers License If you have an out of state drivers license you may still be able to take traffic school also known as Defensive Driving from a Florida accredited school such as www.123driving.com and receive all the same benefits. When drivers complete a driving course Florida closes the case and the status is recorded as adjudication withheld - which means you were not found guilty (or innocent) of the infraction. Each state DMV has its own rules. California for example will recognize the adjudication withheld status from Florida and assign no points to a California drivers license.
If you are visiting Florida and get a traffic ticket follow these simple steps.
Contact your state DMV office and ask them if they will assign you points for a Florida ticket with a status of adjudication withheld.
When a driver is issued a drivers license in Florida he/she would normally have three choices. They can pay the full fine and accept the points, they can fight it in court, or they can complete a state approved traffic school course . By completing a traffic school class a driver avoids receiving any points and their auto insurance cannot go up. Ten years ago traffic school meant spending one's Saturday in a hotel meeting room with a bunch of strangers. Today a driver can complete it from home.
Be sure to pay your traffic citation fine within 30 days and if you are electing defensive driving then inform the clerk at the time of your payment. You will pay your fine and send all correspondence to the clerk of court in the Florida county where you received your ticket.Complete your class within the allotted time. Each Florida County Clerk sets their own deadline. Typically you have 60 to 90 days from the date your pay your fine.Most important is that you do not just forget or ignore the traffic ticket. Your state will hear about it and in many cases it will affect your driving record.