As common as it is to get into a car accident at some point in your life, it’s even more common to get a traffic violation of some sort. From the moment we get our licenses to the day we make some young whippersnapper drive us around, some sort of mistake — genuine or alleged — is bound to happen. If and when it does, it typically isn’t usually a world-shattering event. No one likes paying tickets, but usually that’s all that happens — a quick fine and you move on with your life.
Except when it’s not.
And (spoiler alert), it is pretty much never JUST a fine, even if you don’t see immediate consequences. Traffic violations stack on each other like a terrible, legal Russian doll and before you know it, you can’t drive anywhere because you’ve lost your license, and you’re in jail, and your day is very bad. Okay, I MAY be exaggerating for dramatic effect, but the charges do stack, you can face all those consequences and more, and in some cases, you can face them without ever actually committing the violation for which you’re being charged.
Because traffic violations are so common, there are automatic systems in place meant to “catch” offenders without a human ever needing to see them. Think of those handy toll booths you just sail through and cameras at red lights. They can’t catch everything, but they notice speeding, toll-skippers, and light-runners and automatically send citations accordingly. This is all well and good in theory, but what about when your car is stolen and the car thief is the one breaking all the rules?
A poor woman in Baltimore is trying to tie up the legal fallout from this very thing. After being carjacked at gunpoint, she ended up responsible for the traffic tickets her thief racked up. As if that’s not bad enough, the system as it stands has been less than helpful in assisting her with it. She was able to get one ticket dismissed by a judge, but got the run-around for literal years regarding the other one, and was left unable to get a new registration until she paid the fines.
This was back in 2020, and she has now had everything dropped against her, but it took years of constant back-and-forth with officials and headaches, and that, my friends, is a perfect example of how an Annapolis traffic violations defense attorney can help — because had this woman had one, she probably would not have needed to fight for quite so long. Our whole thing as defense attorneys is arguing against unfair charges like this.
Traffic violations matter more than you think
Public roads have laws that all drivers must abide by, and when you appear to have broken one of those laws, you get a traffic violation. Simple on the surface, but few people understand just how EASY it can be to accidentally experience it yourself, and how easy it can be for things to escalate beyond a ticket — especially if you’re Black.
While Maryland boasts giving an “equal” number of white and non-white drivers violations, looking deeper shows that, out of those pulled over, Black people are less likely to be let off with a warning, and likelier to be arrested than their non-black counterparts (non-Black POC have lower numbers than white people in all categories, but that doesn’t mean they do not face similar discrimination). This doesn’t show that Black people NEED to be arrested more often; it just shows they’re less likely to be given any grace or understanding once even the smallest of traffic laws is alleged to be broken.
Common traffic violations include speeding (or driving too slowly), tailgating, violating right-of-way, neglecting traffic signs or lights, reckless behavior like passing on the right or weaving around cars, and other obvious, dangerous maneuvers. However, each of those violations have their own sub-genres, if you will, that compound the penalties depending on where you receive the violation.
Speeding in front of a school gets you heftier fines than speeding on the highway, for example. And, while most violations don’t require you to do anything more than plead guilty and pay a ticket (or contest in court, which you should be doing), some offenses like drunk driving, fleeing the cops (per their opinion), or driving with a suspended license can get you arrested and/or force you to appear in court whether you like it or not.
If you do plead guilty, no matter the offense, you’ll receive some number of points on your license. The more serious the violation, the higher the points, and remember what I said about how these things stack? Well, here’s where it matters. Multiple violations mean more points, which means higher penalties — and they stay on your license for two years, so you have all that time to add more.
Assuming you only face traffic charges and don’t have to worry about criminal consequences, those points still carry more weight than you think. The MVA sends you a warning letter once you have three points (again, over the course of two years), forces you to attend a special driving school at five points, suspends your license at eight, and straight-up revokes it at 12.
This is why pleading guilty to anything always matters — even if it’s just a speeding ticket. Do not do ANYTHING without first consulting with a traffic violation attorney, and that goes double if you were arrested or will need to otherwise appear in court. You can and should challenge every point and charge brought up against you, especially if it’s serious, especially if you already have points on your license, and ESPECIALLY if you didn’t even do what you were accused of.
Why hiring an Annapolis traffic violation attorney is always worth it
Every aspect of a traffic violation case, from the ticket itself to the points to the consequences and everything in between, can be legally challenged with the help of an experienced attorney. If you’ve already pled guilty and received the points, even if you’ve already lost your license, there could be appeals for your charges, MVA hearings for the points, and other contests available to you and you absolutely cannot trust anyone else to actually tell you that. They don’t want you to know. They want you to plead guilty, shut up, and pay the fine. Instead, plead nothing, shut up, and ring my line.
See, when you hire a traffic violation attorney like me, you’re not just hiring legal representation to work with you both in court and with the MVA. While it is true that my years of experience and knowledge will be at your disposal, I’ll also be able to pore over the details of your case and gather my own evidence to come up with the appropriate defense. Maybe the violation was legally justifiable (like you had a medical emergency) or excusable (such as signs being missing or obstructed), or even necessary (like swerving to avoid a deer or another vehicle). Maybe the machine that “caught” your violation was working improperly, or it wasn’t you actually driving the car and the machine couldn’t tell.
Whatever the most applicable defense is, I work tirelessly to build a case around it, and I even have an entirely separate list of defenses for the actual MVA hearing to get your points reduced or expunged. So, if you’ve been served a traffic violation for any reason here in Annapolis or Ellicott City, you want me and my firm — Drew Cochran, Attorney at Law — on your side. Don’t hesitate to dial my digits or use my contact form. Any legal violation is a violation worth contesting.
Just remember — Keep Calm, and Call Drew!
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