Consequences of Pleading Guilty To A Traffic Citation

 Posted on September 20, 2016 in Traffic Offenses

Many drivers in Illinois are stopped by law enforcement and issued traffic citations when they allegedly violate one of Illinois many traffic laws. While a ticket could be embarrassing, or might make you mad, you must take some sort of action regarding your traffic ticket.

Consequences of Pleading Guilty to a Traffic Violation

Most tickets are simple to deal with, and many do not even require the driver to appear in court. There are many types of traffic tickets that can simply be paid over the internet or at the courthouse. Many drivers elect to pay their fine and be done with their ticket. But payment of the ticket fine is effectively the same as pleading guilty to your traffic citation.

Countless Illinois drivers do not realize that this is the case and are surprised to learn that there are consequences for paying the fine and effectively pleading guilty to a traffic offense. For instance, in some cases, it can mean that points will be added to your driver’s license by the Illinois Driver Services Department. If you get too many points on your driver’s license in a certain amount of time, your driver’s license can be suspended. The more points you have on your driver’s license also translates to increased car insurance premium rates.

Paying the fine on your traffic ticket will also create a record of your admission of guilt in your driving record, which is maintained by the Illinois Driver Services Department. This record is communicated to law enforcement and government agencies in other states.

While it is important to deal with your traffic ticket as soon as possible (as traffic tickets always come with a date by which payment is due), you do not have to admit guilt. You can always fight any traffic ticket that is issued to you in court. A skilled Illinois traffic offenses lawyer can help you make your case to the court, and it may be possible to get your charges and fine reduced, if not dropped completely.

What Happens if You Ignore Your Ticket?

Pretending that your traffic ticket never happened is not a good idea either. If you do not pay the fine for your ticket, or you fail to make a scheduled court appearance, it can result in a judgment against you and a warrant could be issued for your arrest. It is also likely that if you ignore a traffic ticket, your driver’s license will be suspended.

Got A Traffic Ticket? Talk To Us

Traffic tickets happen to drivers all the time, and if you believe that you were wrongly ticketed, then you should consult with an experienced Rolling Meadows traffic violations lawyer about fighting your ticket. We are eager to assist you today.

Source:

http://www.ilga.gov/JCAR/AdminCode/092/092010400000200R.html