Philadelphia Criminal Defense Attorney Mark D. Hauser

More than ninety percent of the people in this country over the age of sixteen are licensed to drive, and there is more than one car registered for each one of them. These figures translate into trillions of miles driven each year with millions of traffic infractions, making traffic control an issue of immense proportions. The first traffic laws and regulations began to appear in the 1920s, and they now constitute a huge part of most state codes.

The primary purpose of traffic-violation regulations is to deter unsafe driving and to educate and reform bad drivers. Studies have shown that traffic offenders generally keep amassing traffic violations, and that most people obey the laws, even when there is no perceived safety reason for doing so, such as waiting for a green light at 2:00 a.m. Compliance with the laws increases when drivers believe they will be caught and decreases when they perceive they can get away with a specific infraction.

Traffic Tickets: "Strict Liability Offenses"

The majority of traffic tickets are issued for "strict-liability" offenses. This means that no particular criminal intent is required to convict a person of the offense. The only proof needed is that the person did the prohibited act. Strict-liability traffic offenses typically include such offenses as:

Speeding
Failure to use turn signals
Failure to yield
Turning into the wrong lane
Driving a car with burned-out headlights
Parking in a handicap spot without the required sticker, and
Overdue parking meters.

Moving Violations vs. Non-Moving Violations

A moving violation occurs whenever a traffic law is violated by a vehicle in motion. Some examples of moving violations are speeding, running a stop sign or red light, and drunk driving. A non-moving violation, by contrast, is usually related to parking or faulty equipment. Examples include parking in front of a fire hydrant, parking in a no-parking zone, parking in front of an expired meter, and excessive muffler noise.

Processing Traffic Tickets

Many jurisdictions provide for administrative processing of most traffic tickets as minor offenses or "infractions", thereby removing them from criminal court altogether. In those cases, an offender is not subject to incarceration or large fines and is not entitled to a lawyer or a jury trial. (Note: The fine for speeding tickets can be quite large, as some states impose a fine based on the rate at which the offender was exceeding the speed limit.) Even though most traffic tickets are handled in an expeditious manner in the court system, a "conviction" for a traffic infraction can have a negative effect on a person's driving privileges and insurance rates.

Certain traffic violations are considered more serious than infractions, and can rise to the level of a misdemeanor crime (or felony), especially if the offense involves injury to a person or destruction of property (such as leaving the scene of an accident). People accused of these more-serious traffic violations are entitled to all constitutional protections provided to criminal defendants, including the right to a court-appointed attorney and a jury trial.

Traffic Tickets: Get Help Now

Even good, safety-focused drivers can be charged with a traffic violation. If you have been charged with breaking a traffic law and would like to learn more about your rights to "fight" the ticket, the best place to start is to speak with an experienced Traffic Ticket Attorney in your area. A Traffic Ticket Attorney will evaluate all aspects of your case and explain all options available to you -- including the administrative procedure and driving record penalties you can expect -- and will work with you to ensure the best possible outcome for your case.

Misdemeanor & Felony Traffic Offenses

Most traffic tickets are issued for traffic offenses called "infractions" -- including tickets for mechanical violations and most non-dangerous moving violations. Infractions do not usually carry the same stigma and penalties as serious criminal offenses. But certain traffic-related offenses are categorized as "misdemeanors" or even "felonies", and can result in more significant fines, loss of driving privileges, or even imprisonment.

Generally speaking in most states, a traffic violation becomes a misdemeanor or felony if it:

Causes injury to a person or destruction of property, or
Creates a real threat of injury to a person or destruction of property.

Going through a red light may be a misdemeanor in one state, for instance, but it becomes a felony if the driver maliciously hits another vehicle in the intersection and an occupant of that vehicle dies. In addition, some traffic offenses are defined as misdemeanors or felonies from the outset, such as driving with a revoked license, leaving the scene of an accident, or reckless driving.

People accused of these more-serious traffic violations are entitled to all constitutional protections provided to criminal defendants, including the right to a court-appointed attorney and a jury trial. Following is a discussion of traffic misdemeanors and traffic felonies.

Traffic Misdemeanors

The criminal justice system would quickly be overwhelmed if every minor breach of the law required a full criminal trial. Therefore, less egregious traffic violations are often treated as misdemeanors (although many minor traffic offenses are considered even less severe "infractions"). Misdemeanors are less serious crimes, generally punishable by a fine or incarceration in the county jail for less than one year. Although precise classifications vary on a state-by-state basis, common examples of traffic misdemeanors include:

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs,
Failing to stop at the scene of an accident,
Driving without a valid driver's license,
Driving without insurance, and
Reckless driving.

For many of these violations, the driver will be taken into custody and required to post a bail bond, just as he or she would for non-traffic crimes. Incarceration sentences for misdemeanor convictions are less severe than sentences for felony convictions, and other potential consequences of misdemeanor convictions are also generally less harsh. For example, a person with a misdemeanor conviction on his or her record may, for instance, still be able to serve on a jury, practice his or her profession, and vote.

Traffic Felonies

Felonies are typically the most serious crimes in any system of criminal law, and felony traffic offenses are no exception. A standard definition of a felony is any crime punishable by more than one year in prison or by death. This means that a crime that has a sentence of only a fine or confinement in the local jail for a short period of time is not a felony. Often the offense itself is not labeled as a felony, but the punishment tells the public that the offense is a felony. On the other hand, state codes may label a crime a "gross" or "aggravated" misdemeanor but provide for a sentence of more than one year in the state penitentiary system, thereby ensuring that the so-called misdemeanor is treated as a felony in many respects. Examples of felony traffic offenses include repeat DUI/DWI convictions, certain "hit and run" offenses, and vehicular homicide.

A person convicted of a felony may have more restrictions on his or her rights than a person convicted of a lesser crime. In addition to longer prison sentences in harsher settings, in many jurisdictions felons cannot serve on juries. Often times, they also lose their right to vote or to practice certain professions, such as law and teaching. Felons may be prohibited from owning guns or serving in the military. And some states have a "three strikes, you're out" statute, which provides that a person who already has been convicted of two felonies may be sentenced to life in prison if he or she is convicted of a third.

Misdemeanor and Felony Traffic Offenses: Get Help Now

Traffic charges must be taken as seriously as any other criminal charges, especially when a traffic offense rises to the level of a misdemeanor or felony, which carry the potential for harsh consequences. If you have been charged with a traffic-related misdemeanor or felony, the best place to start is to speak with an experienced Traffic Ticket Attorney in your area. A Traffic Ticket Attorney will evaluate all aspects of your case and explain all options available to you, and will work with you to ensure the best possible outcome for your case. In some cases, a Traffic Ticket Attorney may be able to "plead down" a serious traffic offense from a felony to a misdemeanor, in order to best minimize punishment for the offense.

Traffic Tickets FAQ

Q: What is a "moving violation"?

A: A moving violation occurs whenever a traffic law is violated by a vehicle in motion. Some examples of moving violations are speeding, running a stop sign or red light, and drunk driving. A non-moving violation, by contrast, is usually related to parking or faulty equipment. Examples include parking in front of a fire hydrant, parking in a no-parking zone, parking in front of an expired meter, and excessive muffler noise.

Q: If I am guilty of a traffic violation, shouldn't I just pay the ticket and get it over with?

A: If you plead guilty to a traffic charge, the court will typically require you to pay the maximum fine allowed by law and will record the conviction on your DMV record for a period of years. A conviction on your record can increase your insurance premiums and accumulate with any other charges such that, eventually, you could lose your driving privileges. An experienced Traffic Ticket Lawyer can advise you on whether it may be worth fighting a ticket in your particular circumstances.

Q: How does police radar work?

A: Radar works by sending out pulses or a continuous signal of radio waves and "listening" for the reflection. When the pulse hits a moving object, its frequency changes. The exact amount of change depends on the speed of the object and the direction in which it is traveling. Most police forces use radar for measuring speed, enforcing speed limits, and collecting revenue. Some defendants have, however, been able to successfully challenge radar readings in court.

Q: How does laser detection work?

A: LIDAR (light detection and ranging) is different from conventional radar in that it uses laser light to detect vehicle speed and measures the distance from the gun to the target several times. From the change in distance, it can calculate the speed of a passing vehicle. The usual target of the laser is the vehicle's license plate, which is easy to see and is a good reflector. This is important because the gun relies on the reflections from the target to calculate the speed. It is essential that the gun be held very steady to get an accurate reading. LIDAR, unlike radar, is very hard to detect by "fuzz-buster"-type devices.

Q: Do police officers have a quota of tickets to write by the end of the month?

A: Although the enforcement of "quotas" is not standard police department practice, police work, like all occupations, does include performance standards. If a police officer consistently returns at the end of his or her shift with no stops or arrests to report, that could and should arouse suspicion from the higher-ups. Nonetheless, the real crux of the matter is not whether an officer was trying to achieve some magical number of citations, but rather whether the particular citation issued was valid and justified. If not, it may be worth fighting it in court, whether it was the first ticket of the month or the one-thousandth.

Q: Can I refuse a Breathalyzer test if I get stopped for drunk driving?

A: Although the answer can vary by state, in many cases such a refusal is itself a criminal violation subject to stiff penalties. In addition, if the case against you is proven anyhow, the penalties for the refusal may be above and beyond those for the drunk driving itself.

Q: Should I try to "pay my way" out of a ticket?

A: Offering a police officer money in exchange for not writing a traffic ticket can be viewed as bribery, extortion, or other serious crimes. If you want to contest the ticket, there are legitimate ways to do so that will not add to your problems, compound the penalties, and exacerbate the situation.

Q: What is the difference between a misdemeanor traffic offense and a felony traffic offense?

A: Although many traffic violations are deemed mere infractions, some are misdemeanors, which carry stiffer fines and the possibility of up to one year in jail. The most serious traffic crimes are felonies, which generally involve repeat offenses or violations that result in injury to persons or property. Felonies have even greater penalties, including higher fines and imprisonment for over a year.

Q: What if I lose my license but continue to drive anyway?

A: If a person whose license has been revoked or suspended due to previous traffic violations chooses to drive without a valid license and is pulled over, he or she stands to suffer more serious consequences, including fines and imprisonment. The more prudent course of action is to rely on friends and family for rides or use public transportation.