Should I Just Pay My Speeding Ticket?
After receiving a speeding ticket, it would seem that just paying it without going to Court would be the most convenient way to resolve the issue. However, just paying the speeding ticket could result in negative consequences to your driving privileges. That is because if you just pay your speeding ticket, then the speeding violation will appear on your driving record as a conviction. A conviction means the offense will be seen on your driving record and is a formal declaration of your guilt to that offense. Because a speeding citation is considered a moving violation, a conviction of such an offense will go against your driving privileges.
If you are over 21 years old, having 3 moving convictions such as speeding in a 12- month span will result in a suspension of your driver’s license. If you are under 21 years old, having two moving convictions such as speeding in a 24-month span will result in your driver’s license being suspended.
Furthermore, the Illinois Secretary of State uses a point system to determine suspensions of driver’s license based on moving violations. If you are over 21 years old and you are ticketed speeding 1-10 miles per over the speeding limit resulting in a conviction, then you will be assessed 5 points towards your driving record. If you are ticketed for speeding 11-14 miles per hour over the limit resulting in a conviction, then the Secretary of State will assess 15 points towards your driving record. A conviction for speeding 15-25 miles per hour over the limit will have the Secretary of State assessing 20 points against your driving record.
If you are over 21 years old and you accrue 15 to 44 points then your driver’s license will be suspended for two months. If you are under 21 years old and accrue 10 to 34 points, then your driver’s license will be suspended for 1 month.
If you are over 21 and you have accrued 45-74 points, then you are looking at a 3-month driver’s license suspension. Accruing 35 to 49 points under 21 years old will result in a 3-month suspension. The more points accrued means the lengthier the license suspension and eventually revocation of your driver’s license.
The theme to this article is that if you just pay your speeding ticket, then you will have points assessed against you. Therefore, contacting a knowledgeable traffic lawyer can help prevent potential suspension of your driver’s license. We are a law firm that specializes in traffic defense and help clients avoid potential suspension to their driver’s license.