From commuting to work and transporting children to school to getting groceries and attending important appointments, for most residents in Atlantic City, driving is an essential part of everyday life. It’s important to keep in mind, however, that driving is a privilege and not a right and drivers who are cited for violating traffic laws can lose their driving privileges.
In New Jersey, certain traffic violations are assigned penalty points. If you accrue 12 or more points on your driving record, your driver’s license will be suspended for at least 30 days. Once the suspension period ends, you must pay a fee to reinstate your license.
The reinstatement of your driver’s license signals the start of a mandatory 12-month probation period. During this probationary period, any citation related to a moving traffic violation will result in your driver’s license being suspended for at least 45 days.
Common moving traffic violations
Only moving traffic violations result in a driver incurring points on his or her driving record. Examples of common moving traffic violations and the corresponding penalty points include:
- Reckless driving = 5 points
- Tailgating = 5 points
- Speeding (15-29 mph over limit) = 4 points
- Passing in no passing zone = 4 points
- Failure to stop/yield at sign = 2 points
- Failure to signal = 2 points
In addition to possibly losing your driving privileges, with each driving violation, you’ll be forced to pay costly fines and your auto insurance rates increase.
Avoid a driver’s license suspension
If you accrue 12 or more points on your driver’s license, you will receive a scheduled suspension notice. This notice lists the specific driving violation(s) that you’re accused of committing and the start date of your suspension period. Upon receiving this notice you can sign and return it, stating that you will comply with the terms of the suspension, or you can fight to maintain your driving privileges and request a motor vehicle suspension hearing.
If you request and are granted a suspension hearing, it’s important to retain legal representation. An experienced defense attorney who handles traffic violations can present compelling evidence to support your case and fight to have an impending scheduled suspension terminated or reduced.