By Juan Lucia
Having a clean driving record is critical, especially in reducing your insurance rates. However, if you have ever committed a traffic violation in the past, you might wonder how you can clean up your past driving history. One of the best ways of clearing your driving record is by practicing safe driving habits. For instance, you need to ensure that you drive defensively, stick to speed limits and use correct turning signals.
In that way, you can avoid offering the traffic officers the reason to impose fines, arrest you and avoid situations that can contribute to an accident. In reality, when driving your car, it is almost impossible to avoid mistakes. Just like most legal cases, the process of resolving violations from your history will vary depending on your state. Below are the best strategies you can employ.
Attend defensive driving classes
Attending defensive driving classes can help you to improve your record. The course can be offered in person or online, depending on your state. They normally last about 4 to 12 hours, and you are not expected to undertake any physical demonstrations. The topics you would cover include education on the safety laws of your state, accident prevention, and car maintenance tips. However, you need to ensure that you enroll with a certified organization to receive credit. Further, insurance firms would like to see your certificate after completing the course. The advantages of pursuing the defensive driving class include qualifying for discounts on car insurance and minimizing points in your driving record.
Request for expungement or deferment
You will be allowed to pay a fine to your state to maintain a clean driving record after receiving a ticket when you request a deferment. However, you are expected to stay ticket-free for the agreed period so that traffic officers can clear the violation from your history. In contrast, if you request for expungement, authorities will remove your violation after driving safely for a certain period, which might be five or seven years, depending on the violation. However, some tickets, especially criminal charges such as DUI, might not be eligible for erasure.
Handle the tickets that you can easily get
Fix-it tickets imply situations where you can effortlessly take action to solve a mistake you committed. For instance, you might find yourself in a situation where you had insurance coverage, but you could trace your card while the authorities accused you. In most cases, you need to present evidence to the court so that the jury can dismiss your citation. The common example of tickets that you can fix include:
- Car registration violations such as driving a car with an expired registration
- Equipment violations including defective headlights/turn signals/ taillights, illegal window tint, improper use of high beams, and faulty speedometer
- Insurance violations such as if you lose or misplace or someone steals your insurance card
- Driver’s license violation, including forgetting your license at home
Drive safely
Show up to court
Regardless of the type of violation, you have the option of contesting the ticket in a court of law. Even if you received red-light camera tickets that are automatically mailed when you’re running without stopping might be argued, the judge might understand your perspective and provide you with a reprieve. Also, the officer who offered you a ticket might fail to attend the court proceedings, meaning the judge will drop your case. Further, you can get a chance to negotiate for a lower penalty that can have a limited effect on your driving record. Not only that, you need to share extenuating circumstances, offer documentation, avoid excuses, and present facts to win your case. For instance, the judge might only require you to present your account of rushing your loved one to the hospital for emergency treatment to dismiss your case.
Hire a lawyer
You can consider hiring a professional lawyer if you have experienced substantial fees because of several speeding tickets or DUI. The legal counsel will manage your case in court and advise you on the strategies for resolving your case.
