How Long Does a Speeding Traffic Violation Stay On My Record?

Posted speed limits on roadways and city streets are assigned after research is done on the traffic flow and after the general conditions of the road are taken into account. Corners and curves, hills and flats all have different posted speed limits in order to keep the public safe. In most cases, the law enforcement agencies issue speeding tickets and citations as a means of protecting public safety, and look at traffic violation speeding as a direct lack of concern for the safety element. If you’ve been cited with a fine for a speed limit infraction, you may be wondering what the true consequences can be.

Fines and Points

When a person is issued a speeding ticket, there is typically a fine amount and a determined amount of points placed on his driver’s license.

Depending on the number of offenses that person has committed, the fine can either be light or severe.
In some cases of repetitive or “habitual” speeding, the individual may have his license taken away at the scene of the arrest and be put in jail.
Even if the person cited isn’t arrested and detained, the number of infractions he's received can affect license points, rendering his license invalid until they either argue the ticket to get their points altered or earn a good driving record back by the passing of time.

How Long Will the Infraction Remain on My Record?

In most cases this factor depends on both the state and whether or not you fight or argue the ticket. It can also depend on the nature of the infraction, due to different traffic laws in different states and jurisdictions. Excessive speeding or habitual offenses are often considered criminal charges and stay on your record forever. However, in most cases, the typical duration of a common speeding violation remaining on your record is a term of 3 to 5 years.

Non-Law Consequences

Receiving a speeding violation can also have consequences that aren’t directly related to legal penalties. If you have automobile insurance, which is mandated in all states to some extent, when the insurance company performs their annual record checks and sees that you’ve received a fine for speeding, your premium will increase due to the risk of carrying your insurance policy.

Also, if you are employed with a firm that requires you to drive a company vehicle and requires you to keep a clean driving record, they may see your fine in their routine record checks. Loss of pay rate, even loss of job can occur if your employer finds a speeding citation on your record.

Getting Help

Depending on the nature of your traffic violation and the circumstances surrounding the event, it may be advisable to consult with an experienced attorney. Your lawyer can help you to fight your speeding ticket in order to reduce the penalties you face. Your attorney can thus help you to minimize fines and other possible consequences of a speeding traffic violation.

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