Most people have a pretty good idea of what happens when they get a traffic violation in their home state. They can get a certain number of points on their license and their car insurance can end up going up. But few people realize the effect that an out-of-state ticket can have and what they should do if they get one.
Keep Your Driving Record Clean
As an out-of-state driver, if you get a ticket while driving in Arizona, then the last thing you’ll want to do is to ignore it. Any traffic violations that occur in Arizona will be reported to your home state. Some states may not apply the violation to your record, depending on the severity of the violation.
You should know what your state’s stance is on applying out-of-state traffic violations to your record. You may be eligible for online defensive driving school, which dismisses the citation, but there’s a fee to enroll.
What If It Goes On My Driving Record?
If you know that your traffic violation won’t be applied, then you may want to just take the defensive driving class or pay the ticket. However, if it will hurt your record, then you should strongly consider seeking legal advice in Arizona.
A lawyer can help fight your traffic violation to prevent it from hurting your record. For example, if you got your ticket due to a traffic camera, a lawyer can argue that it was inaccurate. Even if your lawyer can’t get your charges dismissed, they may be able to get the charges reduced so that they don’t hurt your record. If you do choose to fight the charges, don’t pay the ticket, as this is considered an admission of guilt.
If you get a ticket in Arizona from out of state, consider hiring a lawyer to fight the charges by contacting us at Pinnacle Law today.
