Traffic law

SIGNIFICANCE: Violations of traffic laws are usually considered minor criminal offenses, although in some jurisdictions less serious traffic offenses have been decriminalized and are called infractions.

Although there may be separate rules of procedure in traffic cases, the basic procedure, especially in serious offenses, is the same as in criminal cases. The state or municipality is the party that brings the charge. The burden of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt, and the same constitutional protections are afforded as apply in criminal cases.

The penalties meted out for most minor violations are traffic fines. In addition, most states have established point systems in which points are assessed on one’s driving record for each moving traffic violation. The number of points assessed varies according to the seriousness of the violation. When persons accumulate a certain number of points within a period of time, their driver’s licenses may be suspended. In some states persons can remove points or even avoid conviction for minor traffic offenses by attending traffic school. An indirect consequence of traffic conviction may be an increase in insurance premiums through loss of a safe driver discount or because a bad driving record places a driver in a higher risk category. Professional drivers must also consider the effects of traffic violations on their employment records.

As a general rule, a traffic law applies only if a violation occurs on a public street, highway, or public way. There are important exceptions, however. In many jurisdictions the offense of drunk driving can occur anywhere, even on private property. The definition section and the cited section of the traffic code should always be carefully reviewed to determine under what circumstances a violation can occur.

In almost all traffic offenses, a specific intent to violate the law is not necessary. Accordingly, persons cannot use as a defense that they did not see a stop sign or did not know that they had exceeded the speed limit. These matters, however, may be raised in mitigation.

Traffic Tickets

The usual procedure that is followed when a motorist appears to have violated a minor traffic law is for the officer to stop the vehicle and issue the driver a citation or ticket. This advises the person of the date, time, and place for the court appearance and of the particular offense for which the motorist is charged. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the mere stop and issuance of a ticket is not an arrest. It is therefore not necessary for an officer to read a motorist the Miranda rights, which are warnings to suspects that they enjoy certain constitutional safeguards during questioning by law-enforcement officials. Any statements or admissions made at the time of the stop can be used in court against the driver without showing that the Miranda rights were read. It is most important at the time of a stop for the driver to give only essential information to the officer. Many persons have lost cases in court by telling police officers that they were going too fast to stop at a red light or by saying that they were driving only sixty-five miles per hour when an officer accused them of driving seventy miles per hour in a fifty-five mile per hour zone.

After the issuance of the ticket the officer usually provides information as to how to avoid a court appearance by merely paying a fine in person or by mail. It should be noted that before alleged offenders are allowed to leave, a computer check is made to determine whether they have valid driver’s licenses and whether there are any warrants outstanding against them. In the past, nonresident drivers were required to post a bond with cash, a credit card, or an automobile club card. If they failed to make court appearances, which was often the case, the bond was forfeited and the case closed. Because almost all states have become signatories to the Non-Resident Violator Compact, the bond requirement may be waived for minor violations and nonresident drivers treated the same as local residents by being given the option of mailing in the fine or appearing in court at a later date.

Failure to appear in court or pay the fine has serious consequences. A local resident who ignores a citation will ultimately discover that a warrant has been issued, and the next encounter with a police officer will trigger an arrest. Out-of-state residents who ignore traffic tickets may find that the motor vehicle authority in their state has suspended their driving privileges under the Non-Resident Violator Compact.

Speeding Offenses

Speeding is the most common type of traffic violation, followed by stop sign and red light violations. Speed laws may be absolute in that the mere fact that a driver has exceeded the speed limit constitutes a violation. An example of such a law was the 55-mile-per-hour speed limit imposed by the federal government in the 1970’s as an energy conservation measure but later repealed.

More commonly, speeding laws are drafted so that a violation occurs only if the speed is unreasonable and improper. To make enforcement easier, the law establishes speed limits and provides that they be posted. Drivers who exceed the posted speed limit are then considered to be in violation unless they show that the speed they were driving was reasonable and proper under the circumstances. Thus, if someone is charged with exceeding the posted 25-mile-per-hour speed limit in a business district during the early hours of the morning, a good argument could be made that a faster speed was not unreasonable or improper, because there was little or no vehicular or pedestrian traffic at that time.

The assured clear distance law regulates another type of speeding violation. Rear-end collisions are usually the result of violating this law. The basic rule of the road is that a motorist who is traveling behind another vehicle must be able to stop without colliding with the vehicle in front or any discernible object ahead in the path of travel.

With any traffic offense it is most important to carefully read the section of the traffic code under which a citation is issued. Each and every element of the offense must be present and proven by the arresting authority. It is not enough, for example, to be merely exceeding the posted speed limit in a school zone. A careful reading of the code section would probably disclose that children must actually be coming to or leaving school during opening or closing hours or at recess. This would be true even though flashers were operating warning of the school zone.

Testing devices require careful scrutiny. If a radar device is used, the traffic code, administrative rules, and case law should be researched to determine compliance. There are always very specific and definite rules as to calibration—that is, the check that has to be made to determine if the device is in good working order. The officer operating the radar device must also be trained and qualified in its use. Evidence that these requirements have been met must be introduced before any radar reading may be used as evidence against an allegedly errant drive.

Serious Traffic Offenses

Not all traffic violations are of such a minor nature that they are handled by a traffic ticket and a fine. Vehicular homicide and drunk driving are serious crimes punishable by possible jail or even prison terms. Driving under a suspended license, hit-and-run accidents , drag racing, and fleeing from police officers are likewise classified as serious traffic offenses in most states. In a drunk driving case, an arrest is made at the scene and the driver is transported to a lockup facility or patrol post. The Miranda rights are read to the driver as soon as practicable after the arrest so that any statements made by the driver may be used in court.

In the other serious traffic offenses, drivers may simply be given traffic citations to appear in court. In the case of nonresidents, cash or surety bonds are usually required. Court appearances in these serious cases are required, however, and cannot be avoided by the mere payment of fines. If a jail or prison sentence is to be imposed, accused persons are entitled to a court-appointed attorney if they are unable to pay for one. As to the right to a jury trial, the law varies from state to state. Under the U.S. Constitution as interpreted by court decisions, a defendant has the right to a jury trial when the offense charged carries with it a term of imprisonment of more than six months.

Civil Liability

A violation of a traffic law may cause an accident that results in property damage or personal injury. The issue then arises as to who is liable for the damages. In states that have a no-fault insurance law, it may be that the parties can only recover their losses from their own insurance companies. In states without a no-fault law, the loss can be recovered from the other party provided the other party was at fault.

Fault in a motor vehicle accident is usually determined by a violation of a traffic law if the violation caused the accident. Accordingly, if one driver running a red light resulted in an accident, the driver in legal terms would be negligent per se and the proximate cause of the accident. The driver or the driver’s insurance company would be liable for the damages to the driver and owner of the other vehicle. If both drivers violated the law, the issue of contributory negligence would apply, which would prevent or limit recovery by either driver.

Persons involved in traffic accidents should not admit fault at the scenes or enter guilty pleas in traffic court, as these acts would be admissions that can be used at trial to recover for damages. A driver cited for a violation of a traffic law under such circumstances who seeks to avoid the inconvenience and expense of contesting a traffic charge should enter a plea of no contest. Such a plea would not be admissible at a civil trial.

Bibliography

Bello, Phil. How to Win in Traffic Court: The Non-Lawyers Guide to Successfully Defending Traffic Violations. Gibbsboro, N.J.: Major Market Books, 1989.

Carroll, Alex. Beat the Cops: The Guide to Fighting Your Traffic Ticket and Winning, 2nd ed. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Ace, 2010.

Glass, James A. Traffic Court: How to Win. Arcadia, Calif.: Allenby Press, 1988.

Moritz, Natalie. "Traffic Laws." Find Law, 7 Dec. 2023, www.findlaw.com/traffic.html. Accessed 10 July 2024.

"Preliminary Semiannual Estimates." National Safety Council, 2024, injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/overview/preliminary-estimates/. Accessed 10 July 2024.

Shankey, Michael. The U.S. Motor Vehicle Reference Book, BRB Publications, 2012.

Van Kirk, Donald J. Vehicular Accident Investigation and Reconstruction. Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press, 2000.