New York Criminal Defense Attorney Blog
As most drivers in New York know, if you get 11 points on your driver’s license due to traffic tickets in New York, your license will be suspended and you will not be permitted to operate a vehicle in the State of New York. The key is how many points you accumulate over an 18 month period. After the 18 months have passed, any points you have on your record will be removed.
What if you have 8 points on your license, for example, and you have just been pulled over for going 80 in a 55 mph zone? If convicted on a New York speeding ticket doing 25 miles over the speed limit, this is a 6 point violation, and the 14 points you now have on your license (the 8 previous points plus the 6 points you were just assessed) will lead to a suspension. What do you do?
The answer is to take the Defensive Driving Class, given throughout New York State. By taking the class, which can be done in one six hour session, or two weekly classes of three hours each, 4 points will come off of your driver’s license, and you will now be down to 10 points–still at a risk of having your license suspended, but just under the 11 point level.
It is important to mention that you should not take the class too soon! Inotherwords, if you have just received a ticket, and want to ensure that the points from that ticket come off your license, make sure you wait until the ticket has been resolved by a trial or plea to the charge. We have had clients who took the class immediately upon receiving a ticket, and received no benefit as there were no points on their license to be removed, and point removal only works backward, not forward. If you have no points on your license yet, and you take the class, the 4 point reduction is wasted.
The other major benefit from taking the Defensive Driver class is that in almost all cases, you will receive a 10% reduction on your insurance premium. So it’s a win-win all around!
If you, a family member, or friend have been charged with a New York traffic violation, contact The Law Office Of Mark A. Siesel online or toll free at (914) 428-7386 to fight the charges with an experienced, aggressive and knowledgeable attorney who will obtain the best possible resolution of the case, whether by trial or plea to a reduced charge.