Kentucky Traffic Violations

If you are driving in Kentucky and are pulled over for violating traffic laws and are issued a traffic violation, you will have to handle the traffic violation with the local Kentucky court overseeing the jurisdiction where you got your ticket. The traffic citation will include all the contact information you need in order to pay the fine at one the Kentucky circuit court clerk's office of the court overseeing your traffic violation, or appear in court to tell your side of the story and either dispute the charges or plead guilty, request an opportunity for leniency and pay the fine.

You should know that, once you plead guilty to a Kentucky traffic violation-and paying the fine without appearing in court still constitutes an admission of guilt-points will go against your Kentucky driving record and the traffic violation itself will be placed on your Kentucky driving record, where they will remain for some time.

If you want to dispute the charges against you or see if there is an opportunity for the local Kentucky court overseeing your traffic violation to reduce or dismiss the charges, you should follow the instructions on the traffic citation and be prepared to appear in court on the date written on the traffic ticket to discuss the matter with a judge. If your explanation is reasonable and your Kentucky driving record is relatively clear, you may have an opportunity to attend a Kentucky traffic school to lower or eliminate the traffic violation charges and fine.

Kentucky Points System

Kentucky uses a points system to monitor the potentially unsafe driving habits of Kentucky drivers. Below is a list of points that will be attached against your Kentucky driving record if you are issued a citation for a traffic violation:

• 10 mph or less over speed limit on limited access highway: 0 Points
• 15 mph or more in CMV (out-of-state conviction-listed as serious offense only-no points) 0 Points
• 11-15 mph over speed limit on limited access highway: 3 Points
• 15 mph or less over speed limit on any non-limited access highway: 3 Points
• 15 mph over speed limit in CMV (commercial motor vehicle): 3 Points
• Stop Violation (electric signal, railroad crossing, stop sign): 3 Points
• Failure to Yield: 3 Points
• Wrong Way on One-Way Street: 3 Points
• Too Fast for Conditions: 3 Points
• Too Slow for Conditions: 3 Points
• Improper Driving: 3 Points
• Improper Start: 3 Points
• Improper Turn: 3 Points
• Failure to Illuminate Headlights: 3 Points
• Careless Driving: 3 Points
• Failure to Dim Headlights: 3 Points
• Improper Lane Usage: 3 Points
• Improper Use Left Lane/Limited Access Highway: 3 Points
• Failure to comply with Instructional Permit Requirements/Regulations: 3 Points
• Failure to yield right-of-way to Funeral Procession: 3 Points
• Any Other Moving Hazardous Violations: 3 Points
• Reckless Driving: 4 Points
• Following Too Closely: 4 Points
• Driving on Wrong Side of Roadway: 4 Points
• Changing Drivers in a Moving Vehicle: 4 Points
• Vehicle Not Under Control: 4 Points
• Failure to Yield to Emergency Vehicle: 4 Points
• Passing Illegally: 5 Points
• 16-25mph over the speed limit on any road or highway: 6 Points
• Failure to stop for a school bus: 6 Points

If you end up with points on your Kentucky driving record, they are staying on your Kentucky driving record for two years. In addition, the traffic violation will remain on your Kentucky driving record for five years, barring some agreement with the local Kentucky court overseeing your traffic violation.

Suspension of Your Kentucky Driving Privileges

Points against your record add up quickly. If you are a juvenile driver, a driver under the age of 18, and you incur 4 points against your Kentucky driving record, you will receive a written warning of the consequences of future traffic violations by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. If you fail to correct your poor driving habits and obtain 7 points against your Kentucky driving record, you will be ordered by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to attend a hearing to determine if your Kentucky driving privileges should continue unchanged.

If you are a Kentucky driver above the age of 18, you will receive a similar notice when you accumulate six points against your Kentucky driving record, and a hearing will be scheduled for you when you accumulate 12 points.

If a hearing is scheduled, you must show up or expect to have your Kentucky driving privileges immediately suspended for six months. If this is your second offense accumulating enough points against your Kentucky driving record to require a hearing, the automatic suspension is doubled. A third offense carries an automatic two-year suspension.

Depending on the outcome of your hearing, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet may place your Kentucky driving privileges in a probationary state. The length of any probationary period will depend on your Kentucky driving history and the severity of your traffic violation. If you have been on probation before in the previous two years in Kentucky, you will not be extended this privilege and will likely you're your Kentucky driving privileges suspended.

In addition to your Kentucky driving privileges being placed on probation, the hearing officer may require you to attend a Kentucky traffic school or driver improvement program. In that event, you will receive written instructions for how to enroll and what to do to fulfill the Kentucky state-mandated requirements.

Attending Traffic School in Kentucky

You may also be granted an opportunity to attend Kentucky traffic school by the Kentucky court overseeing your traffic violation and have the points associated with your traffic violation removed from your driving record. If you are eligible for this opportunity, you will be referred to the Kentucky Division of Driver Licensing, who will mail you instructions for enrolling in a Kentucky traffic school. Because the court has authority over whether to grant you this opportunity, you should ask the court if a Kentucky online traffic school or online defensive driver or driver improvement program will qualify. Kentucky courts have historically granted requests to attend a Kentucky traffic school online.

Attending a Kentucky online traffic school or driver improvement program, if you are granted a chance to do so, can not only remove points from your driving record, but could also negate the traffic violation altogether. You should know that you can only participate in a Kentucky online traffic school or driver improvement program once every year. However, participating in a Kentucky online traffic school or online driver improvement program is a great way to help keep your Kentucky driving record free and clear of points and traffic violations whenever possible, as well as help encourage generous treatment by the Kentucky court overseeing your traffic violation.

The Benefits of a Clean Kentucky Driving Record

There are many ways in which a clean Kentucky driving record can help you. First, a clean record means no costly traffic fines. Also, a clean Kentucky driving record show to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and Kentucky courts that you are serious about being a safe driver. By representing your self as a good, defensive driver, you help prevent your Kentucky driving privileges from being revoked should you find yourself responsible for a serious traffic violation or accident.

Further, a good driving record is essential to getting and keeping your car insurance costs as cheap as possible. The cleaner your Kentucky driving record is, the less likely your Kentucky auto insurer is to raise your insurance premiums to the tune of hundreds to thousands of dollars annually.

Kentucky Mature and Juvenile Drivers

Many insurance companies, including many Kentucky auto insurance providers, offer insurance discounts for enrolling in Mature Driver and Juvenile Driver traffic safety courses, particularly if you enrolled without being required to do so as a result of a Kentucky court order or Kentucky Transportation requirement relating to a pending traffic violation. If you are a Kentucky Mature Driver, a driver over the age of 55, or a Kentucky Juvenile Driver, a driver under the age of 18, you should contact your Kentucky automotive insurance carrier to see if you can qualify for some form of insurance discount simply by successfully completing a Kentucky online traffic school, defensive driving or driver improvement course.

Kentucky Classroom Traffic Schools

Perhaps you are interested in a Kentucky traffic school or Kentucky driver improvement course, but would rather participate in the course in more traditional classroom setting. In that case, below is a list of brick-and-mortar Kentucky traffic school class dates and times:

Evening Classes (6:00 PM - 10:00 PM)