Maryland Traffic Violations

If you are driving in the state of Maryland and commit a traffic violation, the citation may or may not require you to appear in court. Usually, traffic violations-such as tickets for speeding less than ten miles per hour over the speed limit-will not require you to appear in court. Instead, the traffic citation will provide contact information for the local Maryland court overseeing your traffic violation. If you wish, you can simply mail in a check to the local Maryland court to pay the fine. If you wish to challenge the traffic violation or appear in court to request a mitigation or dismissal of your traffic violation from your Maryland driving record, a date will still be provided on your citation so that you can protest the traffic ticket.

If you have committed a more serious traffic violation, such as leaving the scene of an accident, your citation will state that you are required to appear in local Maryland court and the law enforcement officer issuing the citation will also likely inform you of this requirement. You will then have to appear before a judge on the date listed on your traffic ticket whether you intend to dispute the charges or plead guilty. If you are issued a traffic citation requiring you to appear in court, it is important that you consider obtaining legal representation prior to appearing in the local Maryland court. These forms of traffic violations can potentially carry severe penalties, including the prospect of jail time, and you should know and have the opportunity to protect yourself from these serious results.

Maryland Points System

The Maryland Department of Transportation's Motor Vehicle Administration ("MVA") keeps track of points that accumulate against your Maryland driving record. Maryland courts notify the Maryland MVA of traffic violations once you have paid your fine, pled guilty in court or appeared in court and been convicted of the traffic violation. Once points have been applied to your Maryland driving record, generally those points stay on your record indefinitely. The Maryland MVA provides a detailed points list of how many points will appear on your Maryland driving record for each traffic violation. Examples include:

• Speeding (ranging from 9-over 30mph): 1-5 points
• Driving without proof of insurance: 5 points
• Running a red light: 2 points
• Reckless driving: 6 points

Once your Maryland driving record totals more than 3 points in two years, the Maryland MVA will mail you a warning of the consequences of further unsafe driving in the state of Maryland. If your Maryland driving record amasses 5 points in two years, the Maryland MVA will order you to attend a two-hour Maryland Points System Conference, and possibly sign up for a Maryland Driver Improvement Program. If you are required to attend a Points System Conference, the Maryland MVA will send you written instructions on how to sign up for the program, which you will have to enroll in within 30 days of receiving your traffic citation. The Maryland MVA provides a list of pre-approved Points System Conference providers. Many of these programs can be attended online. However, if you are under the age of 18, it is important to note that you will not be able to participate in an online program; you must attend a class in-person.

Suspension of Maryland Driving Privileges

Once you receive 8 points on your Maryland driving record in two years, the Maryland MVA will suspend your license. If you receive 12 points in two years, your Maryland driving privileges will be indefinitely revoked.

If you wish to try to avoid these harsh penalties, or if the local Maryland court handling your traffic violations requires you to do so, you can sign up for a local Maryland traffic school or Maryland driver improvement program.

Attending Traffic School

The Maryland MVA provides a list of approved Maryland driver improvement programs. Many of these programs will allow you to participate in a Maryland online traffic school. Unfortunately, most Maryland courts will not allow you to attend a driver improvement program in order to have points removed from your record. However, both traditional and online traffic schools are under the purview of Maryland courts. So, you may be able to have a traffic violation reduced or dismissed entirely if you appear in court and request an opportunity for leniency by attending a Maryland online traffic school. Further, by attending a Maryland online traffic school prior to receiving a traffic violation, you may be able to obtain a reduced charge based on the quality of your Maryland driving record that includes your participation in online traffic school. In order to find out if you can participate in a Maryland online traffic school to obtain a more lenient penalty, you must appear before the local Maryland court overseeing your traffic violation.

The Benefits of a Clean Maryland Driving Record

Maintaining a clear Maryland driving record is important for many reasons. In addition to staying away from expensive citations, your clean driving record prevents your Maryland driving privileges from being permanently harmed or even revoked.

You may also be able to obtain lower car insurance payments by keeping your Maryland driving record free of traffic offenses, and by participating in a Maryland online driver improvement program. The better your Maryland driving record looks to insurance providers, the less likely you are to incur increased insurance premiums.

Mature and Juvenile Driver Insurance Discounts

In fact, your auto insurance provider may even offer you a discount for maintaining a clean Maryland driving record. This is particularly true for mature drivers, those Maryland drivers over the age of 50, and juvenile drivers under the age of 18. If you are a Maryland mature driver or juvenile driver, you should contact your auto insurance carrier to see if you can lower your insurance payments by enrolling in an online Maryland driver improvement program or online traffic school.

Maryland Classroom Traffic Schools

Overall, online traffic school and online driver improvement programs are designed to teach you defensive driving habits and improve your driving ability so that you can help keep Maryland roads safe, avoid traffic violations in the future and keep your Maryland driving record as clear as possible. If you would like to attend a Maryland driver improvement program in a more traditional, brick-and-mortar classroom setting contact your court for a list of available options.