Whether you are heading off to Virginia Beach or over to Ellis Island, it is very important to understand the effect that an out-of-state traffic ticket has on your driver’s license. As such, the following article will help you understand the various differences between how New York and Virginia handle out-of-state traffic tickets.

Driver’s License Compact

Both New York and Virginia signed the Driver’s License Compact. This means NY and VA freely share driver information with one another. If you receive a NY traffic ticket but are a VA driver, VA will be notified about the ticket you received. This also applies if you are licensed in NY and got a ticket in VA.

Virginia Drivers

In Virginia, demerit points will be assessed against your VA driver’s license for all corresponding out-of-state traffic offenses. For instance, if you are caught speeding 47 miles over the posted speed limit in New York and receive a NY traffic ticket for doing so, Virginia will put the corresponding amount of demerit points onto your VA driving record.

This means 6 points will be placed onto your VA driver’s license, even though NY considers this to be an 11 point ticket.

Moreover, the offense will remain on your driving record for 11 years (see http://www.dmv.state.va.us/webdoc/citizen/drivers/points_6.asp ).

Ultimately, as long as Virginia recognizes the traffic offense you committed in New York, you will receive points on your VA license for it.  Thus, it pays to hire an experienced traffic ticket attorney who can get your ticket reduced to an offense that Virginia would not put points on your license for.

New York Drivers

New York handles out-of-state tickets quite differently. If you have a New York driver’s license and receive a Virginia traffic ticket, New York will not typically add points onto your driver’s license.

According to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, “The NYSDMV does not record out-of-state violations committed by NYS drivers in other jurisdictions.” Nevertheless, NY makes exceptions for alcohol-related violations, drug-related violations, and moving violations committed in Quebec or Ontario.

As such, if you are caught speeding in Virginia, not a single point will be added onto your New York driver’s license. However, your insurance carrier will have the ability to raise your insurance rates due to the violation you committed. This point about insurance is also applicable if you are a VA license holder ticketed in NY.

Losing Your Driving Privileges

If you are an out-of-state driver and accrue 11 points or more, you will lose your New York driving privileges. This accumulation of 11 points will be determined based on the New York point system, not your home state’s point system.

Therefore, if you are caught speeding 41 miles over the posted speed limit or get cited twice for speeding 21-30 miles over the limit, you will no longer be allowed to drive in the State of New York for a specified duration of time. Remember, your driver’s license will not be suspended by your home state and NY does not have the authority to suspend an out-of-state driver’s license.

However, since VA and NY are both members of the Driver’s License Compact, VA will honor the “suspension” of your New York driving privileges even though it will not take away your ability to drive elsewhere.

Fines

It is worth remembering that no state can require you to pay a double fine and you will only be required to pay the state in which you received the ticket. As such, if you got a traffic ticket in NY, you will pay the State of New York. If you got a VA traffic ticket, you will pay the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Although it might be tempting to simply plead guilty and pay the fine, doing so will not make these negative consequences go away. In fact, the conviction is the very thing that brings most of them on.

Who Should You Contact?

If you recently received a New York traffic ticket, contact Rosenblum Law today at 888-883-5529.

Other States

AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM   NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI DC WY