Traffic Tickets: Twelve Point System

Interviewer: How does the point system work in Ohio? How many points will you get as a CDL holder for a violation? How many until you lose your license or you have it suspended?

Dale: We have a twelve point, point system that spans over for a course of 2 years. If you get twelve points within a course of 2 years, your license will be suspended for 6 months, and you’ll have to pay a reinstatement fee. You can get occupational privileges but you can, if you see that you’re getting close to twelve points as a private driver of a private vehicle, you can take a remedial course that allows you to go to fourteen points before you lose your license. But the look back period is 2 years.

Interviewer: Okay. Let’s say you get more than five points in 1 years time, is that any worse or within 3 months time?

Dale: For insurance purposes, absolutely. You always got to consider insurance. Your rates could double once you hit that six point mark. There’s also a consideration of how many violations you get in a year. In Ohio, if you get three traffic moving violations in a year. Most of the charges for traffic charges are minor misdemeanors. However, if you get three under the state code, it becomes a misdemeanor of a fourth degree, and it’s punishable up to 30 days in jail. Now, in some municipalities like Cleveland. All it takes is two violations, your second violation will become a misdemeanor to the fourth degree, and you’re subject to 30 days in jail.There’s a lot of laws that over-lay the traffic laws.

Interviewer: So if you’re in Cleveland, you could be speeding and then you blow a stop sign, and all in one you get two violations that will cause you to have a class four misdemeanor, potentially?

Dale: Yeah, you’re subject to be in jail for 30 days… that’s not to say that whenever you have an opportunity to beat a traffic ticket you should. For a lot of different reasons; first of all I notice there’s a pattern, when it rains it pours. I won’t get a traffic ticket for 5 years and all of a sudden, I get two, within 3 months. It always seems like a pattern that occurs; maybe you get a little bit sloppy. But when you can beat them, you go and try to beat it. Especially if you’re in a municipality like Cleveland, because in Cleveland many times if you bring the prosecutor to task, the officer doesn’t show up and you can get the charge dismissed. You save money; people that have money will fight speeding tickets. Because they know that they’ll save money in the long run because of their insurance rates, their insurance rates will stay lower.