If you live in New Jersey and you commit a traffic violation, you may get points on your license. Penalties for accumulating a certain number of points include fines and suspension. Points on your license can also affect the cost of your auto insurance.
Reducing points
Six points in a three-year period result in a surcharge while 12 points result in a suspension. While the record of your points accumulated is permanent, they do not necessarily remain active forever. A year without a suspended license and no additional violations can remove three of those points. You can also reduce points by taking certain courses, although the time frame in which you can take those courses is limited. For example, you can subtract two points by taking a defensive driving program, but you are only allowed to do this every five years. If you are required to attend a probationary driver program, you can get three points removed, but you can only do this one time. Keep in mind as well that insurance companies may not have the same policies in terms of calculating the points on your license.
Penalties
In general, more minor traffic violations will just cost you two points while more serious ones could be as high as four, five or eight. For example, if you use a median strip unlawfully, it will add two points to your license. If you leave the scene of an accident that causes a personal injury, the penalty is eight points. Out-of-state moving violations add two points.
Many people may assume that if they are charged with a traffic violation, they have no recourse but to pay whatever penalty is required. However, this is not necessarily the case. Given the potential seriousness of point accumulation, you might want to talk to an attorney about what to do in such a situation.
