Out of State Driver with Pennsylvania Traffic Ticket
You decided to travel out of your home state to visit another part of the country, or you live across state lines from your work place, and are going about your daily commute. While driving a vehicle, you notice flashing lights appear in your rear-view mirror and that overwhelming sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach starts to kick in. You know that you were going too fast, or that you squeaked in through a light just before it turned red, or maybe you missed that stop sign. In any event, you know those lights mean that you’re in danger of receiving a ticket. It is a common misconception that a Traffic Ticket in a state outside of where your license was issued will not have an adverse effect on your license status. In fact, the opposite is true. The issued traffic violation is likely to follow you home, and affect your license to a similar degree as would a ticket issued within your home state.
You may be holding out on hope that the authorities back in your home state and insurance company will never find out about your driving infraction. On the contrary, not only do most states share information about traffic infractions, but your home state may penalize you too – as well as your car insurer. For non-Philadelphia residents, the city and surrounding areas can be a traffic nightmare. Wall-to-wall traffic, poorly displayed signs, and a significant police presence all act as the perfect recipe for drivers in the area to end up with a ticket. Even putting those factors aside, police pay particular attention to those with out of state plates, making it far too easy for a ticket disaster to happen to non-locals.
Drivers License Compact
Most states utilize an agreement called the Driver License Compact (DLC) when dealing with convictions for moving violations. The DLC is an interstate compact in which states share information on driving infractions between the state that the violation occurred to the driver’s home state.
DLC member states agree to report any out-of-state convictions to each other, in addition to license suspensions. As a result, most states will treat a Philadelphia Traffic Ticket as if it occurred within their own borders. So your Philadelphia traffic ticket you were hoping to ignore will follow you home. The result will be increased insurance premiums, and a failure to pay the ticket will result in the possibility of arrest and significant fines upon re-entry into Pennsylvania.
Why do I Need a Lawyer
Traffic tickets in every state can be very burdensome, as the potential penalties include fines, license suspension and even potential jail time. Pennsylvania and your home state are no different.
Pennsylvania traffic ticket lawyer for out-of-state drivers
By retaining a local lawyer, you will be utilizing the services of a professional who is familiar with local laws and how the traffic violation will affect you here. Your attorney can communicate with a lawyer in your home state, when necessary, to see how the potential penalties of the ticket may affect you at home as well.
This content was written on behalf of Greg Prosmushkin.