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California’s famous for many things: surfing, Hollywood, and traffic tickets. Year after year, California issues more traffic tickets than almost any other state in America. In fact, just in 2021 alone, the state’s traffic enforcement agents (e.g. police officers) issued more than three million tickets. Out of all civil tickets, those for California’s moving violations are by far the worst.
What Is a Moving Violation in California?
There are two types of traffic violations in California: moving violations and non-moving violations. Every traffic ticket in the state falls into one of these two categories.
Moving violations are typically violations that occur while the vehicle is moving. Yep, it’s that simple, which should help to make this definition easier to remember. Here are a few examples of moving violations in California:
- Bus Lane Violations.
- Driving in a Bicycle Lane.
- Driving on the Sidewalk.
- High-Occupancy Vehicle Lane Violations.
- Illegal Lane Change.
- Illegally Crossing a Divided Highway.
- Reckless Driving.
- Speeding.
Non-moving violations are the opposite of moving violations but are just as easy to understand. These violations occur when the vehicle is not moving. Most moving violations tend to be for things like faulty or inadequate equipment but can cover a wider range of offenses.
Whether you’re charged with a moving violation or a non-moving violation, you’re going to wish you had the help of an experienced lawyer. Consider downloading the WinIt app or going to www.appwinit.com to speak with one today.
California Points and Violations
California’s Motor Vehicle Code (MVC) includes what authorities call a “points schedule.” Points schedules are guidelines set out by the government and/or administrative court system. These schedules aren’t about dates and times, like you might think. Instead, they’re about traffic tickets and how many points each one can add to your license.
Just like in golf, the goal is to get as few points as possible. The more you get, the more you risk being further penalized beyond just the direct consequences of your ticket. For example, if you earn too many points in too short a time, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will suspend your license.
Points are a form of penalties that enable authorities to monitor the legal compliance of licensed drivers in the state. Through the use of a point system, the agents at the DMV and local police departments can identify repeat offenders and “problematic drivers.” This helps generate insights regarding the administration of penalties, whether to offer an early end to a suspension period, and so on.
How many points you have on your driving record can—and often will—be used against you in court. If you decide to contest a speeding ticket violation, for example, the court will likely pull a copy of your record. If the judge sees that you’ve previously been convicted of four other speeding violations, that demonstrable pattern of law-breaking behavior won’t look good for your current case’s outcome.
Points in California don’t follow the same pattern as points in other states. For example, New York uses a point system that can result in a driver earning 11 points for just one conviction. To get that many points on your record in California, you’d need to be convicted of at least six violations. Let’s go more into detail on one-point and two-point violations.
One-Point Violations
One-point violations can be considered minor offenses. Many of these are misdemeanor traffic violations in California, but they’re almost always processed in civil court. That means you’ll typically not have to worry about going to jail for a one-point moving violation committed in California. However, that possibility remains on the table for the judge to use against you should it seem necessary.
One-point violations are much less likely to cause significant harm to anybody injured as a result of an accident or crime committed in conjunction with the violation. As such, the penalties for a one-point traffic conviction are often less severe than those for two-point traffic convictions. Here are a few examples of common one-point traffic violations in California:
- Causing an At-Fault Collision
- Making an Illegal U-Turn
- Running a Red Light
- Speeding
Two-Point Violations
As mentioned earlier, two-point violations come with worse penalties than one-point violations. If you’re convicted of one of these offenses, you’ll likely have to pay heavy fines, fees, and other financial penalties. Your car insurance will likely either increase substantially or be outright voided. Worst of all, jail is a very real possibility. Here are a few two-point violations:
- Driving With a Suspended License
- DUI
- Hit and Run (Leaving the Scene of an Accident)
- Reckless Driving
Do Moving Violations Affect Your Driving Record in California?
Yes. Moving violations in California do, in fact, go on your driving record and they can stay there for many, many years. How long a traffic-related conviction stays on your public record depends on how many points it’s worth.
- One-Point Violations: These stay on your record for 3 years.
- Two-Point Violations: These stay on your record for 10 years.
It is only possible to have points removed from your record before they expire by appealing your case and having the conviction overturned, having the records sealed, or having your record expunged. All of these are incredibly rare outcomes. In general, your best bet is to simply wait.
What Is the Most Common Moving Violation?
Speeding is the most common moving violation in almost every state in the United States. That includes California. The state of California issues more speeding tickets than every other state in the country. It issues so many speeding tickets, in fact, that they outnumber those of the second-place state by almost 50% (or three to two). The total number of speeding tickets issued each year in California is more than one million.
How Much Is a Speeding Ticket in California?
The cost of a speeding ticket in California varies depending on how fast you were going, where the violation occurred, and any number of countless other factors. Here’s a brief table that provides your alleged speed, the base fee, and the total that you’re likely to pay in fines:
| Miles Per Hour (MPH) Over the Posted Limit | Base Fee | Total Fee |
| 1 to 15. | $35.00 | $238.00 |
| 16 to 25. | $70.00 | $367.00 |
| 26 or more. | $100.00 | $490.00 |
What Are Your Options With a Moving Violation?
If you receive a ticket for a moving violation in California, then you have three options: Accept all of the consequences, accept some of the consequences and go to traffic school, or contest the ticket and hopefully get off scot free. Each of these options, believe it or not, has its pros and cons. Which one is best for you will depend on your particular situation.
Plead Guilty, Pay the Fine, and Take the Points
If you plead guilty, you will have to pay the full fine, all the fees, and any other financial penalties as well as accept all non-financial penalties. You’ll receive points (if applicable) on your record, you can have your license suspended or revoked, you can go to jail, etc. So now you might be wondering, “Why would I ever plead guilty?”
In California, there’s a process called “plea bargaining.” This process involves negotiating with the prosecutor to plead guilty to a lesser change in exchange for lesser penalties. This is most useful when you’re pretty confident that you’re going to lose your case for a criminal charge, like a DUI, but don’t want to accept all of the strictest penalties. Unfortunately, plea bargaining is rarely done for traffic tickets.
Another important thing to remember is that paying your ticket constitutes a guilty plea. Sending any amount of money to the government to pay for a ticket that you intend to contest is usually a bad idea. Do not pay tickets that you intend to contest, as doing so is often considered an admission of guilt. Of course, this is a generalization and not a concrete, 100-percent-of-the-time thing. Always take your lawyer’s advice over general tips listed here.
Plead Guilty, Pay the Fine, and Go to Traffic Safety School
This option is similar to the first one in that it involves pleading guilty. However, this option also makes use of a helpful policy called deferment. In some cases, you might qualify to have the points and the violation kept off of your official record—but you have to go to traffic school.
With help from an experienced lawyer, you might be able to convince the judge in your case that you should be offered a deferment. If so, your case will essentially be “put on hold” for a few weeks or months until you complete traffic school. Afterward, you’ll submit your certificate of completion to the court and pay your fines. If accepted, the court will then issue an order not to add the violation’s points to your official record.
Plead Not Guilty, Attend Your Court Date, and Argue Your Case
Pleading not guilty is the only way to argue your case in California’s traffic courts. Any other plea will typically result in your case being completed without the need to go to court (there are exceptions). But, by pleading not guilty, you open the door to a potential dismissal—the best possible outcome in a traffic ticket case.
If your case is dismissed, all penalties are voided, the violation never goes on your record, and it’s like the violation never happened. The only part of it that will remain is your arrest record for the incident, if you were arrested as part of the case.
To maximize your chances of receiving a favorable outcome in your case, download the WinIt app or go to www.appwinit.com. There, you can access a pool of countless local attorneys who’ve trained for years or even decades to help people just like you get out of cases just like yours. For more information on moving violations in California or to find out which option might be best for you, contact a lawyer through WinIt today.
