Let App WinIt fight your speeding ticket.

If you’re like most people, the speed limit is more like a speed guideline. But did you know that driving the speed limit is not only safer but can save you thousands of dollars and prevent you from going to jail?

Many people think of speeding as just a run-of-the-mill traffic ticket. In reality, speeding violations can be some of the most severe traffic-related offenses, sometimes resulting in felony convictions. Not only can you get a ticket for speeding; you can go to jail for a long, long time.

The Three Types of Criminal Speeding Offenses

There are three levels of offenses in a court of law: infractions, misdemeanors, and felonies. These are listed in order of severity from least to most. Traffic infractions are less serious than traffic misdemeanors, which are less serious than traffic felonies.

It’s important to note that, with each of these offense levels, you only face the penalties if you are convicted. That means, with the help of an expert traffic attorney like those you can find on the WinIt app, you might be able to get away scot free.

Infraction

The least severe of the three is an infraction. Infractions are lesser violations that carry civil penalties like fines and surcharges. But just because these are the least severe offenses doesn’t mean that they don’t pack a punch. Traffic infractions can still result in the suspension or even revocation of your driver license in many places.

Traffic infractions for speeding can cost hundreds of dollars in fines alone. That’s not counting the surcharges, court costs, insurance increases, and other penalties you’ll likely have to pay.

Misdemeanor 

Misdemeanors are the next step up from infractions. These offenses are the first level of criminal violations. That means, unlike traffic infractions, violations at this level can result in jail time.

Misdemeanors and felonies are known as criminal offenses. Although misdemeanors are not as severe as felonies, they can still result in jail time, hefty fines, and a criminal record. Many of the same penalties as infractions can also apply.

Felony

Felonies are the worst of the worst. This offense level is reserved for only the most severe crimes on the books, such as reckless driving and vehicular homicide, which we’ll talk about later.

Speeding falls into this category when done at high speeds, with reckless abandon, or when doing so threatens the public’s wellbeing.

Felony Speeding Laws

Only a few states have felony speeding laws. In most states, speeding can lead to other charges that are felonies, but the act of speeding in and of itself only becomes as severe as a misdemeanor. Two such examples are reckless driving and vehicular homicide.

Reckless Driving

Reckless driving is defined individually from state to state, which means no one definition can fully describe the violation. However, a common rule of thumb is that many reckless driving charges involve excessive speeding.

That’s not just 5 to 10 miles per hour over the limit. Sometimes, it’s 25 miles per hour over the limit. Press that pedal to the metal too hard and too fast and you can find yourself being arrested for reckless driving.

Vehicular Homicide

Speeding does not escalate into vehicular homicide like it does into reckless driving. However, if you were speeding, that can be used as evidence against you when charged with vehicular homicide.

The key difference between vehicular manslaughter and vehicular homicide is intent. It can sometimes be harder to prove that the circumstances were out of your control when you were maxing out your speedometer. 

Is Driving 100 Miles Per Hour a felony?

That depends on the state. In Florida, driving more than 100 miles per hour is a felony regardless of what the posted limit is. The same goes for a few other states. But, most of the time, driving more than 100 miles per hour is only a misdemeanor. In states like California, it’s only an infraction.

What Are the Penalties for Felony Speeding

The penalties for traffic-related felony offenses vary from state to state and county to county. Although the specific penalties change from place to place, most jurisdictions have a few things in common. Those commonalities include fines, surcharges, points, license suspensions, and jail time.

Fines

If there’s one thing people know about speeding tickets, it’s that they cost an arm and a leg. But if you think a couple hundred dollars is as bad as it gets, think again. Felony speeding in Florida can cost up to $5,000 in fines. That’s not even including surcharges, criminal penalties, and insurance increases, all of which can significantly increase the total cost.

Surcharges

Surcharges are extra charges that typically come after you’ve been convicted of the ticket. In New York, these charges are typically around $88 or $93, depending on where the violation took place. People often call this kind of fee a “hidden fee” because, unless you know the law, you won’t see them coming until after you’ve already been convicted.

Points

If your state uses a driver license point system, a felony speeding conviction can result in hefty points. Like in golf, the more points on your license, the worse off you are. In New York, speeding can get you up to 11 points on your license, which is enough to have your license suspended on the spot.

License Suspension

Points aren’t the only thing that can get your license suspended. Some violations can result in the immediate suspension or revocation of your driver license. Felony speeding in Florida often results in a 10-year revocation of the driver’s license. That’s 10 years of not being allowed to drive or operate a motor vehicle.

Jail Time

As with most felonies, a conviction for felony speeding is highly likely to send you to jail. In Florida, you can expect to go to jail for up to five full years. To put that into perspective, that’s 60 months or 1,826 days behind bars.

What Should You Do If You’ve Received a Felony Speeding Ticket

WinIt enables you to contact expert traffic lawyers to fight any kind of traffic infraction. However, WinIt’s lawyer partners cannot offer any assistance fighting felony speeding tickets.

If you’ve received a felony speeding ticket and are wondering what to do next, we strongly recommend calling a criminal defense attorney as soon as possible. Criminal defense attorneys specialize in protecting you from the consequences of these charges, potentially preventing you from ever having to step foot in a prison.