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Most of the time, speeding tickets in New York are considered traffic infractions. However, certain circumstances can lead to those infractions being upgraded to misdemeanors. 

In New York, the Vehicle and Traffic Law (VTL) is the law of the land. It covers all things related to vehicles and traffic. 

What makes this so important is the fact that it contains over 1,000 ways to get a ticket and breaks them down into three categories: infractions, misdemeanors, and felonies.

New York Ticket Classifications

New York’s VTL includes a long list of classifications for the traffic violations contained therein. For the most part, all you need to know about are infractions, misdemeanors, and felonies in general. But, if you feel like diving into the thick of it, here’s a list of all the various classifications of traffic violations in New York:

• Infraction
• Class B Misdemeanor
• Class A Misdemeanor
• Class E Felony
• Class E Violent Felony
• Class D Felony
• Class D Violent Felony
• Class C Felony
• Class C Violent Felony
• Class B Felony
• Class B Violent Felony
• Class A-I Felony
• Class A-II Felony.

Let’s break these sections down.

Infraction

Traffic infractions make up the majority of tickets issued in New York. These violations are the least severe of the three categories of traffic offenses. Even though they can still break the bank with fines, fees, and surcharges, they cost far less than misdemeanors and felonies.

In fact, the standard fine for an ordinary first-time traffic misdemeanor is exactly double that of an ordinary first-time traffic infraction. These tickets can have serious consequences for anybody without hundreds of dollars to spare. Unless you’re Elon Musk, it makes more sense to fight these tickets than to pay them.

Misdemeanor

Misdemeanors are the next level up from infractions. These violations also come with fines, fees, and surcharges. Although any traffic infraction can result in a few days in jail, misdemeanors more than double the potential jail time. In fact, almost no traffic infractions in New York ever result in jail time at all.

Meanwhile, the penalty for a first-time misdemeanor conviction is up to 30 days in jail. Break the law again and you’re looking at 90 days in jail. Rack up a third conviction and you can say goodbye to your freedom for up to half a year.

You will want a criminal lawyer to fight these charges.

Felony

Felonies are the worst of the worst when it comes to traffic violations. A conviction for a felony is guaranteed to leave you with a criminal record. Many of these also come with thousands of dollars in fines, thousands more in fees, and maybe a few thousand more in surcharges. And that’s for a single conviction.

All it takes to go away for years is a single felony conviction. Depending on the nature of your violation, the jury might decide to send you to prison for the rest of your life.

Fortunately, you almost have to try to get one of these charges. Only a miniscule fraction of traffic-related convictions in New York are for felony violations.

Traffic Tickets that Are Classified as Misdemeanors in New York

There are hundreds of violations that are classified as misdemeanors in New York. So many, in fact, that it would take you countless hours just to get through reading them all. Fortunately, we at WinIt have plenty of time on our hands to do just that! Here’s a list of some of the most common traffic-related misdemeanor violations in New York:

Violation

VTL 511.1(a) Aggravated Unlicensed Operation in the 3rd degree

VTL 511.2 (a) Aggravated Unlicensed Operation in the 2nd Degree

VTL 512 Revoked Registration

VTL1212 Reckless Driving

VTL 1182 Unauthorized speed contest

VTL 600-2a Leaving the scene of an accident with personal Injury

VTL 375-I Inadequate Brakes

VTL 375-1 Inadequate Trailer Brakes

VTL 319-2 Produced Invalid Insurance ID card

VTL 306-e Fictitious Inspection Certificate

VTL 340-(a) Failure to surrender license/registration/plates after revocation under article 7

What Are the Penalties for a Misdemeanor Ticket in New York?

Penalties for misdemeanor traffic tickets are more severe than penalties for traffic infractions. They come with higher fines, fees, and surcharges. Oftentimes, these penalties include points on your license, the suspension of your documents, and possibly the confiscation of your vehicle and/or jail time.

Fine

The fine amount for traffic-related misdemeanors is listed in VTL §1800. It lists three different fine amounts, one for each conviction. The second conviction has a higher fine than the first conviction and the third conviction has a higher fine than the second conviction. Here’s an easy-to-read chart with the base fine for an ordinary misdemeanor traffic violation:

First Conviction	Second Conviction	Third Conviction
$300	$525	$1,125

Surcharge

Surcharges for traffic violations vary. For the most part, they will total either $88 or $93, depending on where the violation took place. However, additional surcharges may apply for specific violations. For example, DUI violations can come with higher surcharges.

Points

The majority of traffic violations listed in the VTL do not add points to your license. However, the majority of traffic tickets are issued for violations that do add points to your license. If you get more than 12 points on your license within 18 months, you can have your license suspended.

Suspension or Revocation

A few misdemeanor violations immediately result in the suspension or revocation of your driver license. DUIs are a great example of this. Even if it’s your first time ever being convicted of a DUI, the court will suspend your driver license for up to 90 days.

The DMV and the court can also suspend your registration or your plates after a conviction for certain misdemeanor offenses.

Confiscation of Your Vehicle

If your vehicle were used in connection with a crime, the government has the privilege of confiscating it. This is typically used in the case of drug dealing or smuggling. It is rarely applied in the case of ordinary traffic misdemeanors, though the possibility is still there.

The state can also confiscate your vehicle if you are convicted of 15 speed camera violations in one year.

Jail

Jail is a very real possibility for traffic-related misdemeanors in New York. Like with fines, the amount of jail time you may receive varies depending on your prior criminal record. See the table below for more information:

First Conviction	Second Conviction	Third Conviction
30 days in jail	90 days in jail	180 days in jail

Do Traffic Misdemeanors Show Up On Criminal Background Checks?

Misdemeanors are criminal violations of the law. That means they will show up on your criminal record and a criminal background check can reveal them. Unlike most criminal violations, however, misdemeanor traffic violations will also show up on your driving record.

In New York, it is illegal to use somebody’s criminal record as a reason not to hire them. The most common exception to this rule is when that criminal record has something to do with the job being applied for.

For example, if you are trying to get a job with Uber but you have misdemeanor convictions on your driving record, you might not get the job.

Will I Have to Hire a Lawyer for a Misdemeanor Speeding Ticket?

Few speeding tickets are classified as misdemeanors. The misdemeanor classification is typically reserved for violations like street racing and reckless driving. Although both of these are types of speeding offenses, they are far more serious than ordinary speeding tickets and go through different legal procedures.

There are two kinds of traffic lawyers: criminal traffic lawyers and non-criminal traffic lawyers. If you are charged with misdemeanor speeding, you will want to hire a criminal lawyer to help you defend against those criminal charges.

Will My License Be Suspended for a Misdemeanor?

Many misdemeanors can result in the suspension of your license. In some cases, a misdemeanor traffic conviction can even result in the revocation of your license. One of the most common misdemeanor violations is the DUI. A first-time DUI conviction can result in the suspension of your license for 90 days.

Further convictions can result in your license being suspended for even long than that. In some cases, your license can be indefinitely suspended until you satisfy various court requirements.

Can the WinIt App Help with My Misdemeanor Traffic Tickets?

There are a few misdemeanor traffic tickets that WinIt can help you handle. However, most criminal traffic tickets don’t go through traffic court; rather, they go through criminal court. Knowing which tickets go where is a feat that only the best lawyers can achieve. Fortunately, you’ll find many of those lawyers on the WinIt app.

To know whether WinIt can handle your misdemeanor traffic ticket, download the app and ask. We’ve already helped people save millions of dollars in traffic and parking ticket fines, providing affordable legal services to people who need them.

So what are you waiting for? Get started fighting your traffic tickets with WinIt today!