Habitual Offender Driving & It’s Repercussions | Detailed Guide 2022

Having your driving record blacklisted by the DMV because you are a “Habitual Traffic Offender” might have a variety of ramifications. If the RMV judges that you have been involved in Habitual Offender Driving, your license will be revoked for four years. This is a revocation because of your bad driving record. In general, do all you can to not qualify as an HTO otherwise you will be facing 4 years of license suspension.

How Does Someone Become a Habitual Traffic Offender?

If a driver has committed three major traffic offenses or twelve minor traffic offenses during a five-year period, they are considered a “habitual traffic offender.” Those who have had their licenses revoked or suspended as habitual offender should remain off the road and contact lawyers immediately.

If you drive after your driving license has been revoked or suspended, your chances of getting another significant moving offense go up, as does the length of time you will be unable to drive. Additionally, you risk harming your existing defense.

If you have lost or you are about to lose your license because of traffic offenses, you can contact experienced traffic lawyers and profit from their decades of expertise.

Major Moving Violations

• Committing a felony with a motor vehicle
• Leaving an accident scene
• Operating under the influence (OUI)
• Operating without a license
• Operating with a suspended license
• Reckless or negligent operation

Minor Moving Violations

The minor moving violations include:

• Driving an unregistered vehicle
• Driving having an expired inspection sticker
• Speeding tickets
• Lane violations

You need to get in touch with an experienced traffic attorney as soon as possible if you are charged with a traffic offense or are facing Habitual Traffic Offender status.

Maintaining a valid driver’s license is of utmost significance. People who depend on a license to work and make money are particularly vulnerable to this. Your social, economic, and daily life may suffer greatly if you lose your driver’s license for a lengthy period of time. An experienced traffic lawyer may begin working on your case right away in order to assist you to regain your driving privileges and good standing. They know and will use all of your rights and defenses to protect you.

What Happens When You Drive as a Habitual Offender?

After the DMV has certified you as a habitual offender, you face up to five years in jail if you continue to drive. For habitual offender driving, it used to be that a one-year sentence was obligatory. However, the Legislature changed this regulation a few years ago, so judges no longer had to impose a one-year term as a minimum.

What Happens at the Habitual Traffic Offender Hearing?

A hearings officer, usually a lawyer employed by the Department of Safety, conducts the hearing. You’re a habitual offender, according to the officer who analyses your driving record.

What most people don’t realize is that the hearings officer has no option but to designate the driver a habitual offender if the convictions on the record match the criterion. It’s common for folks to claim that they’ve come a long way from a difficult time in their lives. Regardless of how sympathetic the hearing officer is, you will still be charged as a habitual traffic offender.

For How Long Does DMV Make You A Habitual Traffic Offender?

If you are unable to avoid becoming a habitual offender, the maximum period will be 4 years while one year is the minimum. It is up to the hearings officer to choose one of two options. When the hearing is over, she may start the habitual offender term. Alternatively, she might begin from the date of most recent conviction for a driving offense. Fortunately, there’s a way to mitigate the harm. A hearings officer may be able to backdate a driving offense if the most recent relevant offense happened months or years earlier.

An officer can just backdate if you haven’t had or operated a license or vehicle since your most recent conviction. Because of this, if the DMV sends you a hearing notice for a persistent offender, the last thing you would like to do before the hearing is to get your driving license back. The hearing officer will not be persuaded to retroactively certify your certification if you do this. The situation is unique to each individual, thus there’s no one answer that applies to everyone. Please seek the opinion of a skilled attorney for your specific case.

Can a Habitual Traffic Offender Declaration Be Quashed?

When a defendant is in court for the third time in five years for a related offense, the attorney representing the client should be informed that if the client is convicted, they will label him or her a  habitual offender. Regardless of whether or not it’s addressed, it’s a fact of life. However, it is more expeditious to seek the court to revoke the proclamation. Often, the court will reject such an application and advise the individual to make such after the conclusion of the disqualification that is imposed by the court. Alternatively, the court might grant the motion or decrease the minimum sentence from 5 years to 2 years..

After a person has been convicted of a specific offense, they will receive a letter from RTA notifying them that they are declared a habitual traffic offender and that an additional 5 years of disqualification will be added to their record, regardless of whether or not they have already been disqualified from driving.

An application for the declaration to be quashed may be brought, but it is fruitless until the court-imposed disqualification is nearing conclusion. To put it another way, it’s pointless to try to have the habitual offender label annulled when a person still has twelve months of disqualification left for a court-ordered offense. The more time you can demonstrate to the court that you’ve been without a license and have not been involved in any subsequent offenses, the better.

After that, you should meet with your lawyer to submit an application with the court and schedule a hearing date.

What Grounds Are Required to Support the Application to Quash a Declaration?

As previously noted, it is critical that you are nearing the end of your court-ordered disqualification. To that end, the court must have some basis for annulling the Declaration. Employment and health concerns are two common defenses used to overturn a declaration.

The following are some possible arguments that might be used to persuade a court:

• You’ve been deprived of a job that pays well, and you’ll need a license to work in that field again.
• It is difficult to go about since you reside in a region where there is little or no public transportation.
• Health difficulties that affect you or your family unit require you to have a driving license.

5 Most Common and Dangerous Traffic Violations

According to a recent analysis from Governing, almost 600 separate jurisdictions in the US get 10 percent or more of their budget through fines and fees. Seat Pleasant, Maryland, is a suburb of Washington, D.C., and penalties account for about half of the city’s income. More than 90 percent of the money generated by Georgetown, Louisiana’s 500 residents comes from fines and fees.

Getting a ticket may be a costly inconvenience for any motorist, but as you would expect, police officers will continue to issue them. You may not be able to completely avoid traffic tickets, but there are certain things you can do to lower your chances of a Habitual Traffic Offender label and keep yourself, your family, and the roadways safe.

You’ll find here a list of the most frequent traffic offenses along with their hazards and advice on how to prevent them.

• Speeding

It is against the law to drive faster than the stated limit. To safeguard lives, speed restrictions are in place. According to the NHTSA, 9,378 persons died as a result of speeding in only one year, in 2018. Avoid speeding and save a life by adhering to the stated speed limit and planning ahead of time.

• Driving While Intoxicated (DUI)

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 10,000 people die every year because of drunk driving. Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is punishable by penalties that may reach thousands of dollars, loss of a person’s driver’s license, canceled auto insurance, and possibly prison time.Steps may be taken to minimize the harm that impaired driving can inflict on persons and property. Steps to prevent driving under the influence of alcohol are as follows:

• If you’re going out drinking with a group, choose a designated driver who won’t be drinking beforehand.
• Drive sober, and don’t allow your pals to do the same!
• If you’ve had a few drinks or used some drugs, consider calling a cab or utilizing a ridesharing service to go home.

• Reckless Driving

Many of these infractions may be ascribed to reckless driving, including not utilizing a signal indicating a turn, abrupt braking, and more. Irresponsible driving is responsible for nearly one-third of all fatal accidents. There are several ways reckless driving may ruin your life. Avoid car-to-car altercations, wear a seatbelt, and call 911 if you see someone else driving dangerously.

• Distracted Driving

Abstaining from any activity that diverts your attention away from safe driving is of crucial importance, such as searching for a great song on the radio.

Distracted driving killed 2,841 people in 2018, according to the NHTSA. Ads, billboards, and even road stops have been put in place to combat this expanding threat. Do not be part of the problem. Don’t use your phone while driving, don’t eat or drink while driving, and don’t allow your passengers to control the music in your vehicle.

• Running a Red Light

About 939 individuals died in 2017 because of vehicles failing to stop at a red stoplight. “Failure to stop” is certainly one of the most expensive penalties you can obtain, which may be because following traffic signals is one of the most efficient strategies to minimize accidents. When approaching a yellow light, slow down, not accelerate up.

Conclusion

Always drive carefully and with precautions because everyone’s life is important including yours and that is why there are hefty fines and penalties for going against the traffic rules. Abiding by the rules will keep you safe on the roads as well as you won’t ever be labeled as a habitual traffic offender.

However, in case you have been declared a habitual offender, do not worry. Contact an experienced traffic attorney to pave some way out for you. We hope this post was informative for you. If you have any questions regarding Habitual Offender Driving, please do let us know.