Traffic Related Crimes Defense

A traffic crime is a misdemeanor offense where you could serve jail time.
Examples of those offenses include:

• Hit and Run
• Driving under the Influence
• Reckless Driving
The arraignment date written on the bottom of the citation is a mandatory appearance.

Traffic Violation

A traffic violation is an offense where the penalty is a fine.
Examples of those offenses include:
• Speeding
• Failure to Obey a Traffic Control Device
• Driving Uninsured

Most common traffic crimes in Utah

There is a common misconception that traffic violations aren’t offenses that should be worried about. Many men and women choose to pay the fine, perhaps attending driver’s school later on. However, it’s important to note that paying a fine is a way of indicating guilt. When certain traffic violations carry misdemeanor or felony penalties, you must tread carefully and treat the matter seriously. Get help from a Utah traffic violation lawyer to defend your case and have the charge dismissed. You can do that by contacting us. Our Traffic crime Attorney in Salt Lake City, UT will be ready to help you.

In Utah, there are several motor vehicle violations that can carry serious penalties. The information on this website is intended to provide additional insight into Utah’s vehicle laws and procedures. Learn more about traffic violations and penalties in Utah by calling a Salt Lake City, UT traffic violation attorney. The traffic violation lawyer at 801-676-5506. We can help with all kinds of traffic violations, including:

 Leaving The Scene Of An Accident
 Vehicular Homicide
 Reckless Driving
 Alcohol-Related Reckless Driving
 Failure To Respond To Officer’s Request
 Failure To Stop At Accident
 Accident Causing Property Damage
 Accident Involving Injury Or Death
 Automobile Homicide Involving Text Messaging
 Driving Under the Influence (DUI);
 Hit and Run / Leaving the Scene of an Accident;
 No Alcohol Conditional License Violations;
 Driving While License Suspended or Revoked; and
 Failing to Stop at the Command of a Law Enforcement Officer.
Any serious traffic violation brings with it a serious fine and possible jail time, but there are many other consequences that can impact your life. A serious traffic offense that results in felony conviction can impact employment, housing, and future education prospects. It may be in your best interests to hire an experienced criminal defense attorney and fight the charges that you are faced with. Do not take a Traffic crime violation in Salt Lake City, UT lightly. Contact the Salt Lake City, UT Traffic crime Attorney for professional legal representation.

Some Traffic Offenses Are Very Serious

Traffic offenses like speeding 9 mph over the speed limit are not terribly serious and don’t require an attorney’s representation. Other offenses including anything that is not an infraction can carry with them very serious consequences such as jail time. We have seen many people who were not represented by an attorney go to jail for offenses like driving without insurance. It is important to protect yourself if you are facing charges for a traffic crime.

The Point System for Traffic Offenses in Utah

A conviction can result in points being added to your driver’s license for certain types of traffic charges including:
 Reckless Driving – 80 points
 Speeding (depending on severity) – 37-75 points
 Failure to Yield Right-of-Way – 60 points
 Following Too Closely – 60 points
 Wrong Side of Road – 60 points
 Red Light – 50 points
 Stop Sign – 50 points
 Improper Lookout – 50 points
 Negligent Collision – 50 points
 Other Moving Violations – 40 points

Reckless Driving Penalties

Reckless driving is a class B misdemeanor in Utah. Convicted motorists face up to six months in jail and a maximum $1,000 in fines. For a first reckless driving conviction, the Driver License Division (DLD) can suspend the driver’s license for up to three months upon the recommendation of the judge. License suspension is mandatory for a second reckless driving violation within a 12-month period.

A reckless driving conviction will add 80 demerit points to the motorist’s driving record. Generally, accumulating 200 or more points within a three-year period can lead to license suspension

Speed limits in Utah

Utah has one of the highest posted speed limits in the United States, at 80 mph.
 80 mph: rural interstates
 75 mph: other limited access roads
 65-70 mph: urban interstates
 55 mph: other highways and roads unless otherwise posted
 25 mph: urban and residential districts
 20 mph: reduced speed school zones
Penalty for exceeding the speed limit in Utah
First-time violators may:
• Be fined up to $870
• Be sentenced to up to 90 days of jail time
• Have their license suspended for up to one year

Advantages of an Impaired Driving Plea

There are several advantages to an impaired driving plea.

If your license has not already been suspended by Utah’s Driver License Division, it will not get suspended.

If your license has been suspended, the Driver License Division will reinstate your driver license before the 120 day suspension [11] is over, but no sooner than 90 days after the date of arrest. [12] And, unlike a DUI, there is no mandatory jail or fine with an impaired driving plea.
Talking on phones and running red lights: Utah Bills are passed and killed
when driving your car, which activity would you guess would result in receiving a ticket: running a red light or holding your cell phone while talking and driving? In many states, both activities are considered offenses and are enforceable by law. But not in Utah. Last week the Utah House of Representatives voted on both issues and the results may surprise you. The House voted to kill a bill (HB13) that bans handheld cell phone use while driving. Some representatives cited impingement on freedoms, concern over the offense’s classification as a class C misdemeanor with steep penalties and fines, and an assumption that people are smart enough to know better than to talk while driving.

A class C misdemeanor carries with it up to 90 days in jail and a $750 fine. This is not a unique classification for driving infractions. The same classification is applied to reckless driving and driving without a current license. At present, drivers under the age of 18 can be ticketed for cell phone use but adult drivers can only be ticketed if they are pulled over for a separate non-speeding violation and also happen to be spotted using their phones.

Representative Kevin Stratton, strongly opposed the bill as saying “he would prefer to use education to handle cell phone use while driving.” He went on to state that Rep. Patrice Aren’t, D-Millcreek, said, “Maybe we shouldn’t have a bill on ‘drinking and driving’ and let education handle that, too.”

Meanwhile, a bill to allow drivers to run a red light (HB151) was passed. This bill allows drivers to pass through a red light, “if they first stop for 90 seconds, determine the light is not cycling properly, and proceed when the coast is clear. The measure is strongly opposed by law enforcement, prosecutors, cities and the Utah Department of Transportation.”

Reasons for Suspension or Revocation

Too many traffic violations, an alcohol offense, and certain criminal convictions are just some of the reasons that your license may be suspended or revoked in Utah.

Utah operates a points-based system for determining when your driver’s license should be suspended. Points are assessed against your license for each traffic violation, and your license may be suspended when you accrue a certain number of points. (Utah Code § 53-3-221(4) (a).)

Your driver’s license may be suspended or revoked for alcohol offenses. They include:

 a conviction for driving under the influence or when your blood alcohol content is greater than .05, and
 Failing a chemical test to determine whether you are driving under the influence. (Utah Code § 53-3-220(1) (a), § 53-3-223(3).)
Your license may be suspended or revoked for certain other criminal convictions. They include:
 manslaughter or negligent homicide, if you were driving a motor vehicle, or automobile homicide
 two charges of reckless driving, impaired driving, or a combination committed within 12 months
 certain felonies relating to driving laws, or a felony when a vehicle was used to commit it
 failing to stop if you are involved in an accident that kills or injures someone, and
 Engaging in a speed contest. (Utah Code § 53-3-220(1) (a).)
Your license may also be suspended or revoked if you:
 drive recklessly or unlawfully and cause an accident that injures or kills someone or causes serious
 are incompetent to drive a motor vehicle
 use a false driver’s license
 have been convicted frequently enough of serious traffic violations that the state believes you disrespect traffic laws and disregard safety
 fail to comply with a traffic citations in certain circumstances, or
 Have an outstanding unpaid fine, an outstanding incomplete restitution requirement, or an outstanding warrant. (Utah Code § 53-3-221(1), § 53-3-221(2), § 53-3-221(3).)

Your license may be suspended or revoked for other reasons as well.
In all urban areas, with the modernization and reduction of industries, traffic has become the main cause for air pollution. Both in winters (smog) as in summer pollution are present. In all cities the main effort is to control and monitor the pollution level trough a wide network of measurement stations for a real time representation in order to activate traffic reduction measurements. Therefore the main maps show the pollution levels for different pollutants not only along the principal roads but also represented in isoclines (see also the contributions on Air). But controlling and reducing the air pollution from traffic is mainly a political decision on national and European wide scale, so that for now the most important achievement is a better informed public.

Very important for urban planning are data and maps on traffic volumes and noise impact, as here local actions such as speed reduction, green noise barriers and route planning can be more easily adapted Everyone takes these trips, and only rarely considers other times to take them, because they are free. In reality, however, these trips are not free. The congestion they create imposes significant costs on commuters and truckers.

The average Utah spends the equivalent of more than three vacation days and an entire tank of gas idling in traffic. These are not hypothetical, but real costs borne by every Utah who labors in traffic. According to the Texas Transportation Institute, Utahans pay $250 million every year due solely to traffic congestion. These costs are on top of, not part of the taxes Utah’s pay to build transportation infrastructure, or their personal transportation purchases of cars, gas, insurance, etc.

Utah’s pay these cost because they are “dripped out” over the course of an entire year. If every family had to write an annual check for their per capita portion of Utah’s congestion costs, the pressure to cut the congestion tax would be as strong as it is to cut property taxes Traffic congestion comes from a disconnect between the number of people who want to drive on a road at certain times of the day, and the capacity of that road. With most goods, providers offer more of a good when individuals want more of that good. Given our current transportation policy, however, that disconnect is built in. Moreover, a freeway’s throughput, or the number of cars per lane per hour, decreases dramatically once speeds dip below 45 mph.

Free Initial Consultation with Lawyer

It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. Legal problems come to everyone. Whether it’s your son who gets in a car wreck, your uncle who loses his job and needs to file for bankruptcy, your sister’s brother who’s getting divorced, or a grandparent that passes away without a will -all of us have legal issues and questions that arise. So when you have a law question, call Ascent Law for your free consultation (801) 676-5506. We want to help you!