Florida Driver’s License Point System

The Florida Driver’s License Point System

Florida’s driver’s license point system is a system that adds a certain number of points on a person’s license when they break the laws of the road and receive a citation. The purpose of the system is to help create a safer driving environment and keep repeat traffic offenders off of the road.

How Florida’s Point System Operates

Every traffic violation has an assigned amount of points and once a driver receives a traffic violation that signed amount of points will automatically be tagged on their license.

Traffic violations and point amounts are listed below:

Six point traffic violations

  • Speeding that results in an accident
  • Leaving the scene of an accident that caused damage

Four point traffic violations

  • Ignoring traffic control devices or signals (Running a stop sign, running a red light, ignoring a yield sign, ect…)
  • Speeding more than 15 mph over the limit
  • Reckless driving
  • Passing a school bus that has stopped
  • Moving violations that cause an accident to occur

Three Point traffic violations

  • All moving violations (Aside from the 4 point ones listed above)
  • Driving with an open container
  • Speeding less than 15 mph over the speed limit
  • Violated child restraint rules
  • Curfew violations (Applies to minors)

Penalties that come with the Florida Point System

For starters, the more points a person gets on their license the higher their insurance rates will rise. Points on a person’s license basically tells insurance companies that the said driver is not being safe on the road, which is a red flag for insurance companies, and therefore they will charge a person higher rates for insurance.

Aside from insurance rates increasing a person who accumulates too many points in a given period of time will have their license suspended. This is a consequence that is strictly enforced for drivers in Florida.

A person’s license will automatically be suspended if a driver:

  • Receives 12 points within a year’s time, their license will be suspended for 30 days
  • Receives 18 points within 18 months, their license will be suspended for three months (90 days)
  • Receives 24 points within 36 months their license will be suspended for a year

Once a driver’s license is suspended they will now have to pay a large amount of fines to reinstate their license. In addition, their insurance rates will now be even higher than before and that can amount to hundreds and thousands of more dollars. If a driver continues to drive on a suspended license then they will be looking at a criminal offense which will be documented permanently on their criminal record and could result in jail time.

Driving Course Option

A driver has the option to take a driver improvement course for noncriminal violations. This course will knock off the points from a driver’s license but it is regulated and is only allowed to be taken one time per year and a maximum of five times throughout a person’s life.

Defenses

Aside from taking the driver improvement course, the only way a person can get the points off of their license is to dispute the ticket they received that caused the points. There are a multitude of defenses for traffic violations and it is important for a driver to understand that in many cases people are unjustly charged. Officers make mistakes and a large amount of traffic citations are based on an officer’s opinion instead of having actual proof. Moreover, even when an officer has proof a lot of the time it is weak and can be disputed in court.

In addition, there are charges that people receive that carry with them far heavier penalties than the charges that a person should have actually received from an officer, such as, a person being charged with reckless driving when in actuality it was a careless driving charge, which is a noncriminal offense; or, a person being charged with street racing which is a criminal offense when they should have been charged with speeding, which is a noncriminal offense.

If a driver is about to get a suspended license, which could create great hardships in their life, such as loss of a job, they should contact a lawyer and fight their charge. Hiring a lawyer will most likely save them money in the long run.

Call Us Today!

If you have received too many points on your license do not let your license become suspended and your insurance rates increase, call us today and find out what we can do for you. We have been representing motorists on traffic violations since 2004 and we know what to look for in a weak prosecution. We are very knowledgeable on Florida’s point system’s regulations and we would like to attempt to get your ticket dismissed for you. You can contact us anytime, day or night and speak to a staff member about your case. Let us help make your life a bit easier and answer any questions you have about your case. Give us a call and set up a free consultation at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848).