BUFFALO, N.Y. (WGRZ) — Drivers beware. Enforcement of New York’s increased points schedule for violations took effect today.
Not only have points increased for many traffic infractions, but they will also stay on your record longer which could spell trouble for those who habitually rack up tickets.
With the number of points you can incur for an infraction increasing and the amount of time those points remain on your license being extended from 18 months to two years it means reaching the points threshold for a license suspension will become easier.
According to the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles the moves were made to combat some of the most dangerous types of violations, such as intoxicated driving, texting while driving, passing stopped school busses and speeding, especially in work zones.
According to attorneys who specialize in traffic tickets you will also be less likely to plead tickets down without at least incurring some points being on your license.
“It’s now trickier to walk into court with the average ticket that has a few points to it and to just swap it for something that carries zero points because it’s going to be trickier to find things that carry zero points,” said Aaron Pam of the Tully Rinckey Law firm.
Erie County Clerk Michael Kearns, who operates DMV offices locally on behalf of the state, says this would a good time for all motorists to re-evaluate their driving habits in order to avoid tickets in the first place.
“I’ll include myself in that,” said Kearns. “We try and tell our young people, when they get a permit, we really stress to them the importance of driving and not driving distracted. But we’re all human.”
