How to Avoid Points After a South Carolina Ticket
Understanding the General Rules About Points
One of the common questions people have after receiving a traffic ticket is how to avoid the points. My office receives dozens of calls and e-mails a week from drivers who have received a ticket and are trying to determine what their best option is.
Before we begin, it is important to understand the following general rules about points:
- Points are assigned by the state which issued the driver's license. South Carolina police or Courts do not have the authority to modify points.
- South Carolina does not have the "prayer for judgment" program like in North Carolina or other states which automatically defer points.
- All moving violations in South Carolina carry points to South Carolina drivers. The only exceptions are some types of local ordinances (usually called "careless operation" or something similar.)
- Out of state drivers who receive a local ordinance violation may find that their home state still assigns points, and may assign more than the original offense
- There are actually two types of points. License points - assigned by your state's DMV which you accrue toward a suspension of your driver's license and Insurance points - which come from your own insurance company and are used to determine your rates.
- All moving violations in South Carolina are reported by the Court to the South Carolina DMV who will then report to a driver's home state's DMV.
South Carolina Ticket Legal Fees
Standard fees (beginning at $400.00) are charged for driver's with tickets in Lexington or Richland County. Additional fees may apply to charges in other cities\counties. Because there are many areas un-served by Lexington criminal lawyers with experience in traffic law we regularly represent clients in other parts of the State.
If your ticket is close to Anderson\Greenville, Charleston, Myrtle Beach, or Hilton Head Island you should keep in mind that generally the fees we charge to travel will exceed the value of the service. The exception would be for drivers who have commercial driver's licenses (CDL), who face more serious offenses (DUI, DUS, Drug Charges, Failure to Stop for Police) or who are facing a suspension of the driver's license based on prior traffic offenses. Traffic tickets are usually handled on a flat-fee basis - which means that we accept a fee for the total case and do not bill on an hourly basis.
The most important factors when we set the fee are:
- What city/county the ticket is in
- What the charge is (speeding, reckless driving, etc.)
- Whether our client wants a simple court appearance or a full contested trial
Most speeding tickets we accept are at a fee range of $400-$750 for a simple court appearance where we will attempt to negotiate a reduction in the fine and points. Contested trial fees will be between $750-$2,500 (or more) depending on the case's complexity. We implement the same types of defense strategies that apply in DUI Defense, including filing discovery motions and a demand for a jury trial on fully contested traffic cases.
If you are interested in receiving a quote for your South Carolina ticket please use the contact form provided on this website and give us your court date, court address, exact legal charge and generally what level of service you are looking to hire a Lexington criminal defense attorney for. Please keep in mind that no criminal defense lawyer can ever make a promise regarding the outcome of legal services.
Located in Lexington, South Carolina (which is in the central part of South Carolina, located close to Columbia). Contact us today.
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