While traffic stops may seem common and routine, having too many demerits can have consequences. The impact of Ft. Lauderdale traffic points on a person’s license often depends on who is looking into that person’s record, and why they are doing so. If an individual wants to know more about the demerit point system and how to mitigate the impact that these points might have, they should consult a qualified traffic attorney who could help.
Reason for Demerit Points
The major reason why Florida has a point demerit system is that it is a means by which the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles can grade or determine how safe or not a driver is and how good or not so good of a driver an individual is. They set up parameters by which if an individual receives a certain amount of points within a certain timeframe, it would trigger a suspension of an individual’s driver’s license or their privilege to drive in the State of Florida.
The Department of Motor Vehicles has this sliding window that there is a certain amount of points with a certain time period the driver would be penalized with a driver’s license suspension. For insurance purposes, depending upon the insurance company, they would only consider a certain part of the history in assessing the risks and writing a policy. As far as the Department of Motor Vehicles is concerned, points can be used against an individual for a variety of reasons.
How the Demerit Point System Works
The Department of Motor Vehicles set up the following system to penalize individuals for accruing points. If an individual receives 12 points within a 12-month period, that individual would face a 30-day suspension of their driver’s license in Ft. Lauderdale. If an individual receives 18 points within an 18-month period, that would trigger a 90-day or a three-month suspension of an individual’s driver’s license in Ft. Lauderdale. Anyone who receives 24 points within 36 months or 24 points within three years would receive a one-year suspension of their driver’s license. The impact of Ft. Lauderdale traffic points on a person’s license is that they can result in the suspension of a person’s license.
There is a three-year window or a rolling window that the department uses to determine whether or not an individual is going to face a suspension of their driver’s license. There are other reasons why points are a factor. The second most common reason that points are important to consider and another ramification of receiving points are that insurance companies typically take the potential risks that a driver has in writing their insurance policies, issuing their policies, and assessing what the rates are going to be based on an individual’s driver’s license record. One of the things that they look at is whether or not that individual has been given any points on their record by the Department of Motor vehicles in Florida. I general, it depends on the insurance company. Most insurance companies look at a period of time, like four or five years. Some insurance companies go back seven years. It depends upon who is looking and what the company’s policies are.
How Long Points Stay on a Person’s Record
The impact of Ft. Lauderdale traffic points on a person’s license, can sometimes also be reflected in their record. There are different types of records that can be ordered. In Florida, a person can order a three-year record, a four-year record, a five-year record, a seven-year record, or a full history. In general, that is a difficult question to answer, because, technically, once a person receives a violation with points there is always a record of it. It is always on the record.
Points never go away. It is just a question of how far back somebody is looking. They are always there, but if somebody orders a four-year record and an individual received a violation nine years ago that carried with it points, it is still there but it is not being looked at for penalization purposes. If somebody does not order a lifetime record, they are not going to see that. If somebody orders a complete record and in the past, they received points on their driving offense in Ft. Lauderdale, they will always be there for somebody to view. If an individual wants to know more, they should speak with a skilled lawyer that could answer their questions.
