The Short Answer
Traffic offenses range from infractions like speeding to criminal charges like hit-and-run and driving on a suspended license, which are misdemeanors with real jail exposure and license consequences. A lawyer can often appear for you, negotiate reductions that protect your record and insurance, and untangle the license suspensions that turn one ticket into a cycle.
The Vehicle Code runs to dozens of violations that end in a citation and a court date: speeding, stop signs, expired registration, no proof of insurance, window tint, phone use at the wheel. Most are infractions and carry no jail. But some are not — driving on a suspended licence, reckless driving and hit-and-run are misdemeanors, with jail exposure and a conviction that stays on your record.
The advice that matters most is the simplest: do not just pay the ticket. Paying is a guilty plea. It puts a point on your record under VC 12810, and points are what raise your insurance and eventually cost you your licence under the negligent operator rules in VC 12810.5. Farris Law Firm appears in traffic court across Orange County and Los Angeles, frequently without you needing to be there.
Traffic Charges We Handle
Speeding (VC 22350, VC 22349)
The basic speed law makes it an offense to drive faster than is reasonable for conditions; VC 22349 sets the absolute 65 and 70 mph limits. Radar-based cases carry their own evidentiary rules.
Driving on a suspended or revoked licence (VC 14601 series)
A misdemeanor, not an infraction. VC 14601.2 covers a DUI-related suspension and carries a mandatory minimum jail term the court cannot waive.
Driving without a valid licence (VC 12500(a))
Chargeable as a misdemeanor or an infraction. Which one it is filed as is negotiable and matters a great deal.
Hit and run (VC 20002, VC 20001)
Leaving the scene of property damage is a misdemeanor under VC 20002. Where anyone was injured, VC 20001 makes it a wobbler with felony exposure.
Reckless driving and speed contests (VC 23103, VC 23109)
Both misdemeanors. Reckless driving is also where a DUI charge sometimes lands on a negotiated reduction.
Infractions and correctable violations (VC 4000, VC 16028, VC 26708, VC 23123)
Registration, proof of insurance, window tint and phone use. Several of these are correctable under VC 40610 and can be dismissed on proof you fixed the problem.
How Traffic Cases Get Fought
A citation is an accusation, not a finding, and traffic cases have technical defenses that criminal cases do not:
- The speed trap rule: radar or laser evidence is inadmissible without a current traffic and engineering survey supporting the posted limit (VC 40802), and surveys expire
- The basic speed law under VC 22350 asks what was reasonable for the conditions, which is an argument rather than a number
- Knowledge is an element of VC 14601 — the prosecution has to prove you knew your licence was suspended, and DMV notice frequently goes to a stale address
- Correctable violations dismissed on proof of correction under VC 40610, which turns a fine into a paperwork exercise
- Trial by written declaration under VC 40902, which costs you no court appearance and preserves a new trial if it does not go your way
- Negotiating for traffic school so the point is masked from your insurer, or for a reduction to a non-moving violation that carries no point at all
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I just pay my traffic ticket?
Paying the ticket is pleading guilty. The conviction goes on your driving record, a point is assigned under VC 12810, and the point is visible to your insurer — which is usually where the real cost is, spread over three to five years of premiums rather than the fine you paid once. It also accumulates: enough points inside the windows in VC 12810.5 and the DMV can suspend your licence. Fighting it, or negotiating to traffic school or a non-moving violation, is what keeps the record clean.
How many points before my licence is suspended?
Under VC 12810.5 you are presumed a negligent operator at four points in 12 months, six in 24, or eight in 36, and that presumption supports a suspension. Most moving violations are one point; more serious ones, including hit-and-run and reckless driving, are two. It is a presumption rather than an automatic result, and it can be contested at a DMV hearing.
Can a radar speeding ticket be beaten?
Often, on the evidence rules rather than on the speed. VC 40802 defines a speed trap, and radar or laser readings are inadmissible unless the posted limit is supported by a current traffic and engineering survey. Surveys have to be redone periodically and frequently lapse. Where the survey is missing or expired, the speed evidence does not come in — which is a different and considerably better argument than disputing the reading itself.
What happens if I ignore an old ticket?
It escalates and it does not lapse. Failing to appear or to pay as promised is a misdemeanor in its own right under VC 40508, the court can add a civil assessment of up to $100 under PC 1214.1, and the DMV will refuse to renew your licence under VC 40509.5. If the underlying charge was a misdemeanor, missing court also produces a bench warrant. Old citations are still resolvable, but the resolution gets more expensive the longer it waits.