[SILVERHAWK]

Hey guys.......

I need a little confirmation on some DMV info: concerning the administrative penalties for speeding in the state of Texas.

I have a gentleman that I cited for going 40 mph over the speed limit in DE....here in DE you would lose your driver's license if convicted for about a year.... outside of the fine.

At the time, I told him that there was a good chance he was going to lose his license in Texas and he didn't really seem to be too concerned.......

I went online and tried to read up on Texas statues.......it appears that all this guy is going to get on his TX license is 2 points and no suspension ...especially if he doesn't have a bad record ...even if its the full amount of 40 over......can someone confirm this to be true?

Thanks for the info

[11BEE]

Texas allows charges of reckless driving for anyone who is doing 20 mph or more over the speed limit. It is a class I misdemeanor punishable by up to 1 year in jail and up to a $2500 fine. As a practical matter most people convicted of reckless driving do not go to jail, however, some Judges begin to impose jail time at speeds of 90 m.p.h. or greater.

In Texas, a good lawyer will get those fines diminished.

[CamaroSkooter]

Did you cite him in Texas or in Delaware?

If you wrote him a ticket in Delaware, it won't have any effect on his driving record in Texas.

If he was doing 40mph over the limit in Texas and was cited in Texas, that's a different deal. Even if he was cited by a State Trooper, local jurisdictions (city police or county sheriffs) would not be able to see the incident.

Conceivably, I could get a speeding ticket in all 254 Texan counties and take defensive driving once and get out of all of them at the same time.

[Mr_Draco]

Originally Posted by CamaroSkooter

Did you cite him in Texas or in Delaware?

If you wrote him a ticket in Delaware, it won't have any effect on his driving record in Texas.

I was getting ready to ask the same thing.

Out of state traffic tickets really don't do anything to your record. The only thing he'll get is a fine and possibly make his insurance go up and even that is iffy since it was out of state it may not get reported to his insurance.

I don't know the laws in DE, but here that much over is also considered reckless driving and is an arrestable offense. Next time it may be a better decision to write it up as reckless driving and arrest them so they can spend a day or two in jail.

[kpwalls06]

It depends on where you're driving in Texas. I'll tell you from personal experience that doing 100mph in a 60 zone in Grapevine, TX will get you a ticket, and nothing more. I was cited for that, plus 2 more offenses all at once. I took defensive driving for one of the lesser charges, but had to pay the other two. Because the speeding was more than 30 over the posted speed, it's on my record for good. But, I paid the fines and fees, took the "points" on my license, and that was the end of it.

[kpwalls06]

And sorry, I should add to the OP....if you ticketed him in Delaware, nothing will happen in Texas, shouldn't even get points on his license. Something about different jurisdictions and whatnot. Sort of like Texas State Troopers can't ticket a person on a city street that's not also a state highway.

[SILVERHAWK]

Originally Posted by 11BEE

Texas allows charges of reckless driving for anyone who is doing 20 mph or more over the speed limit. It is a class I misdemeanor punishable by up to 1 year in jail and up to a $2500 fine. As a practical matter most people convicted of reckless driving do not go to jail, however, some Judges begin to impose jail time at speeds of 90 m.p.h. or greater.

In Texas, a good lawyer will get those fines diminished.

Thanks, but I was nice enough not to charge him with reckless driving

Originally Posted by CamaroSkooter

Did you cite him in Texas or in Delaware?

If you wrote him a ticket in Delaware, it won't have any effect on his driving record in Texas.

If he was doing 40mph over the limit in Texas and was cited in Texas, that's a different deal. Even if he was cited by a State Trooper, local jurisdictions (city police or county sheriffs) would not be able to see the incident.

Conceivably, I could get a speeding ticket in all 254 Texan counties and take defensive driving once and get out of all of them at the same time.

No, if convicted it will be going back to TX....if I am correct they are part of the compact....so it will show up on his TX record if convicted....we do not have the driving class that gets them out of everything.

Originally Posted by Mr_Draco

I was getting ready to ask the same thing.

Out of state traffic tickets really don't do anything to your record. The only thing he'll get is a fine and possibly make his insurance go up and even that is iffy since it was out of state it may not get reported to his insurance.

I don't know the laws in DE, but here that much over is also considered reckless driving and is an arrestable offense. Next time it may be a better decision to write it up as reckless driving and arrest them so they can spend a day or two in jail.

Yeah, reckless driving is not much worse than the speeding itself except for the amount of points on the drivers license....here its 6 points

(12) in a year gets you automatically suspended.

Originally Posted by kpwalls06

It depends on where you're driving in Texas. I'll tell you from personal experience that doing 100mph in a 60 zone in Grapevine, TX will get you a ticket, and nothing more. I was cited for that, plus 2 more offenses all at once. I took defensive driving for one of the lesser charges, but had to pay the other two. Because the speeding was more than 30 over the posted speed, it's on my record for good. But, I paid the fines and fees, took the "points" on my license, and that was the end of it.

Thanks.....I think that about confirms my point that at least the guy won't lose his license.

Originally Posted by kpwalls06

And sorry, I should add to the OP....if you ticketed him in Delaware, nothing will happen in Texas, shouldn't even get points on his license. Something about different jurisdictions and whatnot. Sort of like Texas State Troopers can't ticket a person on a city street that's not also a state highway.

like I said above.....if I am correct if will go back to TX and be on his record....and where I cited him was inside my jurisdiction so that's not an issue.

[RJT Impala]

Hmmmm...I'm a bit confused, Silverhawk. If I understand correctly, you're not really trying to throw the book at the guy? Just wanting to get his attention?

[SILVERHAWK]

Pretty much.........I don't want to lie to him either when we get to court......


maybe he knew he wouldn't get it taken away? I am just not sure...... might explain why initially he didn't seem too concerned instead of being a punk that didn't seem to care.

and to be honest, if he shows up in court with a decent attitude, I will help him out so he doesn't lose his license or his career....example---here in DE ....29 over and 30 over would be the difference between points and a fine vs a mandatory suspension......I would reduce it to 29 over to help him out.....

[The Blue Angel]

I just got a 30mph over speeding ticket. Here in Florida that means a Mandatory Court appearance. I have had 15mph or less tickets in the past. My court date is on April's Fools Day. God only knows what the judge will give me.

[Superman09]

He won't get his TXDL suspended although it will record as points on his license. My brother got a ticket in CO and it recorded in TX as well. Since he isn't being charged with reckless he won't get his license pulled unless he is a habitual violater and even then that is a stretch.

[Wuiquen]

Hey Jim, not to be a dick but since I know u are nice and are trying to help the kid out, u can always make his first Sgt aware of the issue.. I bet his squadron would love to get this sort it out. The military is all about defensive driving and stuff

[SILVERHAWK]

Originally Posted by Superman09

He won't get his TXDL suspended although it will record as points on his license. My brother got a ticket in CO and it recorded in TX as well. Since he isn't being charged with reckless he won't get his license pulled unless he is a habitual violater and even then that is a stretch.

Thanks for the 411...

Originally Posted by Wuiquen

Hey Jim, not to be a dick but since I know u are nice and are trying to help the kid out, u can always make his first Sgt aware of the issue.. I bet his squadron would love to get this sort it out. The military is all about defensive driving and stuff

yeah, he had to tell his first shirt, who apparently wasn't very happy with him at all....not sure what, if any punishment he got from the base.



UPDATE, I had court with him yesterday......totally different guy from the day of the stop....... maybe his 1st Sgt jumped in his butt pretty good. Apparently, he has never had a ticket before........since that was the case, I tried to get him the 1st offenders program under DE law, but the judge denied that request.....that would have forced him to pay the full fine at 40 over....about $400.00 and he would have been on probation for a period of time...then if he didn't get in trouble on probation, the conviction would not go back to TX.
So, after a pretty long talk/lecture, I decided to amend the speed to 20 over.......cost him about $200.00 and he will get 2 points when it gets to TX.
After all that, in 2 weeks he is going to be stationed in Germany for 3 years.....at least there he can drive like that on the Autobahn all he wants..... told him to watch out for the speed cameras there though.....a friend of mine had to go work there for about 6 months and got 3 tickets in the mail for speeding....the cameras were inside of trash bins apparently.....DAMN!!!!