As a result of traffic violations, drivers in South Carolina might face a point system that increases the cost of maintaining a valid licence. Consequences as serious as licence suspension can result from a buildup of these points. You risk losing your licence and getting a penalty for Driving While Suspended. Depending on your insurance provider and driving record, your car insurance premiums might go up when your point total rises. As a general rule, moving violations result in the highest point totals.
What Happens to You When You Earn Points?
Even while minor traffic violations like making an illegal U-turn, speeding, or changing lanes without signalling may not seem like a big problem at first, they may add up to significant penalties over time. Your insurance premiums may also go up. And that quickly adds up. Paying the fine isn’t the only consequence of a traffic infraction; points added to your licence can add up quickly if you want to keep driving.
In my experience, insurance premiums tend to rise whenever a driver receives four or more points. Most speeding tickets in South Carolina carry a total of four points, but that number might drop to two if you fight the charge in court. If you accumulate 12 points, your licence will be suspended for an unspecified amount of time and you will be unable to legally drive. Your driving privileges will be revoked.
Do you require legal representation for your traffic ticket?
You can fight your traffic ticket on your own or retain legal representation. It is not uncommon for out-of-state visitors to South Carolina to retain the services of a local attorney in order to contest a traffic ticket, as doing so in their home state would require them to miss work and incur additional expenses that would likely exceed the cost of hiring legal representation here. Legal representation may prove useful when haggling with the Traffic Education Program.
The Traffic Enforcement Program (TEP) is limited to certain tickets and is not available to those who hold a CDL (Commercial Driver’s License). Although there is a fee associated with the TEP, in the end, you will not be needed to pay the fine or receive points on your licence as a result of participating in the program. To be eligible for TEP, you need the approval of both the officer and the judge, and there may be other factors involved as well. If you get a reckless driving ticket, for instance, you probably won’t qualify for TEP, but a lawyer could help.
If you get too many points, your driver’s licence may be suspended. Your point total will be halved after just one year, which is good news. If you have 6 points at the beginning of the year, you will have 3 points at the end of the year. The issue is with the violations at the higher points. Two 25 mph over-the-limit tickets within a year, for instance, could result in a 3-month suspension of your driver’s license. A Summary Notice of Suspension will be issued if you reach 12 points. The suspension period will be determined by the total number of points accumulated and the time frame in which they were earned.
South Carolina Driver’s License Suspension Points: How Many Are Needed?
Once you reach 12 points, your licence will be suspended. You will get a warning letter from the South Carolina DMV if you accumulate six or more points. According to South Carolina’s point system, you will receive demerit points whenever you are found guilty of a moving violation. Though your points will drop in half after a year, you still risk having your licence suspended for serious violations or multiple citations within a year.