Typically, about 6 months before your license is up for renewal, the Department of Motor Vehicles will check a database called the National Driver Register (NDR) and look to see if you’ve been an infamous driver… and the short answer is “Yes” – if you receive a speeding ticket outside of your state it will show up on your record in your home state. For almost all out-of-state infractions on your driver’s license, you can count on the DMV to let you know.
Aside from major moving violations, such as DUIs, attending online traffic school can lift the gloomy out-of-state ticket cloud from hanging over your head…
Online traffic school
Most states will offer you an opportunity to participate in a traffic school course or online traffic school to reduce or eliminate the number of points on your drivers license that you may have gotten from a speeding ticket. How long do you have to do it? Typically, one year from the time the ticket is issued is a common deadline but it does vary by state so please check with your state’s DMV website. Most states allow you to participate in traffic school once every 18 months.
Handle it right away
Although each case may vary, the faster you address the infraction and take steps to resolve what you can, such as responding to a letter and disputing the ticket, the better the outcome will be than if you wait. In the state of Texas, you are required to tell your employer of the infraction within 30 days of receiving the ticket. Also, you may be familiar with your own state’s policies of handing a ticket but you may not be aware of the states policies where you received the ticket. We suggest performing a Google search.
Prevention
With so much focus on “how to get out” of a situation, what if you could get caught red-handed for exemplifying your good driving? If your car was made in 1995 or later, you may be able to show companies like Esurance and Progressive what a good driver you are by plugging in a simple device that sends data to the company via plugging it into your car’s fuse box. The box, often referred to as “blackboxes” shares statistics with your insurance provider. Your speed, what time of day you drive and your annual mileage can contribute to saving money on your insurance premium along with having a clean driving record. The better driver you are, the more they’ll know it and the greater the savings on your auto insurance rates.