Points to Ponder

Points to Ponder

There are points in basketball, tennis, and football. Diamonds have points, as do knives and arrows. But nothing gets the attention of the average motorist like traffic points.

Most moving violations carry two penalties under the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code: a monetary fine and penalty points against your driver’s license. Most drivers do not get terribly upset about having to pay a fine for violating a traffic law. But they go crazy when they find out that penalty points have been assigned to their licenses. This is because penalty points can result in increased insurance rates and, in some cases, license suspension if enough points are accumulated.

Most moving violations result in the assessment of points against your license. The most common penalty is three points, which applies to violations such as failure to stop for a stop sign, passing through a continuous red light, and certain improper turns. Points are assigned for speeding violations based generally upon the measured speed in excess of the posted limit; the higher the excess speed, the more points that are assigned.

Police officers have a degree of latitude when issuing citations for traffic violations. A good example is Section 3111 of the Vehicle Code. Section 3111 deals with failure to obey a traffic control device. The term “traffic control device” could include traffic lights, stop signs, warning signals, yield signs and any number of other traffic control mechanisms. What makes Section 3111 interesting is that while it carries a fine, it carries no points. There are separate sections of the Vehicle Code dealing with disobeying a stop sign or a red light which do carry points. Thus, the arresting officer, if he is in a good mood, and if the driver is not belligerent, might elect to charge the driver under Section 3111, in effect giving the driver a “break.” In our experience, judges are well-schooled in the real meaning of a charge under Section 3111, and they realize that the driver probably could have been charged under a more serious section of the Vehicle Code carrying points. In some cases drivers might be better off not challenging charges under Section 3111, at least where they have significant doubt about their innocence.

Our general advice is always to consider challenging traffic citations because of the potential adverse impact on your license. However, in cases involving Section 3111, a different analysis might apply.

— Kevin Palmer