Suspended License? Here’s How To Get It Fixed
Posted on Aug 23, 2018 in DUI/DWI, Speeding Tickets, Traffic
Having your license suspended can be a huge hinderance on your day-to-day life. How will you get to work? How will you take the kids to school? How will you do the grocery shopping? The situation can add substantial stress to your life, and if your license has been suspended, you need to get it reinstated as quickly and painlessly as possible.
Bloom Legal can help. We know that license suspensions can happen for any number of reasons, and we will help you navigate what can often be a complex and confusing process to get you back on the road.
Your license may be suspended if you:
- Have one or more unpaid traffic ticket(s)
- Paid late on any traffic ticket(s)
- Did not pay the full amount or all your traffic ticket(s)
- Failed to turn in your new license plates after you sold your vehicle or got a new one
- Got a DWI or DUI
- Cancelled your car insurance
- Failed to pay child support or missed payment(s)
- And more
The Thing About Traffic Tickets…
A lot of people think that if they don’t pay their traffic ticket, nothing will happen to them. Indeed, it may often seem like this is the case. All too often people stick their ticket in a drawer and forget about it entirely. They don’t hear anything else about it, and it can seem like the issue has resolved itself.
But that’s not true. Traffic tickets don’t just go away, not matter how hard we might wish it.
When a traffic ticket is not paid on time—or is paid only partially—the court that issued the ticket notifies the DMV. Depending on the severity of the case, the DMV will then suspend your license, and/or issue a warrant.
The driver, however, would be none the wiser to this development. They would likely not become aware of it until their driving record was pulled. This could happen while applying for insurance, applying for a job, or, as with most cases, when one is pulled over at a routine traffic stop.
Here is the revenge of the forgotten traffic ticket, lying at the bottom of some junk-filled drawer, radiating dark energy and malice.
If you are pulled over driving on a suspended license you will be ticketed, fined, and perhaps even arrested. Until recently, police were required to arrest individuals they pulled over who were driving on a suspended license. However, a recent city ordinance allows officers to use their discretion in such situations, and decide whether or not to arrest the individual.
Regardless, the fallout from having your license suspended is often costly and complex. So is the answer to simply pay your traffic tickets when you get them?
Not so fast,
Paying tickets off directly is equivalent to pleading guilty in a court of law, and this can negatively impact your driving record as well, potentially raising your insurance rates. This can cost you more in the long run than anything else.
Dealing with traffic tickets is more complicated than many people realize. It’s why we always recommend contacting a traffic attorney as soon as possible if you have one or more traffic tickets.
Many people don't think about an attorney when they are issued a traffic ticket, but a good traffic lawyer can save you money and hassle in the long run. At Bloom Legal, we will do all we can to get your tickets dismissed or reduced, and we will fight to keep your driving record clean.
Getting Your License Reinstated
At Bloom Legal we help people clear their driving records and get them back on the road as quickly and painlessly as possible. If your license has been suspended you’ll first want to contact the DMV to find out why. You will have to pay any outstanding tickets or monies owed in order to reinstate.
It’s always best to call us knowing what tickets you have out there. You can contact the DMV to find out any tickets they have on record, but there could also be tickets that have not hit the DMV yet.
The individual parish courts are not always consistent in notifying the DMV of unpaid tickets. Some parishes have automated systems which generate a letter as soon as the ticket is overdue and sends it to the DMV. On the other hand, we have seen situations where the parish has waited years before notifying the DMV of an unpaid ticket.
For this reason, it’s best practice to contact the court where you were ticketed to make sure that they have notified the DMV of all your tickets.
Sometimes if can be hard to track down all your violations, especially if they are spread across different jurisdictions. We understand the often frustrating and time-consuming nature of this process. Give us all the information you can, and we will help you with the rest. We are experienced at navigating these complex bureaucratic networks.
Once you have settled up on all the traffic fines you owe for your tickets and/or violations, we will give you some documentation—usually a letter of clearance, showing that you’ve cleared your record—to take to the DMV.
In addition to giving this letter to the DMV you will also be required to pay a fine for reinstatement. So you end up having to pay your traffic tickets or fees, plus a fee for the DMV to unsuspend your license. This is yet another reason why it’s so important to handle your traffic violations as quickly as possible after they arise. Yes, they are a pain, but putting them off or ignoring them will only end up costing you more time and money down the road (yes, that’s a terrible pun, I’m sorry).
Contact Bloom Legal Today
If you have outstanding traffic tickets, or if you have been charged with a DWI or other violation, don’t let the situation get any worse than it has to be by ignoring it. Contact the experienced traffic attorneys at Bloom Legal today.
We can advise you on your best course of action. We want to keep your driving record clean, and get your case resolved quickly and cost-effectively. At Bloom Legal, we care about our clients, and we want to make an unfortunate situation as painless and worry-free as possible for you, so that you can get back on the road and back to your life.
