Canadian Citizens and Traffic Tickets in the US By Amy Nutt At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Every year, millions of Canadians travel to the United States in their vehicles, or they rent cars once they have arrived. As in Canada, The United States traffic laws must be obeyed. Most traffic laws that Canadians tend to violate are speeding tickets and parking violations. When Canadians drive in the US, they should be aware of how the traffic ticket system works.

When it comes to speeding tickets, fines can vary because many states determine the amount of the fine based on how many miles per hour the driver was driving above the speed limit. The faster you are traveling, the higher the fine. Many US states have a higher maximum speed limit than in Canada. Many U.S. highways have a maximum speed limit of 65 mph and in some as high as 70 mph. When you sign a traffic violation ticket such as a speeding ticket, you are acknowledging that you are going to appear in court. If you do not appear at the scheduled court session time and return to Canada, you can be held in contempt of court. The court can then place a bench warrant for your arrest. If you ever re-enter that state where you have been alleged to have committed the traffic offence, you can be arrested.

The speeding ticket system is different in the US than in Canada. For instance, if you are driving in a state such as New York, and are stopped by a police officer, you will be issued what is known as a ‘Uniform Traffic Ticket.’ This ticket will display the date of offense, time of offense, place of offense, as well as a description of the alleged violation. You must appear in the court where the alleged traffic violation occurred. You will then enter either a plea of guilty or not guilty. You must appear in person at your trial. If you plead guilty, the judge will assess your fine based on the type of traffic violation.

If you are driving a rental car and receive a traffic violation ticket such as a parking fine, the car rental agency will have to pay it, but they will charge the fine to your credit card. If you are driving your own car and receive a ticket, you may have demerit points placed against you driver’s license, especially if the state and the province in which you live share an agreement. If you ignore any type of traffic violation, the state has the right to issue a warrant for your arrest. You can be arrested if you return to the United States.

When it comes to demerit points, nearly all insurance companies will increase insurance premium rates if a driver receives a major traffic violation that results in 4+ points. The best way for drivers to avoid demerit points from being applied to their record is to maintain a clean driving record in both Canada and the United States is to maintain a clean driving record when traveling within both Canada and the United States. It will also avoid any future criminal charges and an increase in auto insurance premiums.

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