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At the I-70 Traffic Law Center, attorney Karen Bourgeois has been helping people with their traffic ticket dilemmas since 2004. Here you get personal service from your attorney and are never left in the dark regarding the legal process and solutions to keeping a clean driving record.
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There is such a thing as a permanent record! (Part 1 – Your driving record)
Remember that threat from high school? “This will go on your permanent record!” Well, believe it or not, there are such things and your Missouri driving record is one of them.
The Missouri Department of Revenue, the state agency that issues your driver’s license and controls your driving privilege in Missouri, maintains an electronic record system. Any activity that has an impact on your driving privilege will show up your Missouri driving record. These include all moving violations, points, DWIs, suspensions, reinstatements, etc. Your record will also contain information about any moving violations you received in another state. Keep this in mind when driving out of state because if you receive a ticket for a moving violation in another state and just pay it, Missouri will treat that ticket as if it happened in Missouri and assess points accordingly. This why you should contact a lawyer in the state you received the ticket if you would like to keep your Missouri record clean.
A lot of people believe that driving records only go back three years or that the record is wiped clean after that period. Not true. The three-year mark is significant for a few reasons, one of which is that any points assessed against your license will cycle off after a three years of safe driving (that means no moving violations). Some insurance companies will only consider the last three years when determining whether to issue a policy or to raise or lower your premium. I once had a client who insisted that his record was clean, but a record check showed that he had been suspended in 1998 for numerous moving violations and had not reinstated his Missouri license until 2007. He was correct that it was clean since 2007. However, his driving history affected how the prosecutor viewed his latest moving violation. Keeping a clean driving record means that your lawyer is better able to get any moving violation you do receive amended to a non-moving, non-point violation.
WHAT IS NOT ON YOUR DRIVING RECORD: Parking tickets, non-moving violations such as “defective equipment” (moving violations are often amended to this charge), infractions, expired plates, seatbelt violations. In Missouri speeding of 5 mph or less over the speed limit is a non-moving violation. However, if you have an out-of-state license, your state may not treat this as a non-moving violation, so make sure you and your lawyer know how these tickets will be treated in your home state before you go forward with an amendment to a 4- or 5-over speeding.