Kentucky Traffic Fines & Tickets
Whether you’re a resident of Kentucky or you’re driving through the Bluegrass State on vacation, getting a traffic ticket could put a damper on your whole day. Not to worry, residents and non-residents alike have the opportunity to keep the traffic ticket from negatively affecting their insurance rates by completing an online traffic school course.
Moving Violations vs. Non-Moving Violations
The first step to understanding Kentucky traffic violations is to determine what type of ticket you may have received. There are 2 types of Kentucky traffic tickets: moving violations and non-moving violations.
Below is a short list of the most common moving violations:
- Speeding or driving too slowly
- Disregarding road signs and signals
- Tailgating
- Failing to signal properly
- Passing incorrectly or preventing another driver from passing
Non-moving violations include:
- Illegally parking in a handicapped spot
- Illegally blocking or parking in front of a fire hydrant
- Parking in front of an expired meter
- Parking in a no-parking zone
Kentucky traffic fines and penalties vary based on the type of violation you received. You can pay your fine online or at the court in the district where you received your ticket. While you might not be happy about how much a Kentucky traffic ticket costs, you do need to pay your fine on time. If you do not, a warrant could be issued for your arrest and your license could be suspended.
Bear in mind that paying your ticket means accepting guilt for your infraction. It is possible to fight Kentucky traffic tickets, but you must appear before the court and plead your case.
Kentucky Point System
The Kentucky Point System is in place to monitor driving behavior and nip dangerous driving in the bud. Each ticket is assessed a value of 3-6 points and those values are recorded on your driving record and used to track driving behavior. If you accumulate too many points on your record, you could end up with a suspended license.
To avoid points from appearing on your driving record, you may take traffic school class once every 12 months. The Kentucky traffic school you choose must be approved by the state in order to qualify for point reduction.
Taking Traffic School in Kentucky
The good news for Kentucky drivers is they have the ability to take State Traffic School (STS) in order to keep a violation off their 3-year driving record. The purpose of a Kentucky traffic school course in Kentucky is to provide valuable safe-driving information that will prove helpful to you as you get back on the road. A State Traffic School course, either online or in a classroom, is 4 hours long and covers useful information such as:
- Road signs and signals
- Current Kentucky traffic laws
- The driver point system
- Risks and dangers on the road
- Defensive driving techniques
All drivers require a court referral before they qualify. Your best bet is to contact your county court and inquire about attending an online STS course. To be eligible, you must:
- Have a valid drivers license
- Have not taken an STS course within the past 12 months
- Have received a ticket for a minor violation
If you qualify, the district court in the area where you received your citation will notify the Division of Driver Licensing. The DDL will then send you a notice including instructions on how to enroll in a course. Keep in mind that once you’ve been referred to take traffic school in Kentucky it becomes a court order. At this point, it is not voluntary, and your license could be suspended if you do not complete a course by the deadline provided.
Your Kentucky Driver Record
Once you’ve completed a traffic school course, your citation will not appear on your 3-year driving record. This is valuable, as your insurance company will not be able to see the violation and it won’t affect your insurance rates. If you took traffic school to handle a traffic ticket in Kentucky, it’s always a good idea to contact the DDL and request a copy of your driving record. You can see for yourself if you received the credit you earned.
Out-of-State Drivers
If you were just passing through Kentucky and happened to receive a traffic ticket, you may benefit from traffic school in the same manner as a state resident. The Kentucky DMV reports tickets to the other 49 states, meaning the citation will go on your home-state driving record as if you received that ticket back home. You are responsible for paying your ticket in the county where you received it.
Once your payment has been made, the ticket will be sent to the state where you hold your drivers license, along with a letter stating that you are requesting to take traffic school. The regulations for traffic school in your home state will determine if you are eligible to take a Kentucky state traffic school course.
