Truck driving is hard. Not only do truckers have to safely operate and maintain their trucks and loads on the road, they also have to be aware of all kinds of laws and rules that may affect their jobs. Because of this sheer volume of information, some details get mixed up or confused. It’s hard to know when a ticket is a ticket and what that ticket may or may not do to your record. Warning Tickets seem to be a particular point of contention. Do they affect your license? Will insurance find out about them? Can you fight a Warning Ticket? We are here to put to rest these questions and more about Warning Tickets.
- What does a Warning Ticket look like?
A: It looks like a normal ticket, usually. The main difference is that it will have “Warning” marked on it prominently. It also won’t have any court information. A normal ticket goes through a specific process that a Warning Ticket does not. (See “What Happens When You Get a Ticket”) - Does a Warning Ticket go on my record?
A: No, it does not. A Warning Ticket is only recorded in the system of the police agency that wrote the ticket. If you get pulled over by them a second time for the same traffic offense, they’ll see that they already let you off once and probably give you a real ticket. However, the Warning Ticket is not reported to a court or anywhere that holds your driving record. (See “What is Your CDL Driving Record”) - Does a Warning Ticket affect my insurance rates?
A: No. Insurance companies only look at your driving record. Since the Warning Ticket does not go to your record, it does not affect your insurance rates. - Can I fight a Warning Ticket?
A: No. Since the Warning Ticket does not go to court, there is no way to fight to get it reduced or dismissed. This is only a problem when a Warning Ticket is written with a matching Inspection Report.
- How does a Warning Ticket relate to an Inspection Report?
A: Police officers giving Inspection Reports will sometimes write tickets that match the violations on the Inspection Report. When these tickets are Warning Tickets, the ticket still don’t affect your CSA record or your drivers license record. However, the inspection violations will still impact your CSA score. The bad news is that, while regular tickets can be reduced or dismissed in court to change the matching Inspection violations, Warning Tickets cannot. This means that you can’t use Warning Tickets to challenge your CSA record that was hit by a bad Inspection Report. (See “Ways to Improve your CSA Score”) - How does a Warning Ticket relate to a Fix-it Ticket?
A: Warning Tickets and Fix-it Tickets are similar, but not the same. A Fix-it Ticket requires the extra step of you repairing, replacing, or adding what you need to drive legally. Once you do that, you can bring the ticket in to court or police agency with proof that you handled the situation. The court or police will dismiss your Fix-it Ticket. Like Warning Tickets, Fix-it Tickets say what they are and give some instructions on how to resolve them. - What happens after I get a Warning Ticket?
A; Nothing happens. As we’ve talked about above, Warning Tickets are complete duds that don’t do anything for you: good or bad. The only thing that should happen after you get a Warning Ticket is that you should try not to make the same mistake again and fall in danger of getting a real ticket.
If you are worried about your record or about getting a ticket that will affect your license, please contact us. CDL Legal helps thousands of drivers every year protect their licenses from tickets and more. We have a tested network of attorneys nationwide and CSA experts on-staff that can tackle any traffic legal problem.
