Tag Archives: traffic

How To Find Out What is On Your Missouri Driver’s Record For Free! Answers from a St. Louis Traffic Ticket Lawyer

The Missouri Traffic Ticket Point System and Free Driver’s Record Over the Phone: Advice from a Traffic Ticket Lawyer

Do you fear you are accumulating points on your license? Here is how to find out what you have on your record and what you risk with new tickets.

The First Step: What is Already on Your Missouri Driver’s Record? Call (573) 526-2407!

You can find out what is on your Missouri driver’s record for FREE by calling the Missouri State interactive voice response system at (573) 526-2407 – available 24 hours a day, 7days a week. You don’t need a traffic ticket lawyer to do this!  Make sure to have your driver’s license number available. If you have questions about what Missouri traffic tickets are listed on your driver’s record or if you want to know about a suspension, or revocation on your Missouri driver record, call this number. It will tell you when you had a prior alcohol suspension of your license and whether you have officially been reinstated.

The Second Step: Finding Out What Points You Might Receive for New Violations

If you just received a ticket, but don’t have a traffic ticket lawyer, and want to know what points you might get on your record if you don’t get the ticket reduced to a nonmoving violation, you can refer to this chart: http://dor.mo.gov/forms/899.pdf .

The Third Step: What Happens When You Accumulate Points

Too many points means you lose your privilege to drive in Missouri!!! For example, a speeding ticket and no proof of insurance may mean 8 points on your license and you will be suspended from driving by the Department of Revenue!

It is not easy to figure out the point system. Here are the details:

If you accumulate a total of 4 points in 12 months, the Department of Revenue will send you a point accumulation advisory letter.

If you accumulate a total of 8 or more points in 18 months, the Department of Revenue will SUSPEND your driving privilege.

1st suspension – 30 days
2nd suspension – 60 days
3rd or more suspensions – 90 days

The Department of Revenue will REVOKE your driving privilege for one year if you accumulate:
12 or more points in 12 months
18 or more points in 24 months
24 or more points in 36 months
When your driving privilege is reinstated following a Point Suspension or Revocation, the Department of Revenue reduces your total points to 4.
Every year you drive without getting new points on your record, the points will be reduced.

1 year — total remaining points reduced by one-third
2 years — remaining points reduced by one-half
3 years — points reduced to zero

Although your points may be reduced to zero, certain types of convictions must remain listed permanently on your Missouri driver record.

It is never a good idea to accumulate points as you can quickly get to a suspension by receiving just a few traffic tickets.  Further, your insurance rates can skyrocket when they do annual driver’s record checks to determine premiums. If you need advice about your traffic related matters, Funkenbusch has handled hundreds of tickets for her clientele.  She has been able to get Driving While Suspended charges dismissed, speeding tickets reduced to littering, and can help you clean up your record with the DOR if you are looking to purge your old tickets from your record.   Call a trial expert and traffic ticket lawyer at the Law Office of Michelle M. Funkenbusch, 314-338-3500, to have your traffic tickets resolved.  Free consultation.

CRIMINAL AND TRAFFIC CASE SUBMISSION FORM

Contact us here when you get any ticket or criminal charge. Unless other arrangements have been made, you MUST appear on your court date until you have paid to hire us. If your court date is in the next week, fill out the form below, but make sure to call us to confirm we can enter our appearance before your court date. Again, Please fill out this form with as much information as possible and we will get in touch with you shortly.

  • Please list your license information if you have received a traffic violation
  • Please list all case numbers and charges that you wish for us to represent you on.
  • Please list all traffic ticket numbers found on the upper right-hand side of your ticket. For each list what the police charged you with. Use the space at the bottom of this form, if you need more room.
  • The location of your ticket can affect the price. Please state what municipality or county has charged you.
  • Can you tell me about your criminal/traffic violations history. Any prior pleas of guilty or criminal convictions can effect the price and how we handle your case. In addition, please let us know if your are on parole or probation.
  • Max. file size: 512 MB.

Red Light Cameras… Here to Stay

They are here to stay…

Missouri Red Light Camera Review

The Creve Coeur City Council could hear an ordinance as soon as next week that would move to extend the city’s use of “Red Light” cameras.

As a lawyer, the MOST common question I am asked from friends and family is whether red light camera violations are enforceable.  The answer usually depends on where you got the ticket.

red light camera is a traffic enforcement camera that captures an image of a vehicle which has entered an intersection against a red traffic light.  By automatically photographing vehicles that run red lights, the camera produces evidence that assists authorities in their enforcement of traffic laws. Generally the camera is triggered when a vehicle enters the intersection after the traffic light has turned red. Typically, a law enforcement official will review the photographic evidence and determine whether a violation occurred. A citation is then usually mailed to the owner of the vehicle found to be in violation of the law.

On August 29, 2012, red light cameras survived yet another class-action lawsuit in Missouri.  A Jefferson County judge rejected a suit that aimed to prohibit the use of red light cameras in Arnold, which became the first Missouri city to deploy the cameras in August 2005.

In his ruling August 29, Judge Mark Stoll noted that the arguments of the defendants — the City of Arnold and camera company American Traffic Solution — were the “most persuasive.”

With this Arnold ruling, attorneys with the Simon Law Firm of St. Louis have now lost four decisions that sought to prohibit use of the cameras in Kansas City, Arnold, Florissant and Creve Coeur.

Despite at least a half-dozen legal challenges statewide, only two rulings have gone in favor of those opposed to the cameras.

In February 2012, a St. Louis Circuit Court judge ruled the city ordinance void. (That decision is under appeal.) In his ruling February 17, Judge Mark Neill upheld a partial judgment he made last May that found the city improperly enacted its red-light camera ordinance without enabling legislation from the Missouri legislature.

And in 2010 the Missouri Supreme Court held against the way Springfield enforced its citations.

For more information on the Creve Couer red light camers see: http://crevecoeur.patch.com/articles/red-light-cameras-seem-likely-to-stay

© 2012 The Law Offices of Michelle M. Funkenbusch, LLC.  All Rights Reserved. These materials may not be reproduced in any way without the written permission of The Law Offices of Michelle M. Funkenbusch, LLC. This blog is designed to provide general information on the topic provided and is posted with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering any legal or professional services. Although this post and the blog is prepared by a lawyer, it should not be used as a substitute for legal advice. If legal advice is required, the services of The Law Offices of Michelle M. Funkenbusch should be sought privately.