Florida is a great place for people all across America to travel and enjoy a nice sunny vacation. With so many different sites to see Florida has beautiful beaches, the Everglades and excellent theme parks from Busch Gardens, Sea World, Disney World and Universal Studios. So where do Florida residents like to travel when they want a change of scenery from their beautiful home state?
Every year thousands of Floridians travel up to New York for a change of pace, leaving their relaxing surroundings for the busy city life. Florida residents traveling to New York should be aware of the different rules and laws, especially when it comes to traffic violation matters because many times traffic tickets can follow you back to Florida.
Each state has their own laws concerning out-of-state traffic tickets and whether points go on your driving record will depend on the laws of your home state. The following article should help you better understand the unique differences between Florida and New York and how traffic violation information is communicated between the states.
Driver’s License Compact and Florida Drivers With New York Traffic Tickets
First the reason that both New York and Florida communicate traffic violation matters between each other is because both states are members of the Driver’s License Compact. This means New York and Florida freely share driver information with one another. For Florida residents that receive a NY traffic ticket, Florida will be notified about the ticket you received.
According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the State of Florida can put points on your Florida driving record for the traffic offenses you commit in NY or other states. As long as the NY offense is recognized in FL, you can be given points for it. If, for example, you were issued a speeding ticket in New York for more than 15 miles per hour, that carries 4 points in Florida and therefore you will be assessed 4 points on your Florida record. Since it is the violation that transfers, not the points, Florida will essentially treat it as if you had been convicted of that same offense within the State of Florida. An even more interesting example is Failure to Obey a Traffic Device. This carries 2 points in NY but 4 points in Florida. Again, since it is the violation that transfers, the Florida resident will get 4 points even though it is only 2 points in New York.
New York Drivers The Get Traffic Violations in Florida
New York handles out-of-state traffic tickets differently than other states. If you have a New York driver’s license and receive a Florida traffic ticket, NY will rarely add points onto your NY driving record unless you are being charged with a serious violation that results in a suspension.
The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles states that NYS will not record out-of-state violations committed by NYS drivers in other jurisdictions. The exceptions are alcohol-related violations, drug-related violations, and moving violations committed in Quebec or Ontario.
As far as fines go, no state can require you to pay a fine to the home state for an out of state violation (double fines). You will only have to pay the state in which you received the ticket. So if you are a FL resident who received a ticket in New York, the New York court will assess the fine and that fine will be paid to the NY court which assessed it.
Author Bio
Adam H. Rosenblum of The Rosenblum Law Firm is a speeding ticket lawyer licensed to practice in both New York and New Jersey. Visit his website at newyorkspeedingfines.com.
