Can You Expunge Traffic Violations?

Many people understand that having a criminal record influences many areas of your life. But even if you aren’t charged with a crime, traffic violations can leave long-term impacts on your driving record and your life. A traffic ticket can affect your credit, access to housing, and employment, so it’s nothing to take lightly. For individuals who’ve already been charged with a traffic violation, expungement may be a feasible solution. 

Before pursuing expungement, contact an attorney to discuss your specific case. The Bellinger Law Office is available for a case evaluation so you can learn whether expungement is right for you. 

Expungement Limits Impacts of a Traffic Violation

An infraction is defined under Indiana law as an offense that can be punished by fines but not by imprisonment. Conduct that violated civil law, but not criminal law, includes citations for speeding or failing to obey a stop sign. Law enforcement issues a citation to serve both moving and non-moving violations. This orders the accused offender to appear before the court on a specific date to answer the offense. By this deadline, you will need to have either paid the fines for the infraction or requested a trial. 

Even though an infraction isn’t a criminal offense, it can have severe impacts on several areas of your life, including: 

• Increased auto insurance costs
• Complications when seeking professional licensure
• Difficulty with landlord background checks when applying for housing
• Trouble obtaining employment, especially if the job requires driving

By expunging a driving record, you can seal the infraction. Doing so can help reduce the risk of prospective employers or landlords seeing the violation, therefore protecting your future. 

What Types of Traffic Violations Can Be Expunged in Indiana?

Traffic violations have a tier of severity, much like criminal offenses. Traffic violations accumulate points on your driving record. Points remain on a driving record for two years and may require you to finish a driver safety program. Speeding violations are tiered according to how fast above the speed limit the offender was supposedly going. Non-speeding violations also accrue points depending on the specific offense. Your driving privileges may also be at risk if you are convicted of breaking traffic laws, and depending on the severity of the charges, you risk license suspension. 

What Does Expungement Accomplish?

If you do not have access to a deferral program to reduce points from your driving record, expungement may help. You can petition to restrict access from records that display infractions if the citation wasn’t dismissed or you were found to not have committed the offense. 

You may seek expungement after a certain waiting period, depending if you fulfill certain provisions: 

• You were determined to have not committed the allegation. 
• The infraction is vacated.
• You participated in a deferral program.

The petition requesting expungement should meet certain guidelines and contain all relevant information. An attorney can help you determine what is needed in your request. 

Call a Criminal Defense Attorney to Discuss

Expungement may be beneficial if you fulfill certain provisions. Talk to a criminal defense attorney at the Bellinger Law Office about your case.