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Mistakes happen. It’s what we do after making a mistake that counts.
While we don’t condone, nor do we encourage, safety violations, we know that mistakes happen. If you find yourself looking at a citation for speeding, using your cell phone or not wearing your seatbelt, what you do next matters.
No driver wants to worry about showing up for a court date, paying a fine and having Compliance, Safety and Accountability (CSA) points added to their safety score. But, if it’s come to that, you need to know how to proceed efficiently and most importantly, legally.
While the best way to prevent warnings and citations is to practice safe driving behaviors, regularly perform your pre-trip inspections and weigh your loads after you secure them, we’re here to help you navigate the process after you’ve gotten a citation.
When you dive into this article, you’ll understand:
- The difference between a citation and a warning
- The potential consequences of going to court vs. paying the fine
- How ATS will help you
- How to utilize outside services to help you
We hope you never have a safety violation that leads to a citation, but if you do, this information will help you get through it.
What is a Citation? [Common Truck Driver Citations]
A citation is either a fine or a summons to appear in court for an act you performed that a law officer deemed illegal. There are countless citations you can receive as a truck driver and they’ll vary depending on the state you’re driving in and the laws they have in place.
The citation will come with a code that explains the violation. The citation will also explain whether you need to be in court or pay a fine. It’ll provide timelines as well. It may include a section for you to check a box that says “guilty” or “not guilty.”
In some cases, you may receive a citation with a fine that you need to pay immediately before you’re allowed to leave that state.
Citations can fall into the seven categories and they’re tied to your CSA score. The seven categories, also known as Driver Fitness Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC), include:
- Unsafe
- Vehicle Maintenance
- Hours of Service
- Driver Fitness
- Drugs and Alcohol
- Hazmat
- Crash
Any violations in these categories can result in a warning, a citation or both.
In the unsafe category specifically, there are 10 serious traffic violations that are top concerns:
- Speeding
- Failing to use a seat belt
- Failing to follow traffic control devices
- Improper lane change
- Using a radar detector
- Failure to yield to the right of way
- Improper turns
- Improper passing
- Reckless driving
You can also receive a violation if your load is overweight and if you don’t have proper permits. In fact, we commonly see citations for overweight tickets, cargo violations and improper permitting.
Essentially, whenever a truck driver is perceived as not compliant with the regulations they must follow, they can receive a citation or warning from an official.
Each violation will carry a different weight — both in terms of how many CSA points drivers receive and how large the fine is.
Citations vs. Warnings
There’s a difference between a citation and a warning. You might’ve already guessed that a warning is a precursor to a citation. If you did guess that, you’d be correct. However, that doesn’t mean a warning doesn’t carry weight.
As a truck driver, you know by now that several consumer reports keep track of your driving record. A citation will appear on your Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) once you pay the fine and/or go to court.
On the other hand, if you’re only issued a warning and it’s documented during a roadside inspection, it will show up on your Pre-Employment Screening report (PSP).
Guide to five background checks.
It’s important to understand this difference because while a citation can be fought in court, overturned and removed from your record, a warning will stay on your record and so will the associated CSA points.
Because of this, some drivers who receive a warning will ask to receive a citation instead. That way, they can fight to have the incident removed from their record entirely.
Please note: We aren’t advising you to do one thing over the other.
Weighing Your Options: Fighting the CDL Citation vs. Paying the Fine
If you have received a citation, you have two options. Because you’re considered innocent until proven guilty, you can either fight the citation by attending court or you can admit guilt and pay the fine.
This is a decision you have to carefully consider.
Deciding to fight the citation in court means you’ll need to attend court in person. That means you’ll need to either take time off or you’ll need to ask your dispatcher to route you to a specific area of the country to attend court. Keep in mind, that area may or may not have high-paying freight coming in or out of it; your wallet can take a hit in more ways than one.
Also, keep in mind that you may need to hire a lawyer and those expenses may far exceed the cost of the fine. Is it worth it to pay lawyer fees just to fight a $150 ticket?
If you have a camera in your truck, you could try to fight the citation with valuable proof. If you win, the citation will be removed from your record and the CSA points will come off your score (after you have provided court documentation using the DataQs process).
On the other side of things, if you decide to pay the fine, are you willing to admit guilt for something you may or may not have done?
Be sure you understand the consequences of admitting guilt. It doesn’t just mean you have to pay a fine. It also means you could be facing other consequences from your trucking company or the state you’re licensed in.
Admitting guilt means you could have one too many moving violations or too many CSA points for your trucking company to keep you on. You can be terminated. You may also put yourself out of hiring guidelines at other trucking companies.
Certain repeated violations can result in the suspension or permanent removal of your CDL in specific states. If you don’t know what your citation means in the state you’re licensed in, look it up. First, look up the code on the citation along with the state you received it in. Then, look up that violation in the state you’re licensed in.
You may learn that getting a specific violation more than once can result in further consequences. For instance, if you’re caught without insurance twice in one year and you’re licensed out of Georgia, you can lose your CDL. (And that’s even if you’re caught in a state other than Georgia without insurance.)
Know what admitting guilt means for the state you’re licensed out of. You should also remember that, if you know that you did what you’re being charged with, admitting you’re guilty, paying the fine and being especially careful on the road for the next few years may be the easiest and cheapest way out.
We’re not advising you what to do by any means. However, we’re reminding you to consider all sides of the situation carefully.
Will My Company Help Me With My CDL Citation?
No matter what you decide to do — pay the fine or go to court — you may not know what steps to take. The level of help you receive will depend largely on the company that you’re working with.
Some companies — ATS being one of them — will walk you through the entire process, holding your hand the entire way. Other companies may not offer that same assistance.
Let’s start by talking about how ATS helps its drivers and how this may be different from what other companies may or may not offer.
How ATS Will Help You
If you’re an ATS driver who has received a violation and you’ve decided to pay the fine, scan in your citation along with your paperwork. By sending in your citation with your paperwork, you signal to the team that you need help. Contractor services will handle the administrative work on your behalf.
A majority of the time, the citation includes limited information, so ATS will call the courts to determine how you plead guilty and how you pay the fine. Once ATS has gotten in touch with the court where the fine was assessed, we’ll pay the fine for you. The amount will be taken out of your settlement. Depending on how much the fine is, it may be taken out in one lump sum or in smaller payments. That’s something you’ll discuss with your dispatcher.
The benefit of having ATS handle this for you is that you don’t have to worry about fighting with the courts or getting dispatched somewhere to take care of a fine. We’ll help you navigate the process from start to finish.
How CDL Legal Plans Will Help You
The services mentioned above aren't always available, depending on the carrier you drive for. In that case, drivers can sign up for a legal plan — sometimes called a prepaid CDL legal plan or civil liability insurance.
There are legal services, like Pro Driver, that you pay a regular fee to for access to a network of attorneys that can help you after you’ve received a violation. Some trucking companies will recommend you sign up with this service upon starting to drive with them.
These plans can help you protect your CDL by giving you access to top-rated attorneys that can help you navigate moving violations, pre-existing citations, DataQ challenges and more. With access to these profes
sionals, you can work to either get your violation reduced or dismissed.
Research a few companies before you sign up for one. You’ll only receive legal coverage within the parameters of the plan you’re paying for, which means some of your fees won’t be covered. If you sign up for a prepaid plan, be sure you understand exactly what you’re getting.
While some drivers have had great success with a prepaid legal plan and swear by them, that’s not always the case. Some plans seem to help drivers while others appear to be scams. And, because drivers pay such a low fee for them, there’s only so much coverage they can provide.
You can either look at these services as a safety net or, if you’re safety-driven, a counterproductive expense. In fact, some drivers simply don’t invest in this service because they drive safely and don’t feel like they’ll ever need to utilize the service.
While we don’t advise whether you should or shouldn’t use these services and we don’t advise which services are the best, we wouldn’t be the unbiased resource we promise to be without mentioning that there are other options out there if your company doesn’t provide the same support that ATS does.
Find a Company that Supports You
As a driver, one of your goals should be to receive clean inspections instead of warnings and citations. That said, we know mistakes happen. Make sure you’re not only practicing safe driving with these tips but that you also understand the regulations you must follow according to the states you’re driving in.
If you do elect to invest in a prepaid CDL legal plan, be sure you thoroughly research companies and read reviews before you decide on one.
Be sure you also understand if your company will help you if you get a citation. Make sure you find a company you know will support you through this and will, at the very least, give you advice.
ATS will support you and help you through a citation. It’s our goal to give you the tools you need to succeed.
To learn more about our options, we encourage you to fill out a contact form.