Ocean City Driving Points and Out of State Drivers
If you are an out of state driver charged with a traffic infraction in Maryland, or a Maryland driver charged with an infraction in another state, the following is what you need to know regarding how your charges will be treated and the number of points that can be added to your license. For more information on the Ocean City driving point system and keep your license intact, call and schedule a consultation with an Ocean City traffic lawyer today.
How Points in Maryland Impact Out of State Drivers
Maryland participates in the Driver’s License Compact. By being a member of the DLC, Maryland notifies an out of state driver’s home state when there is a violation of the traffic laws of Maryland.
For example, in Maryland, if the person is a Maryland driver and they are convicted of speeding 25 miles/hour over the speed limit, a Maryland driver is assessed two points to their driving records. For a driver visiting Maryland, this may be similar to, or potentially more points that would be assessed in their home state. Their home state determines the comparable offense and assesses the points in their home state.
It is important to realize that if a person is coming to Ocean City for vacation and if they are stopped for any kind of traffic offense, it will most certainly have an impact on their driver’s license. Even though they are not in their home state of New Jersey or Virginia, any infraction they receive while visiting Ocean City has an impact their driver’s license in their home state.
Individuals should therefore be aware of this when determining how to handle their ticket. It may be tempting to simply pay a ticket and not have to come back for a court appearance. Or they might decide to contact an attorney and simply send in the fine. They should know before making that decision, that there could be a consequence to them in their home state.
Points From Other Jurisdictions
The entire state of Maryland participates in what is called the Driver’s License Compact. That means for a Maryland driver, when they receive a ticket and are convicted of an infraction in Ocean City, the Ocean City District Court notifies the Maryland MVA that the person was convicted of a traffic violation and the Maryland MVA assesses the points.
If the person is driving in Ocean City but they are not a resident of Maryland, and they have a license from a state that also participates in Driver’s License Compact, Maryland notifies that person’s state about the conviction. It is then up to that state to determine whether to take any action or assess any points against the person’s privilege to drive.
This happens very frequently in Ocean City because often people are visiting Ocean City on vacation. They may be a licensed driver in the state of Virginia, New Jersey, or New York and a speeding ticket or some other moving violation they get in Ocean City could create problems for them in their home state. They should anticipate that Maryland will notify their home state of any traffic violations that result in a conviction in Ocean City.