Common Traffic Violations

Failure to Appear / Failure to Pay

Failing to appear before a court of law in response to a citation issued by a law enforcement officer or not paying for tickets after a judgment has been rendered may lead to the suspension of your driving privileges. You may regain your driving privileges when:

1. the court notifies the BMV that you appeared in court or paid for the offense;
2. your insurance company submits an SR22 to the BMV; or
3. the suspension time is served to completion.

Failure to Meet Insurance Requirements

Indiana Law states a person may not operate a motor vehicle in Indiana if financial responsibility is not in effect with respect to the motor vehicle operated, or the person is not otherwise insured to operate the motor vehicle. Driving without a current liability policy that meets the state minimum standard is against the law. The state minimum standards:

• $25,000 for bodily injury to, or the death of, one individual;
• $50,000 for bodily injury to, or death of, two or more people in any one accident; and
• $25,000 for property damages in any one accident.

This is commonly referred to as 25/50/25 liability insurance. To deter uninsured drivers, Indiana law requires the BMV to impose driving privilege suspensions and financial penalties on motorists who are found to have operated a vehicle in Indiana without proof that they had a policy that meets the State's insurance requirements with respect to the vehicle operated. Penalties may include reinstatement fees and suspension of your driving privileges.

Do not delay when you have received a notification from the BMV to provide proof of financial responsibility (proof of insurance). Immediately contact your insurance provider and request that they electronically submit a Certificate of Compliance (COC) to the BMV using the Electronic Insurance Forms Submission EIFS program. You may receive a notice to verify financial responsibility from the BMV as the result of any of the following situations:

• An auto accident.
• A pointable moving traffic violation within one year of receiving two other pointable moving traffic violations.
• A conviction for a misdemeanor or felony traffic violation
• Any pointable moving traffic violation by a driver who was previously suspended for failing to provide proof of financial responsibility.

A properly filed COC will demonstrate that the vehicle you were operating at the time of the incident or accident was insured to the state’s minimum motor vehicle liability protection (25/50/25). The COC must be received and processed by the BMV within 90 days of the Indiana BMV’s request to verify financial responsibility or your driving privileges will be suspended.

Once your driving privileges are suspended, you may have a BMV-imposed suspension removed from your driving record by having your insurance provider submit a COC as proof of financial responsibility. If you were renting a vehicle or operating a vehicle owned by your employer, and operated as part of your job duties, an Affidavit – Proof of Financial Responsibility for Employer or Rental Vehicles may be submitted. If you are convicted by an Indiana court for operating a vehicle without insurance, or by an out-of-state court, you must contact the court to determine if you can provide proof of insurance to them to remove the conviction from your driving record.

If your driving privileges are suspended for failing to file insurance with the BMV, Indiana law allows you to regain your driving privileges by having your insurance provider file an SR22 form and maintain SR22 coverage for 180 consecutive days.

Habitual Traffic Violator (HTV)

Indiana’s HTV law provides serious penalties for drivers who have repeatedly committed traffic offenses over a 10-year period. The BMV uses the criteria in statute, which are summarized below, to determine whether a driver qualifies as a HTV.

Section A – 10 Year Suspension: Two Major Offenses Resulting in Injury or Death

An HTV is any person who, within a 10-year period, accumulates two judgments resulting in injury or death. Below is a reference of some of the criminal offenses that will result in an HTV status being placed on your driving privileges. These include:

• Reckless homicide resulting from operating a motor vehicle.
• Voluntary or involuntary manslaughter resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle.
• A driver involved in an accident resulting in death or injury who fails to stop at the scene of the accident to provide information and assistance.
• Operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated resulting in death.
• Operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content of .08 percent or more resulting in death.

Drivers who, within a 10-year period, accumulate two judgments from the above list, will have their driving privileges suspended for 10 years. Drivers who accumulate two judgments within a 10-year period of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated resulting in death or operating a motor vehicle with blood alcohol content of .08 percent or more resulting in death will have their driving privileges suspended for life.

Section B – 10 Year Suspension: Three Major Offenses

An HTV is any person who, within a 10-year period, accumulates three judgments including:

• Driving while intoxicated or with a blood alcohol content of .08 percent or more.
• Reckless driving.
• Criminal recklessness as a felony involving the operation of a motor vehicle.
• Drag racing or engaging in a speed contest in violation of the law.
• Leaving the scene of an accident or failing to notify authorities of an accident when required.
• Resisting law enforcement under IC 35-44.1-3-1.
• Any felony under an Indiana motor vehicle statute or any felony in which the operation of a vehicle is an element of the offense.
• Operating a Class B motor driven cycle in violation of IC 9-24-1-1(b).
• Any of the offenses listed in Section A.

Drivers who, within a 10-year period, accumulate three judgments from the above list will have their driving privileges suspended for 10 years.

Section C – Nine Traffic Violations Plus One Major Offense

An HTV under this section is subject to a five-year driving privilege suspension and has accumulated 10 or more traffic violations in a 10-year period, one of which is a major offense as listed in Sections A or B or one of the following:

• Operating a motor vehicle while the person’s license to do so has been suspended or revoked as a result of the person’s conviction of an offense under IC 9-1-4-52 (repealed July 1, 1991), IC 9-24-18-5(b) (repealed July 1, 2000), IC 9-24-19-2, or IC 9-24-19-3.
• Operating a motor vehicle without ever having obtained a license to do so.

For example, a person with nine speeding tickets and one OWI conviction in a 10-year period will be subject to a five-year suspension as an HTV.

Operating a Vehicle While Suspended as an HTV

Indiana law states that an individual who has been convicted of operating a vehicle while suspended as an HTV may have his/her driving privileges suspended for a period set by the court.

Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated

Operating a vehicle while intoxicated or with a blood alcohol content in excess of the legal limit is a criminal offense and has an immediate and significant effect on your privilege to operate a vehicle. If a law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that a motorist committed an offense under IC 9-30-5, IC 9-30-6, IC 9-30-9, or IC 9-30-15, the officer may ask the motorist to submit to a chemical test to determine the amount of alcohol in the person’s system. A motorist for whom a judge has found probable cause to exist while he or she was operating a vehicle and while intoxicated may face a suspension of driving privileges.

• A motorist who fails a chemical test may have his or her driving privileges suspended for up to 180 days
• A motorist who refuses to submit to a chemical test will face a suspension of driving privileges for up to two years

In addition to a probable cause suspension, a court may suspend a person’s driving privileges following a conviction for operating while intoxicated. The suspension periods may be longer for repeat offenders. Penalties for this offense may include conditions placed on your driving privileges.

If the motorist is eligible, the court may issue an order for specialized driving privileges. The court may also require the installation of an ignition interlock device, which mechanically tests the driver’s blood alcohol level before his or her car can be started.

When a driver who is younger than 18 years of age is cited for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, the Juvenile Court may recommend a suspension of his or her driving privileges.