People end up in legal trouble in Nevada for all kinds of reasons. Some adults get arrested because they steal from a store, while others might get into a fight that turns physical. The most common legal violations are traffic infractions, which isn’t surprising, as millions of people admit to breaking traffic laws on a daily basis.
Most traffic offenses aren’t serious enough to warrant prosecution and only lead to a ticket at worst. However, traffic violations can still have a major impact on someone’s life. Many workers are aware that they could lose their job over a criminal conviction or even a serious traffic violation.
Some infractions are more serious than others
Every different traffic offense carries different penalties, including demerit points that can affect someone’s license. Some of the more serious offenses, including impaired or reckless driving, might lead to actual criminal charges and not just a ticket. If an employer has a zero-tolerance policy for a criminal conviction, pleading guilty or being convicted of a reckless driving offense could cost someone their job. Other times, it may be the collateral consequences of a traffic infraction that lead to someone losing their employment.
Impaired driving offenses usually result in license suspension. People can also lose their driver’s licenses when they have had multiple tickets in a short amount of time. Particularly if driving is part of someone’s job, even if they don’t need a commercial license to work, losing their personal driver’s license might make them unable to continue in the same career.
Those with commercial driver’s licenses can become ineligible to retain their CDL after major traffic violations. Anyone in a licensed profession, like nurses, can be at risk of disciplinary action and professional license revocation after criminal offenses. Finally, a sentence of incarceration might cost someone their employment, as the company that hired them may not keep their job open until they finish their sentence. Even if the company doesn’t care about the conviction itself, the time away from work while in state custody could lead to job loss.
Ultimately, seeking legal guidance and fighting a major traffic infraction, especially one that results in criminal charges, can help someone preserve their driver’s license and protect their career.