Should you get into a car accident without your driver’s license, you may face criminal consequences for your oversight. If you forget your license at home, you risk citations and fines. If you’re behind the wheel on a suspended license, you may face prison time. That said, the presence of your license has no impact on accident-related fault. If you can prove that another party’s negligence led to your accident, you can demand damages from that party. The Indiana car accident attorneys working with Vaughan & Vaughan can help you bring forward evidence of the other party’s misconduct before arguing for your right to compensation.
You Can Face Criminal Consequences for Driving Without a License
You may find yourself without a license for a variety of reasons. If you forget your license at home and get into an accident, don’t panic. You can still face a Class C infraction and a $500 fine, but you can also challenge that citation. So long as you return to the police precinct with your license within five days of your write-up, the station can clear the citation. That said, matters change if you’re driving on an expired license or never got your license. You can face a Class C misdemeanor charge, resulting in 60 days in jail and a fine of $500. If you’re caught driving without a license multiple times, that charge may jump to a Class A misdemeanor, resulting in a year in jail and fines of up to $5,000. There are, however, exceptions to the rule. Non-Indiana residents are free to drive in the state without state licenses so long as they’re of age and meet Indiana’s other requirements to be on the road. Similarly, people who’ve recently moved to Indiana have 60 days to request an in-state license before they can be charged for driving without a license.Criminal Consequences Compound If You Drive on a Suspended License
All that said, if you’re accused not only of driving without a license but of criminal neglect behind the wheel or other roadway crimes, the consequences brought against you may not be so easy to wave away. If, for example, you’re operating on a suspended license after a previous criminal conviction, you jump straight to Class A misdemeanor charges. If you’ve been accused of failing to pay other tickets or child support in the past, your first instance of driving without a license may see you face a Class A infraction, which carries a fine of up to $10,000. Should you be accused of an accident that resulted in someone else’s injury, you may face a Class 5 or 6 felony.Driving Without a License is a Non-Factor When Assigning Accident Fault
Neither insurance providers nor police officers consider whether or not you have your license on your person when assigning fault for your accident. Instead, both parties refer to what evidence they find at the scene of an accident before naming a person liable for a crash. Our attorneys likewise consider evidence of negligence, not your possession of a license, when assessing your case. The evidence that all of these parties can refer back to includes the following:- Statements from bystanders regarding drivers’ behaviors
- Video footage of the accident
- Photos of the accident
- Social media posts describing the accident
- Cell phone data
- Black box data, if applicable
- Input from expert witnesses