Will My Driving Record Hurt My Chances Of Pursuing A LE Career??

[groberts1]

So I've had my share of traffic tickets (Red Light Camera Violation [which I got when my car wasn't even starting...WTF?!], Unsafe Speed [30 in a 45 mph zone...again...WTF?!?!, failure to yield, and 1 accident) I'm scared that this will hurt me in the long run of obtaining a career in law enforcement. the majority of these incidents happened 19-20 years old, and im 21 now, but its not like i am necessarily a bad or irresponsible driver, actually i havent paid those tickets yet due to the fact that im constantly broke without a job. and im also going to see a judge to see wat i can do about the pending 'failure to yield' ticket and the other two.

i personally know that this is the field i want to pursue, but i feel that the dream is pretty far away due to my driving record and i would like someone to give me some no BS answers and/or suggestions.

also...i am studying for my corrections officer exam, cause i feel that this would be the right place to start. id work my way up to county, and then state, while taking my degree in criminal justice, and then id be looking into accomplishing my dream of joining California Highway Patrol in due time.

any suggestions/comments/approvals/dis-approvals would be helpful

thank you-

[scott715us]

What are you implying with the "WTF" statements? That the tickets were wrongly issued? It sounds like you were caught, but refuse even to take responsibility for these minor infractions. You're not off to a good start.

You need to rewrite this post to this effect, "I was dumb in my earlier days and received "x" traffic citations. Will they hurt me becoming an police officer?"

[groberts1]

thanks for the constructive criticism and all, but i was looking for a more direct answer...

thanks

[retdetsgt]

Yeah, it will hurt you. Especially if they have a picture of your car going through a red light when you say it was starting.

Safe driving record is important in this career. Try to go about 5 years w/o a ticket and try for it.

[groberts1]

dammit....i was afraid of that answer..

i appreciate it retdets

[Creeker]

When you make these statements:

... and i would like someone to give me some no BS answers and/or suggestions.

...any suggestions/comments/approvals/dis-approvals would be helpful

thank you-

... you are going to get them.

Around here, words mean things.

Don't get your panties uptight when you get what you get.

Take a defensive Driving course, get your points down, pay your fines before they serve the warrants and suspend your license if its not too late, and wait about 5 years.

[APDSarge]

I was about to post something simlar to Creeker. If it has been a year without you taking care of your citations, I would be very surprised if your license wasn't suspended.

Having a couple of citations would not kill your aspirations, but letting them linger and not taking care of your resposibilities will hurt your chances even more.

If you feel you did not commit the violation, elect court for the open cases.

[TXCharlie]

Around here, going 30 in a 45 zone is asking for a smashed-up rear end because everyone else is driving 50 or 55 :D

My old 79 MPH in a 65 ticket and more recent "Fail to control speed" ticket didn't hurt me, but of course I took care of them when I was supposed to, and didn't cry about them not being my fault - I just listed them on the application, said I was at fault, and never was asked about them again.

[TX-LEO]

So I've had my share of traffic tickets (Red Light Camera Violation [which I got when my car wasn't even starting...WTF?!], Unsafe Speed [30 in a 45 mph zone...again...WTF?!?!, failure to yield, and 1 accident) I'm scared that this will hurt me in the long run of obtaining a career in law enforcement.-

In the long run? No it wont hurt you. However if you continue to be cited for more traffic infractions, you will have trouble. Your not a viable candidate before age 24-25 anyways so you have time to clean up your driving history.