Top Wyoming's Violation System

Unlike many states, Wyoming has yet to install a formal point system for traffic violations. Wyoming's arrangement is similar to a point system; it just doesn't put digits next to citations.

In short, four moving violations (speeding or blowing through a red light, for example) in a 12-month period will result in your driver's license being suspended for 90 days. Each additional infraction within that 12-month period will result in an additional 90-day suspension. The 12-month period begins counting down from the date you get your first citation.

Instead of losing your license for a year as in many states, Wyoming's system allows a bit of flexibility on basic moving violations. But because the 90-day suspensions are spread out, a habitual speeder will have trouble consistently maintaining a legal license.

Top How Convictions are Penalized

The methodology of defining punishment is based on the Wyoming Statutes. Counties and municipalities have immense flexibility on how they punish traffic offenders. Thus a fine in Cheyenne may cost $40, and in Jackson Hole a fine for the same breach of the law may cost $100.

Either way, if you commit four moving violations within a 12-month period, you will lose your license for 90 days. In addition, each offense carries fines and possible jail time:

• First offense: A fine that cannot total more than $200. Jail is a very rare option in this circumstance, but you will find it on the books as not more than 20 days.

• Second offense: A fine of up to $300 can be assessed, and you could face up to 30 days in the slammer.

• Third offense: The fine ceiling rises to $500, and the maximum jail time is six months. Essentially the fines and jail time imposed for a fourth offense (or more) will fall into this category, but you will also lose your license for 90 days for each offense you commit after your third violation.

Top The Laws of Speed

The Wyoming Statutes also establish a few basics on how to issue fines for speeding. Exceeding the limit by one to five miles per hour will result in a fine of $5 for each mile you were driving over the posted limit. Anything clocked beyond the first five miles per hour over the limit will cost you $25 plus $3 each for every mile per hour.

The top legal speed limit in Wyoming is 75 miles per hour on interstate highways. If you are caught going between 76 and 80, you will be charged the standard fine of $5 per mile.

Once you exceed 80, however, the penalty can get murky depending on just how fast you were going. If your speed was seriously excessive, you will have to face a judge. You will also run the risk of a fine in the range of $100 and the very real possibility of losing your license.

Top Check Your Driver's License Status

Whenever you need or want to check the status of your driver’s license, you can order a driving record report. This record will spell out if your driver’s license is currently valid. Should your license have been revoked or suspended, the report will indicate that according to what’s on record at the DOT. This report will also show points against your license and, in some cases, information on any accidents you have had.

Top Restricted License

If you have a restricted license (for a minor age 14 or 15 who meets a battery of special criteria) and receive even one citation, you will lose the license for 90 days. Get a second violation, and you will not be driving for a year.

Top Other Consequences

It takes a good deal to lose your license for an entire year in Wyoming. Even habitual offenders of lower-level violations such as speeding lose their licenses only after receiving four tickets in a 12-month period, and then they only lose it for 90 days at a time.

However, that's not really getting off easy. Wyoming is not the capital of mass transit by any means, so in many cases you will spend those three months hoofing it from place to place, hitching a ride with friends, or joining the state's cycling contingent.

Worse, with the fines, $50 license reinstatement fee, and SR-22 insurance requirements (and subsequent rate increases) you would have to submit for the next three years, really, it will feel like a lot more. That's right: After your license is suspended, you will need to file an SR-22 with the Wyoming Department of Transportation for the next three years.

Penalties for Major Offenses

The following moving violations are more serious than simply going 10 miles per hour over the speed limit or failing to signal. These more dangerous transgressions therefore carry more serious penalties:

• The first time you are convicted of reckless driving, expect to pay a court fine up to $750.

• A first offense of driving without insurance also carries a fine of up to $750.

• Eluding a police officer carries a fine of up to $750 and possible imprisonment of up to 90 days.

• Leaving the scene of an accident is a felony and not only poses jail time, but also calls for the automatic revocation of a license for one year.

• If you are caught transporting alcohol to a minor, your license will be automatically suspended for one year.

• Driving while under the influence (DWUI) of alcohol (0.08% blood alcohol content, or BAC) or any narcotic automatically results in a suspension the moment you are arrested. A judge will later add time to that suspension if you are convicted, so you might as well figure on not driving again for a year on even a first offense. The penalties in place for DWUIs progress in degree with each offense and are extremely harsh, requiring everything from substantial fines and alcohol classes to significant jail time. If the incident involved injury to another, then the penalties shoot into the stratosphere.

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