{"id":2766,"date":"2016-12-19T13:20:12","date_gmt":"2016-12-19T19:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.usagencies.com\/?p=2766"},"modified":"2019-08-01T00:02:35","modified_gmt":"2019-08-01T00:02:35","slug":"what-driving-without-a-license-could-cost-you-in-louisiana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usagencies.com\/blog\/louisiana-auto-insurance\/what-driving-without-a-license-could-cost-you-in-louisiana\/","title":{"rendered":"What Driving Without a License Could Cost You in Louisiana"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s happened to all of us \u2013 at least once. You\u2019re driving along or pulling up to the drive-up window at the fast-food place only to realize you don\u2019t have your wallet with you. Our first reaction is sudden panic as we try to remember where we left it or worse \u2013 if we lost it.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Chances are it wasn\u2019t lost or stolen. You just left it at home and forgot to take it with you. Either way, you now have to maneuver through your day and on your way home without being stopped by a local cop or state highway patrol. That\u2019s because, in Louisiana, as in other states, driving without a driver\u2019s license is considered a no-no.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Three Categories of Driving Without a License<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Driving without a license can fall into three possible categories. And, if you\u2019re unlucky enough to be pulled over for a traffic infraction to or from work, you\u2019ll be presented with the unenviable opportunity to explain to the cop one of the following three scenarios why you are driving without a valid driver\u2019s license:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>You have a valid driver\u2019s license, but you don\u2019t have it in your possession. <\/strong>This happens more often than you think. It simply means you\u2019re legally licensed to operate a motor vehicle in Louisiana, but you\u2019re claiming the \u201coops excuse.\u201d However, without proper proof, the cop may have to take your word for it. While it\u2019s generally an infraction that may be dismissed once you prove to the court you possessed a valid driver\u2019s license at the time you were stopped, you could still have to pay a fine in addition to the fine for the traffic violation.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><strong>You never bothered to apply for a driver\u2019s license or your license expired.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This is more serious. According to the Louisiana Motor Vehicle Code, \u201cNo person shall drive or operate any vehicle upon any highway within this state unless and until he has been issued a license.&#8221; A person doing so may be subject to a fine of up to $500 and forced to obtain a valid driver\u2019s license and valid auto insurance if they wish to further operate a vehicle in the state of Louisiana.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><strong>Your driver\u2019s license was canceled, revoked or suspended by the authorities.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This can be due to a major violation such as a DUI, reckless driving or racing, resulting in death or serious injury. Regardless of the reason, according to state law, \u201ca driver with a Class D (chauffeur) or E license (personal) may be subject to up to a $500 fine and maximum six months in jail.\u201d Furthermore, \u201cdrivers with Class A, B or C (commercial) licenses may be subject to a $5,000 fine and no more than six months in jail.\u201d And, if you\u2019re a repeat offender, you will be subject to even stiffer fines and penalties.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In the last two categories, you\u2019ll likely also be cited for driving without auto insurance.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fighting the Charge<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Your odds of successfully fighting the charge of \u201cdriving without a license\u201d are greatly diminished by the category you fall into. If all you need to do is prove to the court you had a valid driver\u2019s license at the time of your offense, but just didn\u2019t have it with you, your chances of walking away relatively unscathed are fairly good.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, if the charge falls into categories 2 or 3, you\u2019ll have a much tougher time. And, depending on the circumstances, you may want to pursue legal advice from an attorney \u2013 especially if you\u2019re facing considerable jail time.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Driver\u2019s Licenses for Undocumented Immigrants<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In Louisiana, undocumented immigrants are not permitted to obtain a driver&#8217;s license, which means they face substantial penalties for driving in the state without a valid license. However, this statute does not apply, if they obtained their driver\u2019s license in another state, such as California, and have proof of car insurance.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Because you can\u2019t drive a motor vehicle without Louisiana car insurance any more than you can operate one without a driver\u2019s license, you always want to be sure you\u2019ve got the best rates. By getting a free car insurance quote from USAgencies, you can compare rates for your car or motorcycle \u2013 and, even on Louisiana SR-22 insurance. Call <strong>(800) 420-3712<\/strong> to get your free quote.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s happened to all of us \u2013 at least once. You\u2019re driving along or pulling up to the drive-up window at the fast-food place only to realize you don\u2019t have your wallet with you. Our first reaction is sudden panic as we try to remember where we left it or worse \u2013 if we lost [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2767,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69,76,27,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-car-safety-tips","category-car-tips","category-louisiana-auto-insurance","category-louisiana-car-insurance"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usagencies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2766"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usagencies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usagencies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usagencies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usagencies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2766"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.usagencies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3334,"href":"https:\/\/www.usagencies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2766\/revisions\/3334"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usagencies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usagencies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usagencies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usagencies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}