The fine is the small part
South Carolina puts points on your license for moving violations (S.C. Code § 56-1-720): two for speeding ten over or less, four for eleven to twenty-four over, six for twenty-five or more over. Points post when you pay the ticket, because paying is a guilty plea. Insurance carriers read the same record. A four-point ticket can cost several times its fine in premiums over three years, and twelve points brings a suspension.
The charge that is not a ticket
Passing a stopped school bus with its stop arm out is a criminal misdemeanor in South Carolina, not a simple traffic infraction—six points, a fine that can run into the thousands on a first offense, and a court date you should not handle alone. Bus cameras in Dorchester District Two mean these charges arrive by mail weeks after the fact. Call before you respond.
Who is writing the tickets
Inside town limits it is the Summerville Police Department, and the ticket goes to Summerville Municipal Court. Outside the limits it is the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office or the Highway Patrol, and the case goes to the county magistrate. The court on the ticket tells you which. Dorchester District Two publishes the school calendar, which is also the enforcement calendar.
When fighting it makes sense
- Any ticket of four points or more, if your record is otherwise clean—reductions to non-moving violations are common.
- Anything involving a commercial driver's license, where a personal-vehicle ticket can cost the job.
- Reckless driving, driving under suspension or a school-bus charge—criminal charges with jail exposure.
- A ticket you believe is wrong: the speed measurement, the school-zone timing, the signage.
For a two-point ticket with no CDL and a clean record, paying it is often the rational choice. We will tell you that on the phone.
Frost first: photograph the ticket and text it to us before the court date printed on it. Missing that date turns a fine into a bench warrant and a license suspension.
Written by Jack C. Frost, Attorney at Law · 14 years in Lowcountry law enforcement before law school. Reviewed by Tara L. Frost.
Questions people ask
Do school-zone speeding fines double in South Carolina?
South Carolina does not automatically double fines in school zones the way some states do, but the points, the insurance impact and the officer's discretion on how the ticket is written are all worse. Treat it as a four- or six-point ticket, not a parking fine.
Can a traffic ticket be expunged?
No. Traffic convictions are not eligible for expungement in South Carolina, which is why the decision to pay or fight matters.
Sources and further reading
Related pages
Traffic tickets
Points, suspensions, CDL holders and why not to just pay it.
Learn moreArrest warrants
Confirming a warrant, surrendering with counsel, and bench warrants.
Learn moreExpungements
Who qualifies, waiting periods, cost and the process.
Learn more