Rhode Island Traffic Laws: Points, Tickets, License Suspension and DUI

The Traffic Tribunal fine schedule sets speeding fines: $95 for 1-10 mph over the limit, and a minimum of $205 at 11 mph over, calculated at $10 per mile over. A judge may increase fines for repeat offenses within 12 months and may suspend the license for up to 30 days (10 mph or less over) or up to 60 days (more than 10 mph over).

The statutes read do not provide a traffic-school dismissal. Instead, a driver who has held a license for more than three years and has had no other traffic violations in the preceding three years may ask the Traffic Tribunal to dismiss the violation based on a good driving record, paying a $35 administrative fee plus a $25 surcharge. The request must be made within six months of disposition. It is not available for speeding more than 14 mph over the limit, chemical test refusal, school bus or child restraint violations, violations involving a crash with damage or injury, or violations by commercial license holders or in a commercial vehicle. A judge may also order a driver to attend a rehabilitative driving course.

Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal tickets can be resolved online (scan the QR code on the court's ticket sheet): you can pay the fine online, submit proof of correction (such as registration or inspection), submit a good driving record, or go to court on the hearing date printed on the summons. Fines and court costs imposed at a Traffic Tribunal hearing must be paid within 45 days or your license can be suspended for nonpayment. Pay by check or money order payable to the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal, mailed to 670 New London Avenue, Cranston, RI 02920 (include your name and citation number; no cash by mail); online by credit or debit card through the Judiciary's "Make Payments" portal (full balance only); or in person at the Traffic Tribunal cashier. If you cannot pay before the suspension date, call the clerk's office at (401) 275-2700 to request an ability-to-pay hearing and payment schedule.

Traffic violations are civil and are heard in the Traffic Tribunal or a municipal court. If eligible, the summons may be paid by Internet, by mail, or in person. The officer gives the driver a form that allows the charge to be resolved without appearing. To pay, the driver returns the form and summons to the Traffic Tribunal's violations section with payment of the scheduled fine (plus any technology surcharge) no later than 20 days from the date of the summons. Anyone who does not pay this way must appear before the Traffic Tribunal or municipal court on the date on the summons; a hearing is held before a judge or magistrate, and the state must prove the charge by clear and convincing evidence. If the person fails to appear, a default judgment may be entered, including a license suspension. A person who gets a third summons after two guilty adjudications within 12 months cannot pay by mail and must appear in person.

A Traffic Tribunal judge or magistrate may suspend or revoke a license as authorized for the violation, and may suspend the license and registration for willful failure to pay a fine previously imposed. Speeding can carry a suspension of up to 30 or 60 days. DUI and chemical test refusal carry suspensions set by statute. A judge may delay a suspension's effective date by up to 30 days unless it would create a substantial traffic safety hazard.

0.08 for drivers generally.

Penalties depend on blood alcohol level. 0.08 to under 0.10 (or presence of a scheduled controlled substance): fine of $100-$300, 10-60 hours of community service and/or up to one year in prison, a DUI course, and a license suspension of 30 to 180 days; the judge may require an ignition interlock. 0.10 to under 0.15 (or unknown): fine of $100-$400, 10-60 hours community service and/or up to one year, suspension of 3-12 months, required course and/or treatment; interlock may be required. 0.15 or more (or under the influence of drugs): $500 fine, 20-60 hours community service and/or up to one year, suspension of 3-18 months, required course and/or treatment, and an ignition interlock (and/or blood and urine testing) is required. A conviction also carries an $86 assessment and a highway assessment fee.

For a first refusal, the Traffic Tribunal imposes a fine of $200-$500, 10-60 hours of community service, a license suspension of six months to one year (or a modified license allowing driving with an ignition interlock and/or blood and urine testing), and a required DUI course and/or treatment. A second refusal within ten years is a misdemeanor with up to six months in jail, a $600-$1,000 fine, and a one-to-two-year suspension; a third within ten years carries up to one year, an $800-$1,000 fine, and a two-to-five-year suspension.

Ten years. Second and third DUI or refusal violations are counted within a ten-year period, and a prior refusal counts as a prior violation for DUI suspension purposes.

For a test refusal, the license suspension can be modified to allow driving with an ignition interlock device and/or blood and urine testing for a period set by law. For DUI, judges may allow or require driving only in vehicles equipped with an ignition interlock under § 31-27-2.8.

Drivers may not use a wireless handset or personal wireless communication device to compose, read, or send text messages, or for any other purpose, while driving, including while stopped at a light or in traffic. Hands-free use, a single swipe or tap, and GPS on a mounted device are allowed, as is use while parked out of traffic and emergency calls. Fines are $100 for a first offense, $150 for a second, and $250 for a third or later. A separate law bars holding a hand-held phone to talk while the vehicle is moving (fine $100).

In Rhode Island, a 3rd or later DUI within 10 years is a felony, with at least 1 year of imprisonment and higher minimums at higher BAC levels. Driving under the influence while your license is suspended, revoked or cancelled for a prior DUI is a felony punishable by up to 3 years. A 2nd or later DUI with a child under 13 in the vehicle is a felony punishable by up to 5 years. DUI resulting in death is punished by 5 to 15 years in state prison (10 to 20 years for a repeat within 5 years). DUI resulting in serious bodily injury is punished by 1 to 10 years (2 to 15 years for a repeat within 5 years).

On the criminal record, Rhode Island lets a person with more than one but fewer than six misdemeanor convictions (and no felony) ask the court to expunge them, but DUI (31-27-2) and chemical-test refusal (31-27-2.1) convictions are excluded from that route. A first offender may move to expunge a misdemeanor conviction 5 years after completing the sentence, or a felony 10 years after, unless it was a crime of violence. For felony grading, prior DUIs count within a 10-year window.

Not allowed. In Pimental v. Department of Transportation (R.I. 1989), the Rhode Island Supreme Court held that article 1, section 6 of the Rhode Island Constitution prohibits drunk-driving roadblocks. The Court restated this holding in State v. Sinapi.