Will I lose my nursing license for a traffic violation?

Nurses General Nursing

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I recently was issued a citation for passing a stopped school bus. From Google search, some lawyers say it is a misdemeanor. I am worrying about that I might not be able to renew my nursing license if it is a misdemeanor. I haven't received a court date yet. Court appearance is mandatory for this offense. What should I do now? Greatly appreciated if you can help!

On 9/16/2019 at 8:28 PM, karmax1 said:

I recently was issued a citation for passing a stopped school bus. From Google search, some lawyers say it is a misdemeanor. I am worrying about that I might not be able to renew my nursing license if it is a misdemeanor. I haven't received a court date yet. Court appearance is mandatory for this offense. What should I do now? Greatly appreciated if you can help!

You have only been cited for it, not convicted. I would possibly talk to the judge if he/she can dismiss it if you show compliance, i.e traffic school, good behavior. See if your city has a court appointed lawyer you can talk to. Some cites have this.

0 Votes

When renewing a nursing license, the broad is always asking for if you were convicted for a misdemeanor. Misdemeanor means it will stay on your criminal record. The traffic violation happened on a double lanes on neither sides and there is a left turn lane in between. The bus was at least 50 feet away from me.

36 minutes ago, fibroblast said:

You have only been cited for it, not convicted. I would possibly talk to the judge if he/she can dismiss it if you show compliance, i.e traffic school, good behavior. See if your city has a court appointed lawyer you can talk to. Some cites have this.

Thank you. As of now, I am scared. Nearly all the states ask the same misdemeanor conviction. One state is not required to report if the fine is < 1000. Some states not very strict on this..

0 Votes
16 hours ago, FolksBtrippin said:

The word literally means "a minor wrongdoing".

Minor means not a big deal.

Relax.

In law, it means less serious than felony. But it will remain in your criminal record.....

0 Votes
Specializes in ICU.

Ok, so I got a plain old speeding ticket once. I declared it to my home state and all states where I have a license. Because it was a simple traffic violation, none of them said anything. As with any violation, my guess is that you should tell the board. You may get something as simple as a public reprimand. You may get nothing. It depends on your board. But my experience with this is limited.

0 Votes
8 hours ago, fibroblast said:

I would possibly talk to the judge if he/she can dismiss it if you show compliance, i.e traffic school, good behavior.

8 hours ago, karmax1 said:

The traffic violation happened on a double lanes on neither sides and there is a left turn lane in between. The bus was at least 50 feet away from me.

Yeah, try this approach/excuse with the judge and see what that gets you. Depending on your state it could be a year in prison. Did you know that at 35mph you travel 51 ft in one second? Cities and states are bringing the hammer down on this behavior because kids are being killed. A family had all three of their children wiped out because a driver felt they didn't need to stop. You would find a heck of a lot more support here if you demonstrated one iota of remorse for your reckless and selfish action. Instead, all you seem to care about is how this is going to affect you. Frankly, the fact that you're a nurse is likely to not work in your favor because you, of all people, know first hand the consequences of people's bad choices. You may not find it fair but we are held to a higher standard in the court of public opinion. And if I seem to be extra riled up about this I am. I've spent years taking care of innocent children who were victims of people who should have known better but put their needs first. Nobody should have to watch as their child is scraped off the pavement because someone else thought the law did not apply to them.

Do yourself a favor both professionally and for your personal growth, quit making excuses and take responsibility for what you did. Just because it was a misdemeanor doesn't mean it was no big deal. It was a big deal. How you handle it will reflect on who you are as a person and as a nurse.

13 Votes
Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

You know the more I think about it, the more I think this SHOULD affect your license. Your extreme lack of judgment makes me concerned for your ability to utilize good judgment at work....

and the fact that you are more concerned about YOURSELF than horrified about the possibility of hitting a CHILD coming around that school bus... that’s bordering on sociopathic.

3 Votes
Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.
11 hours ago, karmax1 said:

In law, it means less serious than felony. But it will remain in your criminal record.....

It's a traffic violation. Generally not considered part of the criminal record.

The amount of hyperbole and overreaction on this site is mindboggling.

5 Votes

Seriously?! How do you all know that OP is not feeling bad? WE aren't the damn judge. She doesn't have to show her remorse to us. She came to a nursing site to ask a question related to nursing. Ff sake. I take her explanation as her stating she was unaware of the law in that situation. I've seen YouTube videos of this happening where I was like, "wow, I had no idea. I wouldn't have stopped either." Laws have changed since I took drivers ed years ago. Get off your high horse and just maybe give her the benefit of the doubt that she's taken actions to familiarize herself better with the laws. Not everything is as cut and dry as it seems. Needing reeducation doesn't make one a bad person.

6 Votes
6 minutes ago, FolksBtrippin said:

It's a traffic violation. Generally not considered part of the criminal record.

The amount of hyperbole and overreaction on this site is mindboggling.

No overreaction, it's such a huge problem that many states are looking at increasing the penalties. The risk of injuring or killing a child by ignoring this particular law is much higher than going 5 mph over the speed limit. It might be just a traffic violation to you but I bet your tune would change if a kid you cared about got hit. Sorry if it boggles your mind but until you've experienced the aftermath you really don't have the perspective that many of us do.

1 minute ago, Orion81RN said:

Laws have changed since I took drivers ed years ago.

The "stop" sign hasn't changed in eons. Not really hard to understand what it means.

4 Votes
3 minutes ago, Orion81RN said:

Needing reeducation doesn't make one a bad person.

Nobody said she was a bad person.

0 Votes
1 minute ago, Wuzzie said:

Nobody said she was a bad person.

People are harping on her for "not showing remorse" and saying it should affect her nursing license. I read between the lines ?‍♀️

We have NO idea how she thinks or feels about this. Yet most replies have been inferences that she doesn't care.

3 Votes
Specializes in School Nurse, past Med Surge.
On 9/17/2019 at 6:20 AM, Wuzzie said:

I would think the possibility of killing a child would be scarier.

In many areas, they are really cracking down on this offense. In my area, last year, three boys - all brothers - were hit and killed as their sister watched. A 4th boy was seriously injured. I certainly hope you learned your lesson.

1 Votes
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