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Okay apologies if this question has been asked but searching all night has revealed nothing at all to me!

Simply put, do speeding tickets from the USA put points on a UK driving license?

I got pulled over for doing 75 in a 65 zone in Texas and given a standard ticket to pay. From what I've learnt (and the way the cop handled the issue) this is a misdemeanour and a lesser offence. I'm happy to pay the fine. More important to me though is that on the ticket it says that payment is a waiver of your right to plea against the conviction, and 'will result in a conviction on your driving record'.

Does this conviction transfer to 3 points on my UK license? Or is this just applying to a Texas State license?

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    I'm impressed you managed to get pulled over for just 10 over. Usually in Texas 15+ is pretty safe unless you have a bored cop...
    – Joe
    Commented Nov 11, 2014 at 17:59
  • @Joe: There are a few areas, like Richardson and Farmers Branch (N. Dallas), where the cops like to make their presence known once a month or so. Richardson usually targets cars older than 5 years; Farmers Branch will nab you if you are 5 over regardless.
    – ChrisLively
    Commented Nov 11, 2014 at 23:27
  • Older than 5 years? That's like 95% of the cars in NZ :) Average age is 14 years!
    – Mark Mayo
    Commented Nov 11, 2014 at 23:53
  • Texas is like a whole other country.
    – Michael Hampton
    Commented Nov 12, 2014 at 1:34
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    No BUT i once got a ticket and showed my UK license. Then 5 years later I got a NY license and cure enough it came with the violation onit.
    – If you do not know- just GIS
    Commented Nov 12, 2014 at 4:01

3 Answers 3

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No. There is no transfer to the UK (although note that some info seems to be shared with Mexico and Canada).

The UK ONLY has a mutual recognition of driving points / disqualifications with Ireland.

They address this with regards to the future, hopefully initially with other EU states, which they don't even have this with currently:

We agree in principle that cooperation over disqualifications between Member States other than with Ireland is desirable. Any EU Member State may wish to enter into similar arrangements with us in the future. At this stage we have no expectation of any other Member State doing this. If they did we would need further Regulations in the UK and, if changes in arrangements were contemplated, further public consultation would be needed. The arrangements with Ireland will provide us with practical experience in advance of possible future approaches from other Member States.

tl;dr - your points are not transferred out of the US. However, within the US, if you apply for a new (different) state license, they'll check with your home (Texas) state and find out about any said points (source - attorney in Texas).

You can find your driving record through the Texas DPS Driving Record website (for a fee).

Crimal.lawyers.com have also researched this, and they've found that there are 3 national databases, including the NDR (National Driver Register) for basically blacklisted drivers.

If and when the US shares records, you don't want your name on this one. But from the same page, for now:

As our planet seems to grow smaller, the reach of the DLA stretches father. The AAMVA is now pushing to have the DLA cover countries beyond the US, Canada and Mexico

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Mine never did.

Texas barely cooperates with other states, definitely not Yankee states in the North and most definitely not with the British.

ps it might be worth making sure that you pay the fine. If you were visiting/work permit rather than living there permanently. Defaults on fines tend to get recorded on computers and flagged by immigration. There have been cases where people have been dragged off under arrest for minor violations from many years before because the computer system didn't discriminate between wanted terrorist and over due library book.

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    "There have been cases where people have been dragged off under arrest for minor violations from many years before because the computer system didn't discriminate between wanted terrorist and over due library book." Do you have a link for this? Sounds like it would be an interesting read to hear what happened.
    – reirab
    Commented Nov 11, 2014 at 7:28
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    Beyond the first three words, do you have any facts to back up this answer? The dubious claim about noncooperation with other states (Federal law requires a huge amount of cooperation) and hyperbolic library book example suggest an answer based on personal biases rather than actual fact.
    – David Richerby
    Commented Nov 11, 2014 at 10:08
  • @DavidRicherby - it's a constitutional requirement that states and terrorists do not make treaties with foreign powers. According to the Texas DVLC that's why they couldn't accept my UK licence and made me drive around a car park for an hour to prove I was safe on American roads. If accepting a UK licence is "making treaty with foreign powers" then passing on details of an American's driving misdemeanors to foreign police forces certainly is.
    – NobodySpecial
    Commented Nov 11, 2014 at 18:14
  • Except that the govt already shares this info with Mexico and Canada, so there is precedent.
    – Mark Mayo
    Commented Nov 11, 2014 at 22:41
  • txdps.state.tx.us/DriverLicense/movingtotexas.htm
    – Joe
    Commented Nov 12, 2014 at 1:04
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If you take defensive driving, you can also avoid having points on your Texas license assuming the court allows it.

http://www.dmv.org/tx-texas/traffic-ticket-faq.php#Can-I-take-a-driving-safety-or-defensive-driving-course-to-reduce-the-number-of-TX-drivers-license-points-on-my-driving-record

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