In N.D., how many traffic violations before license is suspended?

FARGO

So how many traffic tickets does it take to be suspended in North Dakota?

Well, it depends.

It's an obvious question after news broke Monday of the long list of speeding citations racked up by Craig Bohl, head coach of North Dakota State University's football team.

Since 2003, the year Bohl was hired, he's received at least 19 traffic tickets, all but one for speeding. That includes violations found in record searches in North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Iowa and parts of Illinois.

That's one ticket higher than the number reported Tuesday, because a 2005 speeding citation in Iowa was found.

Of those 19 tickets, 10 are speeding citations issued in the last three years.

As Bohl indicated in an interview with The Forum on Monday, which was confirmed Tuesday with the state's driver's license records, he has a valid and current license.

Here's how the state's point-based system works:

North Dakota suspends a license for seven days if the driver's number of demerits, or "points," hits 12, said Patti Rothmann, manager of driver record services. It is an additional seven days for each point beyond 12.

The number of points on a driver's record isn't public, but a review of Bohl's known violations shows he wouldn't be close to hitting the dozen mark. Many of the coach's tickets were out of state, which don't carry points in North Dakota, Rothmann said.

Also, North Dakota drivers get one point removed for each three-month time period they don't have an offense, she said. They can also shave three points off their records by taking a defensive driving course.

How much each violation is worth in points is set by state law. For instance, a speeding ticket is worth one point if was for 6 to 10 mph over in a zone of 70 mph or greater, or 11 to 15 mph over a limit of less than 70 mph.

It takes a ticket of at least 31 mph over in a zone of 70 mph or more and 36 mph over in a zone of less than 70 mph to get 12 points for just one violation.

The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead and the Herald are Forum Communications Co. newspapers.