life speedng

August 17, 2005 11:16 AM

I got a speeding ticket the other day (76 in a 65) and I'm still on my parents insurance. I already paid the ticket... do I have (need) to report it to my Insurance company?
posted by bamassippi to law & government (16 comments total)

No -- the infraction will be reported to the insurance company by the DMV of your state.
posted by ericb at 11:26 AM on August 17, 2005

No, in my experience, they'll find out about it the next time they pull your driving record. They seem to do that periodically for all of their insured drivers.
posted by willnot at 11:27 AM on August 17, 2005

I've never reported a ticket in my life. The insurance company already knows. That goes for the tickets I got in Bama and Sippi.
posted by Pollomacho at 11:27 AM on August 17, 2005

No worries - like everyone else said, they already know about it.

If your parents don't know about it yet, you'd better tell them too. Otherwise they'll find out about when their suddenly-increased insurance bill comes next time.
posted by unixrat at 11:31 AM on August 17, 2005

Next time for such a lame ticket, show up to court and say "I wish to plead down the charges", it will probably double your ticket but it will show up as parking in two handicap spaces with one wheel on the curb -- some sort of exotic parking ticket. Viola, non-moving violation and no one is the wiser.
posted by geoff. at 11:35 AM on August 17, 2005

geoff is correct, go to court and beg for mercy many judges will give you a break
posted by Justin Case at 11:40 AM on August 17, 2005

Yeah, next time go to court and try to bargain your way out of the moving violation. The state DMV/RMV will report it to your insurer, and this will likely affect your premiums for many years to come.
posted by rxrfrx at 11:53 AM on August 17, 2005

Always! always show up to court and plead not guilty (even if you think you are)!! In my experience, they'll have you talk to the prosecutor of the court and in most cases talk the ticket down a couple points. You'll probably pay the same fine (maybe more), but in the long run your insurance premiums will be much happier for it.
posted by pooya at 11:53 AM on August 17, 2005

In case it wasn't mentioned - go to court next time :)
posted by LadyBonita at 12:16 PM on August 17, 2005

In some states, you can go sit through a traffic school class and have 1 ticket per year wiped off your insurance record. If you're in one of those states, definitely take advantage of this; your parents will gladly pay the $50 for traffic school to avoid the $1000-$2000/year insurance rate hike for the next 3 years.
posted by ikkyu2 at 1:38 PM on August 17, 2005

If it's a general speeding ticket, it may not even go on your driving record at all - it doesn't in Oklahoma. Find out for sure before you panic.
posted by lambchop1 at 1:59 PM on August 17, 2005

Please don't plead not guilty, plead guilty, you're basically saying "Yes I speed, but give me a break". Pleading not guilty then trying to argue down the charges will look weird and may piss off the judge.
posted by geoff. at 3:29 PM on August 17, 2005

How old are you? In Georgia, records are cleared when the person turns 18 and 21 - so if you have yet to reach either age, and are close, it may never reach your insurance in time.

Also, like everyone said, go to court otherwise. Plead not guilty, plead down the charges (there's an actual latin term for this, it escapes me), and hope for the best.
posted by itchie at 3:41 PM on August 17, 2005

ikkyu2: "$1000-$2000/year insurance rate hike for the next 3 years"

Was this a typo, or just hyperbole? My insurance company recently caught wind of my 16-over violation. My insurance went up less than $10/year. Just sayin'.

Full disclosure: 28 year old male, no violations in about 8-9 years. (But still, $1000-2000?)
posted by mike9322 at 5:33 AM on August 18, 2005

Was this a typo, or just hyperbole?

One Massachusetts "step" is rougly equivalent to $250 per year, and varies depending on your class and elective coverage. $1000-$2000 over 3+ years isn't unreasonable.
posted by rxrfrx at 10:51 AM on August 19, 2005

Well, I've been insured recently in New Jersey and California, where it's quite expensive. "Still on parents' insurance" suggests a teenager, which is also quite expensive - the infractious teenager, even more so.

It really depends a lot on where you live.
posted by ikkyu2 at 9:10 PM on August 19, 2005