A speeding ticket won’t land you in jail, but it can break the bank in more ways than you think. If you get a speeding ticket, your auto insurance premiums will increase. You’ll face fines and may require some legal services or enroll in a defensive driving course held by a DMV-approved traffic safety school if you want to get a speeding ticket off your record.
In states that use the license point system for driver records, also called the demerit points system, a speeding ticket can result in a mark-up on a driver’s history and no more clean driving record. The good news is that speeding is an avoidable traffic violation. However, if you are a lead-footed driver, there are ways that you can get speeding tickets off your driving record.
How Does a Speeding Ticket Affect Your Driving Record?
Every state except Hawaii, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wyoming uses a demerit points system to keep track of driver records.
Points are assigned to a driver with a traffic violation after a traffic citation. How many points depends on the severity of the traffic offenses, the state, and its traffic laws, as they all have ways of adding points to your driving license and record. It works like golf; you want fewer points because more suggests you are a high-risk driver with several traffic violations.
A ticket for speeding can result in points being added to your driver’s license and your record. Your auto insurance provider will notice this, and you may see an increase in your premiums. Too many points on your driving record can result in a license suspension.
How Long Do Speeding Tickets Stay on Your Record?
Depending on the severity, a traffic violation or ticket can stay on your driving record for three to ten years.
Minor traffic violations, such as running a stop sign at a barren intersection, can remain on your record for less. A factor often used in a speeding ticket is how fast you went during the traffic violation.
How Do Speeding Tickets Affect Your Car Insurance Rates?
A speeding ticket increases the average auto insurance premium rate by 22% to 30%, approximately $290. Some states are even known to increase your car insurance by up to 50%.
The exact amount of car insurance increases varies based on the insurer and the severity of the traffic ticket. You can expect this car insurance premium increase to last at least three years. This is because your insurance provider checks your driving record every three years.
What if You Get an Additional Speeding Ticket?
A second speeding ticket within a couple of days or weeks of your first speeding ticket can further increase your auto insurance premium. The average reported is a 43% increase in car insurance premiums. With many speeding tickets on your driving record, your insurance company will have no choice but to assume that more traffic violations will occur.
How to Get a Speeding Ticket Off Your Record?
To answer the main question of this post directly -yes, there are a couple of ways to remove a speeding ticket from your record to avoid the increase in auto insurance rates.
Don’t Pay The Speeding Ticket Just Yet
Paying your speeding ticket is admitting guilt, which will be reflected on your record. The good news is that you have about a month to pay for your traffic ticket and have time to weigh your options. Before deciding, see if you can contest your speeding ticket in traffic court for a plea bargain.
There’s no penalty for losing a traffic trial except the additional legal fees you’ll have to pay. But if the plea bargain succeeds, consider the car insurance premiums you will save.
Go For a Legal Deferral
A deferral period is when you are found guilty in court, but the findings are deferred for about a year. During this period, you can have your speeding ticket dismissed altogether if you avoid other traffic violations. You may have to pay anywhere from $100 to $150 to be granted a deferral. This is usually the best method for drivers ticketed for the first time by a traffic officer for driving over the speed limit.
Enroll in a Traffic School
A common remedy for all traffic offenders is enrolling in a defensive driving course at a DMV-approved traffic safety school. Attending traffic school courses and obtaining a certificate of completion can be used to reduce the penalties of a traffic violation or even dismiss a speeding ticket.
Taking a defensive driving class from traffic school shows auto insurance companies you are working to become a better driver, which your car insurance company will thank you for. Some fees accompany the traffic school classes, and there may be limits to how much you can take, depending on your state.
Be aware that completing a course on traffic safety at a traffic school won’t make criminal traffic offenses like drunk driving or reckless driving disappear.
Try to Plea Bargain
You can ask for leniency from the court clerk like having the speeding ticket offense downgraded to a moving violation, which car insurance companies don’t punish as much.
Mitigation can also be an option where you admit guilt for a lower fine or penalty. The decision is up to the judge, and you may have to pay additional legal fees.
Contest Your Speeding Ticket
You can go to court and contest the speeding ticket by pleading not guilty. This may be best done with the help of a lawyer, but it is not required.
Traffic experts say that since a speeding ticket isn’t as severe as a DUI, you may stand a chance in court, but it still isn’t easy on your own. By hiring a speeding ticket defense lawyer, you can maintain a clean record and preserve your driving privileges.
