Traffic Violations - How Much Does that Ticket Change Your Insurance Rates?

You know that getting into a car accident, running a stop light, or speeding can increase your car insurance, but do you know how much?

All drivers should be careful while on the road, but it's more than your safety that you should be thinking about. You may end up paying hundreds of dollars extra each month, just because you ran that stop sign, drove under the influence, or passed a bus on a no-passing street. Understanding how traffic violations affect your Good2Go New Jersey car insurance is important!

Minor Traffic Violations

A minor traffic violation is the most common one, and it's likely that you will get a few minor traffic tickets before you ever get a major or serious one. Minor violations include:

Defective brakes
Driving without a license, or not handing it over to the police when requested
Failure to use seatbelts, signal a turn, yield to another car or pedestrian that has the right of way, or produce evidence of insurance
Tailgating or following too closely behind another vehicle
Improper driving, lane changing, opening doors, passing, turning, towing, and using a divided highway
Obstructing traffic

These are just a few, but the list goes on.

For your first minor offense, you'll find that your insurance premiums won't go up too much. Not all offenses will cause an increase in your insurance, but some will:

A ticket for failing to yield can cause a 9% increase in your insurance premiums
Improper passing can cause a 14% increase in your insurance
Tailgating or following too closely can cause you insurance to go up 13%
Seat belt infractions will increase your insurance premium by 3%
Driving without a license will cause your insurance to go up by 18%

Major Offenses

Major offenses are not too uncommon, and they will usually result in a much more noticeable increase in your insurance. Some of the major offenses that will get you a ticket include:

Driving without insurance
Speeding in a construction zone
Improper passing or failing to stop around a school bus
Failing to report an accident or damage to highway property
Driving 30 mph over the posted speed limit

For these offenses, the increase in your insurance premium will differ:

Driving without insurance can raise your premiums by 6%
Speeding 30 mph over the speed limit will cause an increase of 30 (speeding less than 14 MPH over the speed limit will be an 11% increase, and speeding between 15 and 29 MPH over the posted limit will result in a 12% increase)

Serious Offenses

More serious offenses include:

DUI
Careless and Reckless Driving
Motor Vehicle Manslaughter
Racing
Refusing to be tested for alcohol
Racing and Stunt Driving

The insurance premium raise will be significant for these offenses:

First time DUI drivers will get a raise of 19% in their insurance premiums
Reckless driving will raise the insurance by 22%, and careless driving will cause a 16% increase

As you can see, it's important that you are a safe driver while on the roads. You may see that your car has the power to reach 160+ MPH, but that doesn't mean that you should push your car to actually reach those speeds. You already spend enough on your car insurance, so driving safely is the smart thing to do. You'll stay safe while on the roads, avoid getting into any accidents, avoid jail time, and keep your insurance premiums at a reasonable rate. Just because you can drive crazy, that doesn't mean it's wise!

All opinions expressed are my own honest opinions. For more information please check my Disclosure Statement.