California traffic tickets can be painful, inconvenient and expensive. What if you could get help from a traffic attorney to favorably resolve your ticket and keep your auto insurance as is so that it wouldn't increase? Of course, not all traffic tickets are “winnable,” so you should first discuss it with a traffic ticket attorney before you decide to contest a ticket.
When you pay the fine at the court clerk’s office, you are admitting guilt. Therefore, your voluntary payment is the same as a conviction in court. After a conviction, the DMV will assess Negligent Operator Treatment System (NOTS) points and track violations, accidents and convictions on your motor vehicle driving record (MVR).
For auto insurance policies, your premium gets determined by your driving record, the number of miles driven to and from school or work, years of driving experience, age, gender, and many others. However, in California, your auto insurance provider is prohibited from using your credit score to determine your premium, as in some other states.
Proposition 103 & Auto Insurance Premiums
The prohibition of creditworthiness use as a risk factor for auto insurance is one of the benefits of Proposition 103. In 1988, the voters of CA voted to roll back insurance prices and elect a commission to approve/disapprove overall rate increases. As part of that initiative, the people included a “good driver discount,” a provision that gives drivers with a clean record a 20% discount after other risk factors are considered.
Therefore, when you get a ticket, your auto insurance could go up 20% when you lose the discount, plus the insurance provider will add an additional risk based on your ticket.
Many drivers with tickets consider only the fine, but the increased auto insurance is many times more devastating to their budget than the fine, which you pay only one time.
In CA, the lowest fine you will pay for a minor moving violation infraction is around $238, depending on the county where you received the ticket. Whether your ticket was for speeding, failure to stop for a stop sign or red light, unsafe lane change, or others, a traffic attorney could assist you in getting the ticket dismissed or help you get a reduced no-point violation.
With a no-point violation, you will still likely pay the full fine, but there are no NOTS points. Therefore, the DMV will not add points to your MVR or notify your auto insurance company. It’s a win-win for you and the courts. They get revenue to improve the roads and you won’t get an increased insurance premium that could add about $1,500 to your budget over the three years the minor infraction will stay on your MVR.
However, when you get a ticket for speeding 100+ mph, reckless driving, hit and run, or other serious offenses, a conviction could cause your insurance to skyrocket. Whatever your ticket, discuss it with a traffic attorney.
Traffic Attorneys Who Can Handle Your Speeding Ticket in Tulare County
Call Bigger & Harman, APC, (661) 349-9300. Se habla Español (661) 349-9755.
We regularly resolve traffic tickets for drivers in Porterville or Visalia Traffic Courts. When you get a speeding ticket on 65, 99, or 198, you need an experienced and knowledgeable attorney to get the best possible result.
Email: attorney@biggerharmanlaw.com.
References:
The Proposition 103 Fact Sheet