Traffic Tickets and insurance

SY37 · #1 10-10-2009, 04:45 PM

I was driving home from somebody's house last night at around 3am. I was slightly distracted (I started feeling terribly sick, and one of my friends recently found out they had swine flu).

I ended up running straight through a flashing red light and got pulled over immediately.

It was the first time I've ever been pulled and they wrote me a ticket. The citation is pretty confusing and it's pretty unclear how much I am actually being fined. It doesn't list anything about the fine or court costs on it.

I saw somewhere that the fine for running an actual red light around here (Austin) is around $300 so I'm guessing I'm gonna owe somewhere around there.

Does anybody know if a ticket for running a flashing red light will make my insurance costs go up? Or if there is anything I can do to get this ticket off my record, like take a driving class or something?

If anybody has any experience with this, especially in the Austin area, please let me know.

TOOL460002 · #2 10-10-2009, 05:25 PM

it is my understanding that what you got ticketed for is a moving violation, so, yes, it will affect your insurance. (i dont know about non moving violations, but thats another thing entirely.) you will eventually get the ticket in the mail, and thatll tell you how much you owe. trust me; they are good at letting you know how much you owe them.

as for traffic school, you could be in luck. in ca you can do traffic school under some conditions, like every two years, and maybe some other restrictions, but since this is your first ticket, i would assume you can do traffic school and get the point cleared, and that it would then not affect your record or insurance. im not going to check the laws in texas, but just google it, and do online traffic school (its boring but easy). have fun with that.

Trevor.A · #3 10-10-2009, 05:51 PM

Defensive Driving. You have to pay for the class, but the ticket will be dismissed ($100 instead of $300). It won't affect your insurance this way either. Just go to the court where you would pay and tell them you want to do DD instead, they'll give you some papers with instructions and you'll have to pay the fee. I think you have 3 months to do it and get the papers in.

Here's some info:

Quote:

Texas state law allows you to dismiss one traffic ticket every 12 months by taking a TEA-approved driving safety course.
Futhermore, Texas law requires the following: you must NOT possess a Commercial Driver License (CDL); you must admit guilt or sign a statement that you do not contest the citation (nolo contendere); and if you were charged with speeding, you should not be permitted to dismiss the ticket if you were cited with driving 25 or more miles per hour above the posted speed limit. There are other criteria, and the court has the final decision on whether you'll be permitted to dismiss the ticket by completing a driving safety course.
Most municipal court judges and justices of the peace require you to contact the court before you take the driving safety course for purposes of ticket dismissal. Be sure to obtain the court's permission first. By contacting the court that is indicated on your traffic ticket, you may prevent delays, added expenses, or a requirement that you repeat the course.
If the municipal court or the justice of the peace charges a court fee for you to take a driving safety course, and if they require you to obtain a copy of your driving record from the Department of Public Safety (DPS), those fees are in addition to the price that you will pay for the driving safety course.
A certificate of driving safety course completion cannot be saved and used for a later traffic violation. You must complete the driving safety course AFTER the traffic violation, and the court may dismiss only one charge for each completion of a course. [Code of Criminal Procedure, Art. 45.0511].
If you have a driver license from another state and receive a traffic ticket in Texas, you may (with the Texas judge's permission) be allowed to take a Texas driving safety course to dismiss that ticket - it's up to the judge. If the judge approves you to complete a Texas driving safety course for that purpose, you can take it outside of Texas via one of the approved online courses at www.tea.state.tx.us/drive/online.html

http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/drive/dsinfo.html

Pilgrim · #4 10-10-2009, 05:51 PM

Call the court with jurisdiction on Monday and find out what your options are. Hopefully the poster just above has it right.

playinpearls · #5 10-12-2009, 10:50 AM

i believe your insurance is only effected if you get into an accident. I dont think they have the ability to pull you driving record whenever they want.

None of my tickets no matter what for have ever caused my insurance to go up.

hover · #6 10-12-2009, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by playinpearls

i believe your insurance is only effected if you get into an accident. I dont think they have the ability to pull you driving record whenever they want.

None of my tickets no matter what for have ever caused my insurance to go up.

you're incredibly lucky then as mine went up one step for two tickets in one year's time. If I had gotten another, i would have gotten a suspended license.

SoonerMatt · #7 10-12-2009, 11:04 AM

Here's what you do.

Call the judge/county court house and say you would like to take defensive driving to waive the ticket. You'll have to pay a court fee plus the cost of the class, but in the end it'll only cost you a fraction of the price of the ticket and the it won't go on your record, so your insurance will stay the same. I did this when I got a speeding ticket in Denton and all has been well since.

You can take these defensive driving things online and it'll take you about 6 hours. If you decide to go that route then you have to be sure to take notes about EVERYTHING, because you have no idea what they'll ask you at the question and answer portion at the end of each section. (A few of the questions I was asked were "Did a car or truck come to a short stop?" and "what color sweater was Tim Allen wearing?")

anyonefortennis · #8 10-12-2009, 11:19 AM

I had my very first speeding ticket (81 in a 45, might as well do it right

) - I called my ins guy asking about it since my ticket was more than taking the "STOP" (defensive driving class in NE) class to get the ticket off my record.

He said it costs quite a bit for insurance companies to get your driving record so unless you give them a reason to (excessive claims, accidents), they will not request your driving records. He just said, pay the fine and spend the weekend with your family instead of taking a dumb class.

johnklien · #9 07-07-2011, 02:52 PM

I received a ticket, now I have been recommended for an
online traffic school but I dont know which one should I go
for ... is there any cheap, easy and fast online traffic
school ? please recommend me a website.

also let me know if you had a good or bad experience
with online traffic school ?

thanks

MJ5150 · #10 07-07-2011, 03:59 PM

Cheap, easy, and fast decribe many things, but not traffic school.

-Mike

MatticusMania · #11 07-07-2011, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SY37

It was the first time I've ever been pulled and they wrote me a ticket. The citation is pretty confusing and it's pretty unclear how much I am actually being fined. It doesn't list anything about the fine or court costs on it.

I saw somewhere that the fine for running an actual red light around here (Austin) is around $300 so I'm guessing I'm gonna owe somewhere around there.

Does anybody know if a ticket for running a flashing red light will make my insurance costs go up? Or if there is anything I can do to get this ticket off my record, like take a driving class or something?

If anybody has any experience with this, especially in the Austin area, please let me know.

Not sure if the law is different in Texas than it is in California, but over here you'd be okay, after paying a bit out the nose. You'd have to pay the fine, and additional court cost to allow you to go to traffic school for 8 hours, and the cost of traffic school.

MatticusMania · #12 07-07-2011, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnklien

I received a ticket, now I have been recommended for an
online traffic school but I dont know which one should I go
for ... is there any cheap, easy and fast online traffic
school ? please recommend me a website.

also let me know if you had a good or bad experience
with online traffic school ?

thanks

I did that once. It was cheap ($15 or so) and easy, but fast it was not. Its an 8hour thing, where you must remain logged onto this site for 8 hours. Even if you read ahead and complete the questions at the end of every chapter you have to wait a certain amount of time before you move on. It was really easy to do while at work, since I have to be online all day anyways.