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The True Cost of a Speeding Ticket
There is more cost of speeding ticket than just the fine imposed by the court. Before you just pay your ticet you need to evaluate the total cost of a speeding ticket. Firat call your auto insurance agent to see how much this ticket will cost you over the next three years. Then check to see if your state imposes a surcharge on speeding tickets. The court will not tell you about this extra charge. To date New York, New Jersey and Texas impose these fines each year for three years even on out of state drivers. Have you noticed more autos on the side of the road with an officer issuing the driver a speeding ticket? Have you seen more trucks surrounded by DOT transport police? I sure have. There are several reasons for this increased activity. One is that after 9/11 many departments have increased patrols. The additional police presence is to assure the public that efforts are being taken to prevent terrorist attacks like the recent sniper killings. The other reason is that cities and states are faced with budget deficits in these tough economic times. Since traffic tickets are a politically correct form of taxation, many jurisdictions are increasing fines as a means of balancing the books. A traffic officer will cost his department the average of $75,000 per year while he can be expected to issue between $150,000 to $200,000 in speeding ticket citations. There are few businesses that can equal that rate of return. Some towns like New Rome, Ohio and Waldo, Florida take in over 70% of their entire town budget through speeding tickets. What does this mean to you, the safe driver who has not received a traffic citation in years? It means that you are now more likely than ever to see those dreaded blue lights flashing in your rear view. If that does happen you need to know that the true cost of a speeding ticket has changed drastically in the last few years. Consider Mary, a successful sales representative who enjoys the perk of a company car. She travels extensively and has received four speeding tickets in the last three years. She considers herself a safe driver and in each instance was traveling with the flow of traffic on the interstate. She has 9 out of the 12 points on her driver’s license. Imagine her surprise when her company’s insurance carrier refused to allow Mary to drive a company car. The company obtained supplemental insurance but Mary had to pay the extra $1600. Then there is Jeffrey, a CDL truck driver from Ohio who is an independent operator and owns his own truck. He drives 150,000 miles per year and has five tickets on his record, none a serious violation. He is unable to obtain insurance that he can afford. He is in the process of losing his truck to the finance company and does not know how he will support his family. Families with teenagers may face an economic disaster if the teen driver receives a citation. One traffic ticket for rolling through a stop sign could cost as much as $3000 in increased premiums over the three years it remains on their record. The insurance industry considers young adults as teenagers until the age of 23. The purpose of relating Mary and Jeffrey’s stories is not for you to feel sorry for them. It is to impress upon you the severe consequences that may result from a traffic ticket. They did not realize the true cost of a speeding ticket until it was too late. It is important to obey all traffic laws, not just for your physical protection but also for the health of your pocketbook. I have found that many people are more concerned about their pocketbook than their personal safety. What should you do if you receive a citation? Never just
pay a speeding ticket. Check with the clerk of court to see
if you are eligible for traffic school or deferment program. Many jurisdictions now accept online traffic
school. Check to see if this is available in your state at If it is an out of state ticket you need to be aware that in most case the citation will be transferred to your home state and treated as if you received it in your state. Do not believe it when the officer encourages you to just pay the ticket with the assurance that it will not appear on your record.
If traffic school is not available then you or your attorney need to appear in court to contest the speeding ticket. Hiring an attorney may be your cheapest option when you consider the additional cost of you insurance. Check with your insurance agent to find out the consequences of the original charge being entered on your driving record. Remember that insurance points are different from driver's license points.
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Fight Your Speeding Ticket BooksThere are a lot of books online and in print that promise you can beat your ticket if you will just purchase their program, speeding ticket case dismissed, speeding ticket excuses or whatever. Most of these are a complete waste of money and only guaranteed to give the judge and officer a good laugh. I have reviewed almost all of these and can only recommend two. They are Fight Your Ticket and Win in California and Beat Your Ticket: Go To Court & Win by David Brown.
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