I Got A Ticket... Now What?

It can happen to anyone. You’re running late dropping of the kids for school, trying to get to an appointment or late getting to work and so you’re driving over the speed limit to try and make it on time. Zooming in and out of traffic, trying your hardest to get there when you hear the sirens go off. You look in your rear view mirror and sure enough, it’s not a fire truck that you need to move over for, it’s a police officer pulling you over. So what do you do, you speed up and try and lose him! NO!!!! Worst idea ever! Pull over and wait for the officer to come to you before you get your driver’s license and insurance out. It’s not against the law to get it out before they get to you, but it makes the officer feel a little safer. You’d hate for him to think you have a weapon or something. Just wait for them to approach you and ask you for it.

Whatever kind of moving violation you receive, make sure you don’t sit on it because chances are you could forget about it and then you’re in even bigger trouble. Take care of it as soon as possible to avoid any more penalties that may come with forgetting to take care of your violation.

How do you take care of a moving violation? Well you have a few options. You can pay for it outright, go to traffic school, or you can go to court and plead your innocence.

Why not just go with paying the tickets and moving on? That way seems to be the easiest, least time consuming way to be done with the issue. We are all just too busy these days that, yes, paying it and moving on would be the easiest. However, if this is how it’s taken care of, that is you admitting that you are at fault and knowingly accepting the conviction that could show up on points that you don’t want on your Motor Vehicle Report. On top of that, then comes other possible penalties that could affect your premiums.

Depending on what state you live in, Farmers usually won’t raise your rates on a first time, (depending on what the moving violation is). If the violation occurs while you are covered and no claim is filed, there’s a chance you will be forgiven on your first violation. Now if you have several moving violations in a short period of time, your chances for forgiveness are not so good. This could actually result in higher premiums or cancellation of coverage.

In some cases, you can attend traffic school. While this may not be a whole lot of fun, there are comedy traffic schools that you can go to, that make it at least a little fun. But seriously, in some states, if you attended traffic school the ticket will not go on your record, as if it never happened. There are some rules that apply to this method. If your driving record is clean and there are no major incidences on your record, your chances are good to be able to attend traffic school.

We’ve talked about how paying for your ticket is admitting to your guilt. Well, you can always go to court and contest the ticket. Yes that would mean taking time out of your day, possibly taking off work or finding a sitter for your kids. It could also mean the possibility of the ticket being thrown out and never hitting your record or even a lesser fine. It may be worth a try to plead your innocence.

There is no such thing as a perfect driver. We all make mistakes and sometimes that results in a moving violation. The good thing about being with Farmers is that there is a little thing called Incident Forgiveness*.  While the ticket process and all that needs to be done to get that taken care of isn’t convenient and by far is it fun, if you’re not a repeat offender, the Incident Forgiveness could be an option for you.

*To receive the Incident Forgiveness, as long as the violation happens while you are covered under Farmers and no claims are filed. Any incidents prior to your policy with Farmers are excluded.