One of the main reasons we help people fight their traffic tickets is because we feel the system is unfair. The concept of traffic tickets is not, in and of itself unfair. In fact, in theory, giving traffic tickets to driver's who break the rules is fine. The problem lies in everything that happens after that ticket gets issued.
One of the first things that happens is that people worry their insurance is going to increase. And they are right.
According to the latest information being put out by insurance.com, for even one traffic ticket, your insurance will increase an average of 22%.
If you take AAA's 2012 average cost to insure a sedan, which is $1,001, and takes the percentage increase for one ticket, it's $220. But before you start thinking that's not too bad, remember, that's $220 PER YEAR FOR THE NEXT 3 YEARS.
Because I'm all about keeping your life simple, I'll do the math for you. It's $660.00 in additional insurance just for getting one ticket. And I didn't even add in the cost of the ticket, which you know as a reader of this blog, can easily be in the hundreds of dollars.
Now, that example is for one type of ticket (reckless driving), but the numbers aren't much better for the other types of traffic tickets you can get. The folks over at insurance.com have created a cutely named "Uh-Oh Calculator!" that will gladly compute any type of ticket you get, into the expected insurance increase you will be looking at if you pay the ticket and take the points.
Aaaahhhh!!! Did you see what I just did? I buried the lead. The crux of this article, and what you should take away from this, is that the insurance increase that you are worried about, ONLY APPLIES IF YOU PAY YOUR TICKET AND GET THE POINTS.
If you fight your traffic ticket, you may not get points and the insurance increase that comes along with it. You may not even have to pay your ticket at all.
You can fight it yourself or with a traffic ticket attorney, but by all means, fighting your ticket should be your first consideration. Most attorneys will give you a free consultation and tell you what you can expect. I can tell you from personal experience, in most cases, it will be a lot cheaper than what the insurance company will end up charging you.
If you want my opinion, email me at [email protected] or call me at 866-374-8355. If you can't decide what to do, click the button below for more information.
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