There are a lot of things that race through your head when you get a ticket. You might say “Oh great, I don’t have the money to pay for this” or, more likely, you might be thinking “I hope that police officer gets an inoperable tumor at the base of his spine.” Either way, most drivers also consider this possibility: “I wonder what this will do to my insurance rates.” Yes, it is true that many traffic tickets can raise your insurance considerably; DUI and speeding tickets are among the worst for this sort of thing. But that doesn’t mean that each and every ticket will result in higher rates.
Seat belt Violation
It is actually rather surprising that a ticket for not wearing your seat belt doesn’t affect your rates. After all, a seat belt is one of the most essential, life-saving things ever invented. You would think that an insurance company would see someone who doesn’t wear his or her safety belt as a person who likes to take unnecessary risks. But either way, rest easy if you got a seat belt violation. Your insurance won’t go up. Do, however, think long and hard about why it is you don’t wear a seat belt, because it is after all very foolish of you.
Littering
You can relax, litterbug. Yes, you desecrated our beautiful natural landscape and you have shown a flagrant disregard for simple human politeness. But at least your rates won’t rise. Sure, littering is a disgusting habit but it doesn’t necessarily reflect a person’s driving ability. The worst driver in the world could have a spotless littering record while a world class driver may throw Big Gulps and beef jerky packets out of his car just for fun. But while your insurance company may not see you as a greater risk for your littering offense, the rest of us will see you as a giant jerk.
Driving With an Expired License
This is pretty interesting. If you drive with a suspended or revoked license, you can serve jail time and your car insurance premiums will skyrocket. It is one of the worst offenses both in the eyes of the law and the insurance industry. But if your license has simply expired, you’ll receive a ticket and that will essentially be that. You’ll be notified that you must get a new license promptly but from an insurance standpoint, your premium will stay the same. Do remember to renew that license, though. Sure it’s expensive but it’s also the law.