1st speeding ticket insurance rates?

AVIP · Post by **AVIP** » 11 Mar 2014, 22:40

Got my first speeding ticket going 7 over on the highway by DPS. Does anyone know if these 2 points will raise my insurance? I have state farm in texas

Post by **precopster** » 11 Mar 2014, 23:59

If you tell them it will!!

Of course we all adhere to the honesty system here at MVS.

Post by **jimmy57** » 12 Mar 2014, 08:19

Yes, it is likely SF will run driving record report. I am not so sure that they don't have your DL number on a search now given the services that search public records these days. The credit reporting companies do all sorts of other services with public records....
You have two options that keep the ticket off your record in Texas: go to courthouse or justice of the peace (whichever is on the ticket as the court you must use) and speak to court clerk. You can plead guilty in either case and ask either to take defensive driving course or ask for deferred adjudication. DD course is taken online and you have to get a copy of your driving record from DPS in Austin. Clerk will hand you the sheet with instructions. You will pay court costs and total will be within a few dollars of ticket cost.
DA is basically probation and you pay the court costs and some other fees and again it ends up being within dollars of paying the fine for the ticket.
DD course will get you a discount from insurance company for 2 years (I think 2 years) so that is a benefit of doing that one.
I have done DD course enough times that I think I have a doctorate in the course.
I have also done DA because I got a ticket very soon after getting another one and couldn't take DD again. You can have DA in one jurisdiction and take DD to cure a ticket in another jurisdiction. DD can only be done once per year (unless it has changed. I have been without a ticket in 4 years or a little more).

Post by **jblackburn** » 12 Mar 2014, 13:59

+1 on the defensive driving course - got out of one myself that way. When State Farm runs a driving record report in a few months (usually when your contract renewal is about to come up), that will show up on there.

Some insurance companies will forgive one minor offense like 7 MPH over. I don't know if State Farm does or not.

AVIP · Post by **AVIP** » 12 Mar 2014, 16:33

Called my agent I gave in. She said she could not find the record of the ticket. But she advised the driving class is a good idea because not only will I keep my good driver discount but it removes the ticket and is cheaper than the ticket itself. Can't argue with her lol