Author Topic: What is the REAL cost of a moving violation (traffic ticket)? (Read 4785 times)

Neil Obstat · « **on:** March 30, 2014, 09:10:25 PM »

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I heard a report on the radio today, on the Ric Edelman show, where he gave some startling statistics. What does it really cost when you get a citation for illegal lane change, straddling lanes, turning left without using a turn signal, failing to come to a complete stop at a stop sign -- you know, very low-level items?

Your auto insurance will increase about 20%, and it goes on for two or more years, because you get a point on your driving record. If you pay $1,000 a year for auto insurance, you can figure 20% more is $400, and then add 400 for next year, 400 for the following year, as long as it remains, so that's going to be $1,200 plus or minus, over the next several years, and that doesn't include the cost of the ticket itself. Edelman said "$25 or $50" but I think it's more like $80 and up, in California. For most tickets they add a "penalty assessment" to the fine, which more than doubles it. That's peculiar to California, though, I hope.

For more serious offenses, the rate is higher. He said a Reckless Driving conviction will cost you a 73% increase and a DUI will cost 89%. So, for a $1,000 policy the Reckless conviction will be $1,700 (+/-) more for insurance the first few years, which adds up to perhaps $5,000 for insurance alone. If you get an attorney for the Reckless, it will be $500 to $1,000 for an hour or two of his time. They like really high retainers for Reckless Driving cases. A DUI will almost double your insurance. I heard elsewhere that the court costs and attorney fees in CA for a DUI used to be about $10,000, but now they're up to $18,000. Then you can add to that the insurance increase, if your license isn't revoked, which would be $6 k for increased insurance premiums, for a total of $24,000 for one drunk driving conviction.

I was in traffic court about 15 years ago, when the case right in front of me was a man who had taken a flight from New York just for his court appearance. He had been on holiday in CA when he got a ticket, and his court date was 6 weeks into the future, so he went home to NY and returned in 6 weeks just for this stupid ticket, then turned around and went back to NY right after he walked out of the courthouse. The judge seemed to think that was perfectly reasonable, and gave him good credit for his diligence.

So don't get a DUI when you're out of state. You'll have to add a few hundred more (minimum) to the $24 k bill for airplane tickets. And your lawyer will probably be out of town for you, too, unless you want to pay for his plane tickets as well.

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crossbro · « **Reply #1 on:** March 31, 2014, 01:22:03 AM »

There is also another aspect of the cost.

The more people who get tickets in your area will cause your own insurance to increase whether you get a ticket or not.

You have probably heard of these monitors that insurance agencies are offering customers to put on their cars so they can earn safe driving discounts ?

I am sure that in the future those monitors will become mandatory. In fact, that industry will probably lobby at state and federal levels to make it into law that your car get a monitor so they can increase your rates whether you get a ticket or not.

ggreg · « **Reply #2 on:** March 31, 2014, 04:32:10 AM »

Why should any Catholic or any person with a sense of morality get a DUI?

Drinking and driving is GROSSLY irresponsible and immoral. When you get behind a 1 ton piece of metal and pilot it at up to 70-80mph, you should have all of your faculties about you. If you kill or maim someone, they have to suffer much more than the loss of $24k.

$24,000 seems to me to be an appropriate punishment if people are going to learn not to do it again. I represents the cost of an average new car.

If I am driving I will either not drink at all or limit myself to a small glass of wine or beer for a SINGLE toast. It's simple enough. If you drink or plan to drink, then don't drive any car.

Matthew · « **Reply #3 on:** March 31, 2014, 08:04:28 AM »

Quote from: ggreg

Why should any Catholic or any person with a sense of morality get a DUI?

Drinking and driving is GROSSLY irresponsible and immoral. When you get behind a 1 ton piece of metal and pilot it at up to 70-80mph, you should have all of your faculties about you. If you kill or maim someone, they have to suffer much more than the loss of $24k.

$24,000 seems to me to be an appropriate punishment if people are going to learn not to do it again. I represents the cost of an average new car.

If I am driving I will either not drink at all or limit myself to a small glass of wine or beer for a SINGLE toast. It's simple enough. If you drink or plan to drink, then don't drive any car.

Even most modern-day pagans understand the difference between getting drunk, and getting drunk and then driving a car.

Catholics shouldn't be getting drunk -- if they really have that vice, they should give up alcohol or really hit the fasting/abstaining this Lent because they obviously need it.

Drunkenness, as a vice, has two "best friends": gluttony and fornication. Where there is drunkenness, the other two are close by. And Our Lady said that more people go to Hell from sins of the flesh than for any other reason.

Dolores · « **Reply #4 on:** March 31, 2014, 12:10:33 PM »

Obey the traffic laws and you won't get any moving violations, and you won't have to worry about this.

Of all the things the government does, I think one of the least objectionable is enforcing traffic laws. There is nothing immoral about such laws, they are not overly burdensome or complex, and they exist for the safety of drivers and passengers.