What kind of impact do speeding tickets make on your insurance? To answer this question you must first look at the number of factors that create the overall cost of insurance.  This would include your driving record as well as driving history.  According to recent studies, speeding is the most relevant factor in nearly 35% of all auto accidents.  Obviously speeding is a contributor to risk, and insurance companies don’t like risk.  It has also been studied that a majority of people that receive speeding citations reduce their speed after getting a ticket. This is not a permanent change, and usually only lasts a couple of months.  Safe driving habits cannot be forced on someone and cause lasting results.

Habitual speeders have over a 50% chance of being fatally injured in a car accident than someone who maintains traffic laws.  This is the main reason why there are such big consequences on insurance for speeders.  Depending on your driving record a single speeding ticket can increase your rates by up to 27%.  This will start to hurt your pocket book over time.  Also, when you receive a speeding citation, one point is added to your record.  If you accumulate too many points in a three year period there can be huge increases in your insurance premiums (thousands of dollars).

One thing to note is that if you have gotten a lot of tickets in a short amount of time and hiked your insurance rates up, switching to a new insurance provider will not help.  Any new insurance carrier will likely be harder on you than your current insurance company if you have a risky driving record.  You’re better off to stay with your current provider and work things out.

No matter what the case, it is always smart to try and fight speeding tickets insurance.  It can save you a lot of money in the long run.  There is a good chance you can either win the case or get the charges reduced.  Just remember to be polished and respectful.  Don’t admit that your guilty and look for any situational weather or traffic conditions that might be in your favor.

The best way to keep your insurance premiums low is to not get any tickets in the first place.  Be a smart driver and your insurance company will reward you.  Be aware of traffic laws and don’t do anything to make you stand out to police officers (i.e. aggressive driving, swerving in and out of lanes, or staying in the fast lane).

The most common citations out there are speeding tickets.  There are a few different devices that cops use to monitor speed, including radar, laser, or Accutrak.  Radar guns are the most widespread and common among officers of the law.  Because of this it is important to know about how radar guns clock your speed in order to fight the speeding ticket.  It is also important to know some of the common problems that radar guns have in miscalculating your speed.  Here is a list of some of those common discrepancies you can cite when fighting the speeding tickets.

1. Mechanical Interference.  Many times the heating fan or air conditioning of the police car can throw off readings.  This would also include ignition noises, alternator, rotating signs near the roadway, or anything else mechanical that is near the device that could throw it off.

2. Shadowing.  This is caused when a moving police car is targeting a moving target.  The targeted speed is calculated by subtracting the speed of the cop car with the speed of the target.  This can cause inaccuracies in readings.

3. Panning.  When the hand held radar gun is rotated across the dashboard of the patrol car or the control unit that is mounted to the dash.  Once again this can cause inaccurate readings as well.

4. Microwave or Radio interference.  Ham, CB radio, cell phone, power line, vapor lights, or any other kind of outside source of transmission will throw off calculations.  This is why it is so important that radar guns are re-calibrated every 30-60 days.  There are so many different frequencies that can throw off the gun.

5. Batching.  This happens when the patrol car is either accelerating or braking when the radar gun is still trying to calculate the speed of the target car.

Because of all of these different inaccuracies it is important to ask a lot of questions about the speed tracking device when trying to fight a ticket.  If the gun has not been calibrated recently there is a good chance that the information is incorrect and your case will be dismissed.  It is also important to note how and where the officer clocked your speed.  As was discussed above, if the police officer was in a moving vehicle when he clocked you, there are any number of different variables to be considered.  While these radar guns are fairly amazing in theory they are not perfect, so knowing more about them can help you to avoid getting citations and paying fines that maybe you weren’t guilty of.  Radar speeding tickets can and should be investigated in order to avoid undeserved citations.

Speeding tickets are almost always expensive.  They come with a large fine and usually raise your insurance premiums.  Most Americans just take what’s given to them and don’t ask questions.  Did you know you can fight your ticket and either get the charges dropped or get a lesser charge that doesn’t affect your insurance?  Take control of your life and take these steps to preserve your driving record and also your wallet.

1.  Check the box on the ticket that says you want a hearing.  Write down the court date and mail the ticket in.  Mark your court date on your calendar and start preparing for your hearing.

2. Show up early or at least on time to your hearing.  If you are early you might be able to get in as one of the first cases which can only help you since the judge will more likely still be in a good mood.  This might get you a more lenient sentence.  Also if you are late the judge will see you as irresponsible, which means you probably did speed.

3. Dress nice to your court appearance.  If you are a man wear a suit, and if you are a women I would suggest a dress.  This shows that you are respectful and you are taking it seriously.  If you show up in tattered jeans and a t-shirt you are more likely to be handed the citation.

4. Be pleasant and polite.  Don’t point blame on the officer or the radar gun, or any other type of excuse.  Just simply state what you were doing, where you were going, and what happened.  Chances are if you are honest and polite the judge will at least reduce your sentence.  This alone would be worth it.

5. Don’t admit your guilt. If you go before the judge and admit you were speeding then you have lost the case already.  However if the judge still rules in favor of the full citation request a trial.  Usually the judge will not want to have the court spend thousands of dollars for a one hundred dollar citation to go to trial.

All of these are valid ways to help you get out of a speeding ticket.  The more you know about the law and it’s processes, the better you can prepare to get out of your speeding citation.  Fighting speeding tickets doesn’t have to to be difficult but it does take some research.  Check out all of your options and assess if it will be worth it.