Here are a few little known facts about tickets:
1) Tickets stay on your driver abstract for 3 long years. Suspensions stay on for 6 years. If you are fighting a ticket, it's important to know that the "date" insurance companies look at is the date you are convicted, not the date the ticket was written.
2) There are new, stricter, consequences if you are caught speeding 50km over the speed limit.
- Your vehicle will be towed on the spot and you must pay the towing fees.
- Your vehicle will be confiscated and stored for 7 days and you'll have to pay for the storage cost.
- You could face fines from $2,000 to $10,000.
- You could face possible jail time and your insurance rate may end up increasing over 300%.
3) Any passengers under the age of 16 caught not wearing their seat belt will count as a ticket against your driving record.
4) Tickets affect your insurance rates differently from insurance company to insurance company. Approximately 50% of insurance companies can increase your rates by $500 for having only one ticket. All insurance companies will increase your rates for two tickets, up to $1,500; while 3 tickets could cause a cancellation.
Some insurance companies will not renew your policy if you obtained 3 or more tickets within 3 years. So, if you get pulled over and ticketed for:
- driving with no passengers in the "High Occupancy Vehicle" (HOV) lanes; and
- driving with an obstructed view; and
- driving with a dirty license plate, then
That's 3 strikes...and you're out!
5) Photo radar tickets have absolutely no affect on your insurance rates. This is because only your vehicle can be identified, not the driver.
6) If you're convicted of driving without car insurance, you could be fined up to $5,000. Trying to get insurance after that will be expensive for at least 3 additional years.
The OPP recently ticketed 22,000 people for driving without insurance.
If you're currently driving without insurance, go to InsuranceHotline.com right now and get a quote for liability coverage only with no collision or comprehensive coverage, and you should be able to find an affordable insurance rate.
