4 tickets that don't affect your car insurance premium (but you should still avoid)

When it comes to traffic tickets, there are usually three penalties for breaking the rules. There’s the fine itself, the effect the ticket has on your auto insurance rate, and the demerit points that are tacked on to your driving record.

But like any good rule, there are exceptions. Believe it or not, some tickets come with only a fine and won’t impact your insurance rate. However, the fine is often hefty enough to deter repeat offenders.

Tickets that won’t result in a premium hike

Most tickets will indeed affect your premiums; however, there are four that won’t:

1. Parking tickets

Parking tickets do not affect your auto insurance rate. But if you decide to skip out on paying your parking ticket, you could cause yourself a whole lot of hassle when it’s time to renew your licence plate.

You’ll likely have to pay for your ticket(s), as well as the extra fees incurred as a result of non-payment.

2. Driving with an expired licence sticker

This ticket is no longer existent in Alberta and Ontario, as these two provinces have done away with licence plate stickers altogether.

However, in both provinces, you still need to renew your licence plate and vehicle registration annually. If you don’t, it will cost you — a lesson some Ontario drivers have been learning the hard way.

3. Red-light camera tickets

Red-light camera tickets also do not affect your car insurance rate because it’s impossible to identify the driver in a red-light camera ticket photo. Therefore, the ticket can’t be tied to any person’s driving record — just the vehicle itself.

If you run a red light at an intersection where there is a red-light camera, a photo will be taken of the vehicle’s licence plate. A ticket is then mailed to the registered owner of the car. The registered owner is on the hook to pay the fine because there is no way of telling who was driving at the time of the infraction.

The fine for a red-light camera ticket in Ontario is $325, and in Alberta, it’s $405.

4. Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) cameras

For the same reason a red-light camera ticket doesn’t affect your premium, a ticket from an ASE camera doesn’t as well. There’s no way to know who was driving when the camera caught the vehicle speeding. That doesn’t mean, however, the fines are not significant. The fines are considerable because ASE cameras are generally located in Community Safety Zones.

Community Safety Zones are locations where schools are found. These are areas where a driver should know to expect children nearby and drive even more carefully. As a result, the cost of a speeding ticket can be significant for those who set aside safety.

In Ontario, the fine for speeding in these zones starts at $5.00 per kilometre over the limit and increases the faster you go. And, if you’re caught going 50 km/h or more over the limit, you don’t need to worry about getting a speeding ticket in the mail. Instead, you’ll receive a court date with a Justice of the Peace.
 

In Alberta, the fines are also significant. And, similar to Ontario, if you’re caught going 51 km/h or more over the limit you’ll have to appear in court to address your actions.

In both provinces, the actual amount you’ll pay is higher, as there are court fees tacked on to the fine as well as surcharges.

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