[lynchburgwildcats]

Got pulled over for speeding (59 in 45, didn't know speed limit had gone down to 45) yesterday, my first time. Officer said if I just go to my court date, then the judge would most likely give me driving school or something else to wipe it off my record since I have had no previous violations. So my question is, how much can I expect to have to spend for one of these classes in VA?

[jbock13]

In other states, it's like $50 or $75. I think DIP class in Virginia is $75. Not sure if the DIP class is what he was referencing.

I've never been pulled over but that's what I've heard from others.

[lynchburgwildcats]

Finally found some info from some DMV websites. One of the "sponsored" online classes approved by the DMV is $50, couldn't find info on the in-person classes though.

[LUconn]

why do you care if this is on your record? it's not reckless.

[ALUmnus]

Yeah, just try to get the judge to reduce the charges (which they usually due, especially if you're nice) and pay the fine. Driving school is so dumb. Eat the points.

[lynchburgwildcats]

Because I don't want to risk my car insurance increasing, I'm on a tight budget. I don't think it would increase for one ticket, but I don't trust insurance companies either...

[jbock13]

if you don't trust insurance companies, then switch to a new one. I know it's stupid but it's just the way it is.

[lynchburgwildcats]

if you don't trust insurance companies, then switch to a new one. I know it's stupid but it's just the way it is.

I universally don't trust them, it's not just my specific insurance company, so switching wouldn't make any difference...

[From the class of 09]

if you don't trust insurance companies, then switch to a new one. I know it's stupid but it's just the way it is.

I universally don't trust them, it's not just my specific insurance company, so switching wouldn't make any difference...

Why?

[jcmanson]

I've had the same insurance company since I started driving at 16. I've had countless tickets, especially in high school and college, and my insurance never once increased. I think I went to driving school once.

[lynchburgwildcats]

I've had the same insurance company since I started driving at 16. I've had countless tickets, especially in high school and college, and my insurance never once increased. I think I went to driving school once.

What's your insurance company?

[Sly Fox]

That's a very different experience than I have had historically. It has been my experience that ANY excuse will result in a premium hike. Heaven help you if you are involved in an accident that wasn't your fault. Because that is a guaranteed rate hike.

Suffice it to say that I am not a fan of insurance companies.

[lynchburgwildcats]

if you don't trust insurance companies, then switch to a new one. I know it's stupid but it's just the way it is.

I universally don't trust them, it's not just my specific insurance company, so switching wouldn't make any difference...

Why?

It's virtually a legalized ponzi scheme, except you don't get any money unless you make a claim. Same can be said for all insurance, hate all forms of insurance just about.

[lynchburgwildcats]

That's a very different experience than I have had historically. It has been my experience that ANY excuse will result in a premium hike. Heaven help you if you are involved in an accident that wasn't your fault. Because that is a guaranteed rate hike.

Suffice it to say that I am not a fan of insurance companies.

THis is another reason why I don't trust insurance companies and why I want to avoid a ticket to begin with. At this point, I want to leave as little to chance as possible.

I had someone dint my bumper and the area above the bumper, also cracking the encasing for by back end lights and messing up the paints. I didn't even report it to insurance because I knew in the long run it would be cheaper to just pay to fix it out of pocket than seeing my insurance rate get hiked up.

[jcmanson]

I've had the same insurance company since I started driving at 16. I've had countless tickets, especially in high school and college, and my insurance never once increased. I think I went to driving school once.

What's your insurance company?

State Farm

Several years ago I looked into switching and they did a jawdrop when they saw what I was paying compared to my record. I think I have one ticket on my record now though.

[ATrain]

That's a very different experience than I have had historically. It has been my experience that ANY excuse will result in a premium hike. Heaven help you if you are involved in an accident that wasn't your fault. Because that is a guaranteed rate hike.

Suffice it to say that I am not a fan of insurance companies.

Wow...that's a different experience than me. I've had two accidents that weren't my fault, and re-ended someone once on an icey road in the first snowstorm Roanoke had in December '09 after I moved there...my rates never changed.

However, generally any speeding ticket that results in points will cause an increase in rates, at least that's my understanding.

[Cider Jim]

Where's Officer Medic when we need him?

[sporter]

The method that an insurance company uses to derive premiums has changed quite a bit in the last few years. Until the changes, it was very easy to know whether your rates were going to jump as the ultimate number was based on just a few items i.e. age, gender, location, and points based off of your driving record ( the more severe the violation, the more severe the penalty). One basic speeding would not affect many folks as many companies considered it one point which did not jump you up to the next band ( all of the factors above had bands which were fairly wide).

The current way is a somewhat complex result driven from a matrix that contains many factors including the ones listed above but also added is your credit score, which is probably the most important factor along with driving record. It is difficult for even someone that works with the insurance company to understand what is driving a certain result as the factors all blend together to produce a result vs just having a few wide bands that are easy to follow.

On a side note - my son just got his first ticket. A cop spotted him rolling through the stop sign at the bottom of the hill on the backside of campus as he was entering onto Wards Road. Hard to get aggrevated at him as I have done that more than a few times just in my 4-5 visits to the school - didn't prevent me from giving a nice lecture about driving safety though as that is a parent's job.

[PAmedic]

I'd go with what he ^^^ said because honestly, I have no idea if your rates will change. We get asked that all the time. We don't report citations to your insurance company, but if they do a check they'd find it.

In PA, 3 pts come off every 12 calender months you go without any violations- so you'd basically be at 0 this time next year anyway. I'd think you'd probably be ok but thats my opinion.

Also, take the hearing. When the cop shows up, politely remind him who you are (because we just don't remember every citation, esp 3 months later) and advise him of your situation - ask if there is a comparable "no points" violation he can write you instead, and offer to plead to that. Some courts let us mod the ticket without a hearing, provided the operator will plead on it. Saves time and money.

He gets his OT, you pay a simple fine, and everybody is happy.

[jimflamesfan]

ok. In virginia...its cheaper to pay the speeding ticket in advance than to show up most of the time. If you show up in court...the judge will often offer to reduce the charge to defective equipment - a no points violation if you do driving school. But then you end up paying about 75 bucks for court costs and the defective driving...the the driving school costs you another 50 bucks...so youve got 125 right there and your advance payment is probably around 110 im guessing...however you do lose the points. one point probably wont hurt you that badly...i worked for an ins copany over 5 years. I think there is an obscure rule...if you go ahead and pay in advance and take the point...that point stays with you for 3 years...however at any time you can volumtarilly take driving school and loose 4 points off your record...so that would be an option if you just wanted to wait to see what happens down the road.

[thepostman]

That's a very different experience than I have had historically. It has been my experience that ANY excuse will result in a premium hike. Heaven help you if you are involved in an accident that wasn't your fault. Because that is a guaranteed rate hike.

Suffice it to say that I am not a fan of insurance companies.

Wow that is the polar opposite of my experience. I've had 2 tickets and 2 accidents, one my fault and one wasn't. In all the scenarios my rate went DOWN the following 6 months. I know this is not the norm, but that has been my experience.

[lynchburgwildcats]

My ticket will cost more than $110. Should be $131 - $61 "costs" and 70 fine. $110 total would have only been driving 10 miles over, likely wouldn't have even been pulled over. And no points ensures it won't effect my insurance, so I save money immediately and potentially long term.

[grm]

Out here in California, where you don't want to be on this stuff, tickets easily run over $400.
Driving school, if you haven't had a ticket in the last 18 months, keeps the ticket off your record, and there is no increase in insurance. You can take the course on line, pay the company about $20, and pay the State of California another fee for the "privilege" of taking the
driving course.

It's basically another form of taxation.