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Considering a Comedy Traffic School?

Posted on: September 30th, 2011 by Traffic School

Do you need to take traffic school to dismiss a ticket or due to a court order? It can be tempting to take a comedy traffic school in hopes that it will be more entertaining than normal courses. However, when you are considering a comedy traffic school, it is important to make sure that it truly is the right option for you. Here are some questions to ask yourself when considering comedy traffic schools?

1. Is it the lowest price traffic school option? Since most people are taking traffic school as a way to save money on their future insurance rates and the traffic ticket itself, always compare the price of comedy traffic school against traditional traffic schools. In many cases the courses are more expensive and it may not be worth the extra money.
2. Is it available online and can you take it on your own schedule? Many comedy traffic school courses must be taken in person. This can be very inconvenient. It is smart to check and compare comedy traffic school to other online options in which you can take the course at your own pace.
3. Is it DMV approved? Not every traffic school is DMV approved so it is imperative to make sure the comedy traffic school that you are considering is actually approved by the DMV in your county or state. Traffic school courses that are not DMV approved do not count.
4. Does it have high customer satisfaction ratings? The last thing to consider is if it has high customer satisfaction ratings. This is your best insight into whether the comedy traffic school course is actually even funny. If you do decide on a comedy traffic school course, you want one with high ratings.

Find the Lowest Price Traffic School

Posted on: September 28th, 2011 by Traffic School

Taking a traffic school or defensive driving course is a great way to dismiss a ticket, lower insurance costs, and learn new driving skills, but for many it can be difficult to find the lowest priced traffic school. And likely since you are already trying to save money by taking the traffic school course in the first place, you are probably looking to find the lowest priced traffic school out there. Here are some tips to help you find the lowest priced traffic school out there:

1. Shop Around: Like with anything else, it is always a good idea to shop around to find the lowest price traffic school option in your area. Look for all of the DMV approved traffic schools in your area and available online and compare costs.
2. Factor in Additional Costs: There are two key factors you should factor into the cost of traffic school to make sure it is actually the lowest priced traffic school. First, if you are attending an in person traffic school, factor in the cost of traveling back and forth to the course. Secondly, since some courses have an additional charge for processing and mailing in your certificate of completion, make sure to find out how much that will cost and add that to the price. Try to find a course that will do this for free.
3. Consider Online Options: In many cases since gas is so expensive, the cheapest options are going to be online. Look for an online school that offers free certificate delivery and that you can sign into as many times as you like. Online options also allow you to complete the course on your own schedule meaning you won’t lose time or money from having to miss work or other important commitments.

How Much a Speeding Ticket Cost? The $4,685 Speeding Ticket!

Posted on: September 26th, 2011 by Traffic School

Most of us have been pulled over at one time or another in our lives and it is extremely easy to just pay it rather than deal with the hassle of fighting it in court or taking traffic school. We think, “How much can just one ticket really cost me over time?” Well let’s explore that question a little by looking at a common example.

Let’s imagine you are on a joint auto insurance policy with your spouse. You pay $200 monthly for this policy. You got one ticket 6 months ago for speeding, just 10 miles over the limit. Luckily you live in a state that ignores the first traffic citation, so your insurance rates didn’t change. However yesterday your spouses called and let you know they were pulled over for making an illegal left turn. Let’s look at what this one small ticket can actually cost you over time.

First let’s look at the cost of the ticket. The ticket itself was for $150, but after the court fees and additional costs, it really ended up costing $365.

Then, since it was the second offense on your joint policy, there is a 20% surcharge added to your insurance rates. In your state, this rate increase lasts for 6 years. Not only that, you lost your “safe driver discount” which gave you an extra 10% discount off. That means in full, your auto insurance is going to increase by 30% each month for the next 6 years.

What does that mean over time? First we have the cost of the ticket – $365. On top of that, we have a 30% increase to your auto insurance each month, meaning you now pay $260 monthly. Each year that is an additional $720 you will pay for your auto insurance. In six years that this will stay on your record, that is an additional $4,320. When we add the ticket cost to this, you have just spent almost $5000 on that ticket.

So what can you do to avoid that? Essentially you have two options. The first is to take traffic school to dismiss your ticket. The second is to fight your ticket in court. Both cost substantially less than the $4685 you would have spent. Traffic school courses are usually about $35 and a lawyer can cost around $150.

Which Cars Get the Most Traffic Tickets?

Posted on: September 24th, 2011 by Traffic School

In 2010, Quality Planning came out with a study of what cars and models were most likely to get traffic tickets.  Since auto insurance companies sometimes based insurance rates on statistical driving information (think the age old adage that driving a red convertible is more expensive) this information can be important to know if you are car shopping or wondering about your insurance rates.  According to their study, here are the cars that had the most citations in 2010:

  • Mercedes Benz SL-Class Convertible
  • Toyota Camry Solara Coupe
  • Scion tC Coupe
  • Hummer H2/H3 SUV
  • Mercedes Benz CLS-63 AMG Sedan
  • Acura Integra Coupe
  • Pontiac Grand Prix Sedan
  • Mercedes Benz CLK-63 AMG Sedan
  • Volkswagen GTI Hatchback

For anyone considering buying one of these cars, they can be more expensive to insurance according to experts.  Insurance companies use many different types of data, including the car you drive, your driving history, age, location, credit rating, and more to determine your insurance rate.  If you do drive one of these cars and are looking for to lower your insurance rate, you may consider taking a traffic school course to lower your insurance rates.

Auto Insurance and Traffic Tickets

Posted on: September 24th, 2011 by Traffic School

As the price of auto insurance continues to rise for most people, especially in urban areas, many people do not realize the serious impact that traffic tickets can have on your auto insurance rates.  According to a recent study from a leading insurance website*, having traffic violations on your record can increase your auto insurance rates by up to 50% if you have multiple tickets.  Specifically, according to the study:

  • Zero traffic tickets: $1,119
  • One traffic ticket: $1,318
  • Two traffic tickets: $1,497
  • Three traffic tickets: $1,713

That means that people with three violations on their driving record pay on average 53% more than someone without a traffic violation. These numbers can also increase even more depending on the type of violation. Reckless driving, driving under the influence, and other serious offenses will cause steeper auto insurance increases than less severe traffic citations.

*Data from Insurance.com

What Can I Do If My Insurance Premium Increases

Posted on: September 24th, 2011 by Traffic School

Did you recently get a traffic ticket or have your insurance premium increase? Insurance premiums can increase for many reasons.  The most common is getting a traffic citation.  Many people don’t know that getting just one ticket can increase your insurance premium by as much as 20% in many states. Additionally, your auto insurance premiums may increase if you move, get a different car, change your policy, or even change jobs.  Luckily there are some things you can do when this happens to lower your insurance cost.

  1. Take a Traffic School or Defensive Driving Course:  One of the fastest and easiest way to lower your insurance premiums is to take a traffic school or defensive driving course.  You can take one of these courses whether you received a ticket or just for insurance reduction.  If you take the course to dismiss your ticket, then you won’t experience the rate increase that likely would have occurred.  If you take it for insurance reduction, you can get between a 15%-25% discount with most insurance companies.   Most of these courses cost around $30, take about 4 hours, and can save you about $200 annually if you have one ticket on your record.
  2. Shop Around for New Auto Insurance Policies:  With online auto insurance quotes it is extremely easy to compare insurance companies, policies, and rates.  First figure out what kind of coverage you need and then get between 3-5 online auto insurance quotes.  You may be able to find a cheaper plan for the auto insurance coverage you need.
  3. Ask for a Higher Deductible:  One last way to lower your insurance premiums is to ask to raise your deductible.  However, it is important to weight the pros and cons of doing this.  If you do get into an accident, you will need to pay the deductible before the insurance will kick in.  That means you should only raise your deductible if you have that money and are willing to take the extra risk.

Likely the easiest and least risky choice is to take an online traffic school, defensive driving, or insurance reduction course.  Although it does take some time to complete the course, it ensure that you are not taking on any additional risk.