Not Reckless, Just Driving (insurance, DMV, moving)

[WoolSlippers]

I got pulled over for going 5-9 mph over the 55 mph limit on 495. It's my first speeding ticket in over 30 years of driving. I like the idea of paying it and being done, but I don't want my insurance rates to increase due to the three points that would go on my DMV record.

Any tips for what to say at court? I know the DMV puts the points on your record, not the judge.

Thanks!

[johnsonkk]

Is this post real? So you were bumping along the beltway at 60-64mph and got pulled over and were ticketed? Your only rational excuse to the judge will be that everyone does 60mph on the beltway and see if the judge dismisses the ticket. There isn't much lower to go on tickets; maybe equipment defect but one minor ticket over three decades will not dent your insurance. That's stating you have traveled nearly 400,000 miles over the course of 30 years and got this one ticket. Congrats.

[boyd888]

Nothing will happen to your insurance - they won't even find out about it. This is a giant myth (that your insurance will go up due to one ticket) that won't die.

Assuming you have a VA license you have +5 points due to 5+ years without a ticket so -3 will still leave you at +2. You'd have to get to like -18 in a year to get your license suspended.

I would just pay the ticket. That's the purpose of the VA point system: that you can get a "free" traffic ticket every couple of years without any ill effects. Sure you could go to court, but they will likely just decrease the fine which isn't worth the time spent going to court.

[WoolSlippers]

Thanks for your responses.

Unfortunately, the post is real. The officer asked me if there was any reason why I was going that fast and I told him I was staying with traffic. I wanted to say that I was moving forward but that would have been a bit sassy.

I called my insurance and they did say my rates would increase, which is dumb, but there it is.

[Flamingo13]

I find it hard to believe you were pulled over for that speed (although you don't say WHAT the speed was - they don't give you a range, you get a ticket for an exact speed).

[Carlingtonian]

My brother got a ticket for drinking and driving. However, he was drinking milk at the time. However, it was milk of magnesia. But it was with a dash of rum. Also, he was on the riding mower, doing laps in the yard. I should mention, though, that it wasn't his yard but the yard of the police station. Oh, and the police station was in Finland, so the ticket was for not being drunk enough.

This is my way of saying I too think something is not accurate in the OP's description. Going even 65 on the Beltway is a sure way to get rear-ended, probably by me. No cop would give you a ticket for going less than that unless you were doing something else worth ticketing. And like Flamingo13 said, it would be for a specific speed.

[WoolSlippers]

I found it hard to believe, too, and only came upon this forum when I was searching for information on speeding tickets. My ticket has an exact speed in the range I stated.

Okay, so going over 55 mph in a 55 zone is illegal, but I'm pretty sure I'd get run over out there going 55. So obviously I'm guilty but I think I was driving safely.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by WoolSlippers

I found it hard to believe, too, and only came upon this forum when I was searching for information on speeding tickets. My ticket has an exact speed in the range I stated.

Okay, so going over 55 mph in a 55 zone is illegal, but I'm pretty sure I'd get run over out there going 55. So obviously I'm guilty but I think I was driving safely.

Then I would definitely fight it in court. Technically, you were breaking the law, but I have a hard time imagining a judge not throwing that out. That's just a guess, though.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by WoolSlippers

I called my insurance and they did say my rates would increase, which is dumb, but there it is.

May I ask what insurance company you have that would raise your rates for one minor ticket in 30 years??

My insurance didn't raise my rates for a "failure to obey sign" (nice way to say speeding) ticket, nor my husband's speeding ticket. More importantly, they didn't raise our rates for the four, yes four, claims we have made over the last three years for deer collisions.

[WoolSlippers]

Originally Posted by spencgr

May I ask what insurance company you have that would raise your rates for one minor ticket in 30 years.

Rhymes with Blue Mess Say Say.

Trying to not trash a business. Forum rules and all. . .