Will Traffic Tickets Affect My Auto Insurance Rates in Washington
Reader’s Question:
I’ve had a few traffic violation citations here in Washington State. How will my driving history affect my vehicle insurance policy rates? The latest violation I had happened 2 months ago.
Anthony,
Bellevue, WA
The Washington State Office notes that auto insurance companies must compute the vehicle insurance rates based on the dollar amount. This base rate must be adjusted according to certain factors determined by the auto insurance company. These are gender, age, marital status, model and make of the vehicle, driving history, credit history, claims history, and geographical area. The vehicle insurance carrier may impose an additional charge if you have been in an accident or you have violated a traffic rule. This is referred to as a surcharge.
The WA Department of Leasing (DOL) notes that convictions and violations or infractions will be kept in your driving record for five years upon the conviction date. For collisions, this will be recorded in your MVR. The record will show who are involved in the incident, whether one or none of the involved parties were parked when the incident happened, the persons affected and the type of injury it caused them. For private vehicles, the incident will stay in the driver’s record for 5 years, while for commercial vehicles, it’s 10 years.
In WA, the auto insurance company decides on how long the violations or accidents could affect a driver’s vehicle’s insurance rate. However, most insurance companies will rate you based on your moving violations for a period of 3, 5 or 7 years, depending on the frequency of occurrence of the violations and accidents.
WA Auto Insurance Quote
Reader’s Question:
My son received a speeding ticket in the state of Nevada, is it true that this will not go in his driving record in the state of Washington. What if you get involved in an accident and its not your fault, will it still be put in your driving record?
Sarah
Thank you for asking Sarah.
States records on a driver’s motor vehicle records (MVR) if an accident has occurred involving them, but do not assign who is at fault. Collisions involving non-commercial cars stays on the individual’s driving record for 5 years from the date of collision. Collisions that involves commercial cars remain on the record for 10 years.
The state of Washington documents accidents on your driving record to show involvement, but the WA Department of Licensing (DOL) does not determine fault for the collisions.
Regarding the speeding ticket that your son received, both NV and WA are members of the Drivers License Compact. This means that Nevada’s DMV should share the information regarding the moving violation to Washington’s DOL.
Some states that are part of this Compact do not to assess points or put the out of state infraction on the individual’s driving record, but others do.
Goodluck!
MariCAR
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