Insurance Rate Increases For These Different Traffic Violations

Those flashing red and blue lights usually come with a price. Well, two. One would be the cost of the fine, and the other would be the increase in your insurance rate. Depending on the traffic offense, those tickets can be costly. We aren’t breaking down the cost of the actual ticket, but the percentage increase in your insurance rate due to these different type of traffic violations.

Insurance.com surveyed six of the leading insurance carriers on 18 different ticket violations, and they received some interesting results. The car of choice for these violations was a 2017 Honda Accord LX with your regular insurance coverage.

As one would expect, drunk driving is the number one reason for insurance inflation at a whopping 79% increase. Street racing isn’t too far behind with a 73% increase, and reckless driving holds downs a 71% increase. Driving without a license or permit bumps it up 12%, while driving without a seatbelt is last on the list with 3%.

Keep in mind that every insurance company is different. According to Fox, the lowest rate for a driver going 16-29 over the posted limit would pay $1,449 at Geico but that changes with Allstate with $2,239, almost a full thousand dollar increase.

The breakdown goes as follows:

DUI/DWI first offense 79%

Reckless driving 73%

Operating a vehicle in a race (highway racing) 71%

Speeding 30+ over limit 30%

Careless driving 26%

Texting-while-driving 23%

Distracted driving 22%

Speeding 16-29 MPH over limit 22%

Improper/illegal pass 20%

Speeding 1-15 MPH over limit 20%

Following too closely 20%

Improper turn 20%

Failure to yield 20%

Failure to stop 19%

Talking on cell phone 16%

Driving without a license or permit 12%

Driving without insurance 10%

Seat belt infraction 3%