Insurance and NJ No-Point Ticket option

qbrozen

seems like you should be in pretty good shape since your speed wasn't that excessive (although they do frown more upon speeding in a 25 than a 55). I wouldn't worry too much about a fine. Points are what you need to worry about. Even if they were to charge you $500 (which won't happen), its worth it if it means zero points. The actual amount of the fine depends on what they reduce your ticket to. They could go with that "failure to produce documentation" thing, which they raised, I believe, to $160 last year. Its a real money-maker for them.

simplesweetchi

I am paying out the butt for Car insurance. I couldn't understand it because I have a clean drivers license. NO POINTS!!!! SO i have been bouncing around from company to company trying to find a cheap rate. So here's my background. I have had my license 8 years. No accidents no points. I was suspended 3 yrs ago for 2 months for parking tickets. During which i had dropped my car insurance because I couldn't use my car. I recently signed on with geico and told me i had INSURANCE points...What the heck is that??? Evidently when i canceled my policy it made me incur insurance points because my car was still registered. I was also told by Geico that this stays on my record for 10 YEARS!!!!! IS this legal??? How is this possible??? Does anybody know anything about this????

qbrozen

I can't say I'm surprised, but 10 years seems excessive. do they have a sliding scale? I know my insurance company counts insurance points for 3 years, then slides the rates back till the 5-year mark, then slides them each year till, I believe, around year 8. Mind you, NO new points can be incurred during that time, or you start all over again.

cadillacmike

they increase what they are stealing, oops, taking, out of your pocket :mad:

No wonder most people hate ins companies almost as much as they hate lawyers, banks & the IRS :shades:

some states don't allow this BS, but in the overregulated overly liberal northeast, this is the norm. You should move here to FL where an estimated 33% of the drivers have no insurance. I can verify that because some dope with no ins rear-ended me a few years back :mad:

qbrozen

Funny you should say that. Yes, in the case of these points staying on your insurance for so long, I believe we can blame the insurance companies. BUT, interestingly (or aggravatingly) enough, insurance SURCHARGES are actually charged by the state! I didn't know this until about 5 years ago or so when I received a bill stating that I had to send money to Trenton for this so-called insurance surcharge. I called to inquire what this was about. Again, they explained it as an insurance surcharge. When I asked why the bill didn't come from my insurance company, I was told because my insurance company is not the one charging me, but the state is!! Needless to say, I tore into this poor woman who had absolutely nothing to do with creating these ridiculous rules. So.... short of it is .... the insurance surcharge in NJ has absolutely NOTHING to do with insurance.

jewelz129

I recently got my first speeding ticket.. for doing 39 in a 25 . I hear that with the plead no points rule, i can lower my 2 pts down to 0 pts. Is this 100% guaranteed? How much will I end up paying?

Also, if I do get it lowered to 0 pts, will my insurance company find out? And increase my premium? And will my speed violation remain on my driving record?

Thank you so much for all your help everyone!

~worried

qbrozen

Just FYI, if you live in Jersey, 14 mph over is a 4-point ticket.

Nothing in life is guaranteed.

If you get points, yes, your insurance company will most definitely find out, yes, it will most definitely remain on your driving record, but will it increase your premium? All depends on the insurance company's rules.

ali_b

I recently got 2 tickets on Rt1 in North Brunswick on 4/09/05 and Ive already filed my not guilty plea with the court clerk there.

The first ticket is 80 in a 55 (Safe Zone)
I was observing local traffic patterns, and still going slower than many other drivers on the road. I wasnt going that fast, but I dont know how to prove it. Also, the Officer followed me in my blind spot for over 2 miles before he pulled me over, ignoring other drviers speeding past us on the right in favour of pursuing me. When I slowed down to let him pass (cuz I couldnt tell it was a cop- just some shadowy car in my blind spot) he slowed down as well, and when I tried to speed up to get over to the right myself, he would match my speed in my blind spot. I dont feel targeted, but I do feel that this was very unprofessional behavior esp considering he allowed other offenders traveling far faster than both of us to pass on the right. I have a witness in the car who could attest to these facts. Do I need to bring the witness to court with me? or can I just get a notarized letter from them?

Whats confusing is that the Statute violated on the Ticket is 4-98 which is only a 2pt violation, though it should have been statute 4-99 a 4 pt ticket (given my speed). Where does the Safe Corridor fine kick in? Will this be a 4pt or 2 pt ticket according to the miswritten statute? And how will the Safe Zone nature of the road section affect my ability to plead down to a no point offense?

The second ticket is Failure to Observe Signal (the light was yellow, he says it was red), and again I have a witness who can attest to that.

Advice? how should I proceed gathering information to tackle the tickets. I really cant afford any points. Though I have a clean driving record, I recently moved to NJ from NY and the insurance companies here are treating me like Im a 17 year old driver. Im paying more than $4000 a year for just me with no points. Id appreciate any help you could offer!! thank you thank you!!

qbrozen

i don't know about these statute numbers, but, unless things have changed, the scale is usually based on how much over the speed limit you were travelling. Speeding is speeding, but the points can vary based on how excessive. Its been a few years since I received a ticket, but how it used to work is 1-9 mph over is 2 pts, 10-19 is 4, and 20+ is 5 and mandatory court appearance (if i'm remembering correctly). the safe corridor laws doubles fines in those areas.

jewelz129

Actually I've looked up on the NJ DMV site, and 1-14mph over speed limit is 2 pts.

qbrozen

hey, cool. you're right.
And 5 points doesn't happen till 30 mph over.
I can start driving faster! lol.

and now i see what the last poster was talking about in regards to the statute numbers.

for anyone else interested, here is the direct link:
http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/cit_violations/d_vp_pnf.html

qbrozen

so, based on those last couple of messages, I don't know what you should do. I mean, if they count it as 2 points and charge you as such, maybe you should cut your losses and pay the fine as is. I mean, bringing it to the attention of the court may just result in them "giving" you a plea bargain of 2-points. Maybe just call a lawyer and see if they'll give you advice over the phone? Because, heck, who knows? Maybe an error like that means the whole thing is thrown out?

jts3234

I recently got into an accident, i was driving behind and elder man, when he slowed his speed to make a turn. I never saw any blincker or brake lights, because the man was rolling and i dont think put on a blinker, i slammed my breaks and slide 15 feet and smacked into the back of him. I claimed all this in the police report, but i havent gotten the report yet, i was given a careless driving ticket for 2 points not at the scene, but with the report, that i still need to pick up. Yet i have only had my license for 8 months, is there any chance of getting my points of my license...because this is my first offense and because of the scenario.

mshah

Hi!

I'm a 21 year old resident of NJ, but I go to school in PA. A few weeks ago, I received a speeding ticket, going 27 miles over the speed limit (52 mph in a 25 mph).

I have a court date this Thursday, 05/05, and have pleaded not guilty. Do you know the number of points I probably will get because of this violation, and do you think it's feasible that I would be able to work it down to 0 points? I have never gotten pulled over, nor have I ever received a ticket in the 4.5 years that I have been driving.

If it is possible to work it down to 0 points, would my insurance premium still increase? Also, any suggestions as to what I should say to the prosecuter?

Thank you for your help ... looking forward to someone replying

CarMan@Edmunds

I'm sorry to hear about your accident, jts3234. Unfortunately, any time there is an accident, the vehicle that rear-ends the other one is usually considered to be at fault. You definitely can and should go to court to try to plea bargain your ticket down to a lower offense. If the ticket that you received is only two points as you states, there is a decent chance that you can get them to drop it to a no point violation. This is a good thing because it will keep the points from being reported to your insurance company. The bad news is that since the police were involved in this accident, your insurance company will probably find out about it and raise your rates anyhow.

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CarMan@Edmunds

I'm sorry to hear about your speeding ticket, mshah. They are never fun to get. You can find out exactly how many points your ticket will be by visiting the following site: New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission - Violations and Penalties. This scale is valid for any tickets received in the state of New Jersey. I am not sure how it works today, but years go I heard that any ticket that a New Jersey resident received out of state only counted as two points, regardless of how fast they were going. If this is still the case, and you were given your ticket in Pennsylvania, it may only be two points. Either way, if you can go to court to try to plea bargain your violation down to a lesser offense you definitely should. New Jersey residents are usually able to get two points knocked off of their tickets just by showing up to court, talking with the prosecutor, and being polite. If you can get this down to a no point violation, your insurance will not increase, which is a very good thing.

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qbrozen

yup. its right there on that same link (last line). Out of state violations are 2 points.

of course, the poster wasn't clear as to where he/she actually got that ticket.

mshah

Hi

Thanks so much for your help! I apologize for not specifying ... I received the ticket in PA ... so I hope that's true that I only receive 2 points, and hopefully they'll work with me to get them removed.

From reading prior posts, it seems that even if I get the points removed, my insurance company would still know about the moving violation. Maybe I misunderstood ... but you don't think that my premium would increase? It would maybe just be noted?

Thanks for your help ... I really appreciate it.

qbrozen

well, unfortunately, as is written on that list of points/violation, ANY moving violation out-of-state means 2 points. So there is no reason to go to court unless you think you have a shot at getting it reduced to a non-moving violation.

And, yes, those 2 points will be on your insurance. Whether they affect it or not all depends on your insurance company.

lvh

Okay, I have had the worst luck this past month.

First, I received a ticket for doing 40 in a 25 and I am going to court this week to try to get the 2 points dropped.

Well then, I received a 81 in a 55 on the GSP in Clifton on a Wed and
then a 78 in a 55 on Rt. 1 in North Brunswick on Friday! Well, now I am scared about these points, considering these are both 4 point tickets. Do u have any advice for me? Should I get a lawye?r Will the second ticket know about the first since the court dates will be days apart? Can I get away with not mentioning the first or does that stuff get processed right away?

Thanks!!!

qbrozen

its not bad luck when you speed that much, its just laws of probability coming to bite you. You are apparently driving around 15-26 mph over the limit quite often, and that is just asking for trouble.

Yes, you should get a lawyer, and you should probably have him/her on speed dial.

mshah

Hi guys

Just one quick question ... I had placed a post earlier about receiving a speeding ticket in PA ... and I'm a resident of NJ. I have my court appearance tomorrow, and I am very unsure as to whether or not to plead guilty, not guily, or no contest.

I do want to bargain the point aspect of it if I can, but I don't know if I answered one or the other, it would hurt my chances of getting the points eliminated. I'd really appreciate someone's help.

Thanks!

CarMan@Edmunds

I'm not completely familiar with the court process in Pennsylvania, mshah, but in most states you will have an opportunity to speak with the prosecutor to either state your case or ask for leniency prior to going before the judge. Do not enter a plea until you have had an opportunity to speak with the prosecutor. Once you have done so, if they are willing to work with you they will reduce the offense that you have been charged with in exchange for a guilty plea.

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qbrozen

actually, in NJ, you have to plead not guilty in order to speak to the prosecutor. I think it makes sense because you are pleading not guilty to the offense you are currently charged with so that you can plead guilty to a lesser charge. BUT, I also do not know how it works in Pennsy.

OK, as far as your ticket, it doesn't matter what happens in that Pennsy court. As that link given earlier shows, ANY moving violation in another state results in 2 points on your NJ license. SO, unless you can get a non-moving violation when you go to court, it will have the same effect on your NJ license if you get a 2-pointer, 4-pointer, or 12-pointer moving violation.

rff68765

Hello. I'm from NJ, and recenlty got a ticket for speeding 49 in a 35, which puts me right at the top end of the 2-point bracket. It's my first points violation ever (5 years ago, I plead down a "left hand turn" violation to "unsafe driving" with no points). My choices, as I understand them, are either to pay it, or to attempt plea down to the $430+ (?) no-points fine, right?

My real question is, with NJM insurance (I'm 22 and male, on my mother's policy...)...will these two points have an effect on my rates? (being that I've never been involved with an accident or other traffic violation, except the one mentioned above, 5 years ago)...

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

qbrozen

With NJM, no, it will not affect you .... UNTIL you get another violation. If you were to pick up another offense in the next 3 years, they will raise your rates and change the tier you are currently enjoying. So the way I see it with NJM, its best to not risk it and, when you can get out of points, do so because you never know when you'll get into hot water again.

jagacharaja

Hi all,

Any help anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated. I have a Jersey driver's license (I'm below 25), and was clocked at 89 on a 65mph zone on PA Turnpike over the weekend. The ticket says that "points will be assessed", but doesn't give any other info beyond that.

I checked on NJ DMV's website, and apparantly most states share driver's violations n' records these days, and as per NJ DMV's website "out-of-state moving violations" are worth 2 points on the driver's record. I however called up the PA Turnpike Commission to ask whether or not points will be assessed on my record and the trooper on phone said it could be 4 points.

I am obviously worried. Could anyone pls inform me as to how long would it take for me to know whether or not points have been assessed on my driver's record and if so, how many. Thanks very much.

Jugs.

pbannard

I recently received a ticket for going 14 mph over the speed limit in NJ (2 point violation in NJ), which I pled down to "unsafe driving" (0 points in NJ). However, I live in Virginia, and I'm wondering whether I'll still get points there because the point system is slightly different. Here is what I've found gets you points in VA:
The following points have been assigned to speeding and speed related offenses: Reckless driving-6 points; speeding 20 MPH above the speed limit-6 points; racing on the highway-6 points; speeding 10 to 19 MPH above the speed limit-4 points; exceeding a reasonable speed-3 points; improper driving-3 points; speeding 1 to 9 MPH above the speed limit-3 points; and, impeding traffic-3 points.
Clearly the original violation would have been 4 points in VA. Will NJ's "unsafe driving" be considered "exceeding a reasonable speed" or "improper driving," or will it just be 0 points?
Thanks!

qbrozen

can you call VA DMV and find out?
I think its highly unlikely you will get an answer to that question here.

qbrozen

I can't imagine the PA Turnpike Commission has a tight grasp on NJ DMV rules and laws. I would bet you'll get 2 points (and possibly none at all if it never catches up to you here).

jagacharaja

Thanks for your reply qbrozen. I forgot to mention I now live in VA. If I switch over to VA driver's license does anyone think it'd make a difference one way or the other? Thanks.

qbrozen

hmmmm... ya know, i have absolutely no idea if points follow you from one state license to another. I'm sure someone will know.

andy18

Hi,

I recently got a ticket for not stopping at a STOP sign :surprise: . I pleded not guily stating I have not seen the stop sign due to road construction and rain, and that was true. That was the first time I went in that route, this was Secaucus Train Station. Lot of construction over there. Now, they called me to appear in the court. I have never been to a court. Please guide me what will happen now.

Thanking you.
Andy18

qbrozen

here's a quick summary of my court experience in NJ:
qbrozen, "Insurance and NJ No-Point Ticket option" #14, 21 Feb 2005 9:05 pm

tgfssk

I am 21 year old student
Few days ago on the way home from giving my sister a ride to Rutgers at 8 am on Saturday, I got lost and made a u-turn to trace back my way.
but there was a no u-turn sign and a police car right behind me
I got a ticket for illegal u-turn (3 point )
It is the first time I have ever gotten a ticket and
I was wondering if it is possible to get the plea bargain and make it into 0 point
If so, how much would that cost?
And also is it really necessary to plead not guilty ?
I have never been to the court before so I don’t know what to do
I thought pleading not guilty to what I’m surely guilty of might make the judge mad ^^;;;
Could you give me some advice on what I should do ?
Thanks

andy18

As you said, we can reduce the points to 0, but how much I will have to pay. I think not stopping at the stop sign will come under careless driving. So, how much do I have to pay, if I get the chance to reduce my point to 0, i think my ticket holds 2 points.

Andy

qbrozen

How much you have to pay if you plead to a lesser charge is completely up in the air. It all depends on what they have you plead to. Figure anywhere from $80-$500, from what I've seen posted on this board (if i'm remembering correctly).

qbrozen

Is it necessary? It depends on what you are looking to do. Its possible the judge will accept your guilty plea and be lenient, or its possible he won't. Honestly, in my opinion, pleading not guilty and striking a bargain with the prosecutor is the best bet. That pretty much removes the judge from the process altogether. Effectively, you strike a bargain with the prosecutor, the prosecutor tells the judge what he has agreed to charge you with, and the judge reads that info, tells you your fine, and sends you on your way.

sharmo

My son was driving my car and received a speeding ticket going 15 miles over the speed limit (I believe this is 4 points). Will my car insurance rate be affected because he was driving my car?

qbrozen

Is he insured? Under your policy or someone elses?

in any case, tickets are attached to your license, not your car. As lon as you aren't paying for his insurance, it won't affect you at all. BUT, if he is on your insurance policy, it COULD affect you. For instance, my speeding tickets drive up insurance for both my wife and myself because I may be driving any of the cars at any given time.

serikbay

Wait...just to clarify...

I got a ticket today - a 2 pointer in NJ (10mph over). I was driving my uncle's car with his insurance. Does that mean that his insurance will NOT be affected by this??

qbrozen

correct.

princetown

Anyone know how NY can add surcharge on top of traffic fines? I was told it was done thru NY Assembly and had nothing to do with local court where ticket was coming from. If you gotten the speeding ticket of $100 or whatever, they just add additional $55.00 as surcharge. I guess its legal and can do anything they want to. But if you are out of state resident, do you still have to pay that also? Anyone with similar experience?

sam123

I would say I had a bad day today. I was travelling in a Business Road two way(with one lane for each for ongoing & opposite traffic) in Newark, NJ. At one point, there was a left only lane(with the paintings on the road almost disappeared) area, which I noticed in the last minute. As the traffic light was red, I was waiting in left only lane giving little bit of room for the traffic to go in the left only lane. There was 2 car distance between my car and traffic light. Once I got the green light, I moved to the right and started going straight. Within minute, a cop flashed the lights, He mentioned that I didnt take the left turn while standing in the left only lane & passed the no pass zone(as I moved from Left only lane to the main lane) and gave two tickets for that. It seems the penalty for these two tickets would be around $170 & 5 points. It seem highly inappropriate and I think this is the common thing which everyone would do.

Please suggest me whether I should go to Court and not plead guilty. Also, I have VA license , will there be any affect of these in my VA license

dayton123

Hi ,

I got an Improper passing ticket(4 points) on RT. 1 in North Brunswick couple of week before. Next week I have court date. Is there any way i can pay money and remove all points. One of my friend got ticket(6 points) last year in north brunswick and public traffic representative told him to pay ticket and no point remove. I am so confuse how to remove my points...Please suggest me what should i do...

qbrozen

6 points?? I don't see a 6 point violation on the DMV website. You sure that wasn't more than one ticket? If it was one ticket, it must have been something VERY severe, so I'm not surprised they didn't give him a break.

Anybody that goes to court is just taking a chance at getting the points reduced or removed. there are no guarantees. Only thing you can do is give it a shot.

dayton123

So, to remove my 4 points to Zero, What should I do.? Guilty or Not Guilty. Is it possible to remove 4 points? :mad: Please advice me. thxs.

qbrozen

qbrozen, "Insurance and NJ No-Point Ticket option" #39, 12 Apr 2005 9:43 am

i've said it probably a dozen times. From my experience, pleading not guilty is the only way to strike a deal.

good luck.

godzilla777

Hi all. I'm a 25 yr old med student and received my first ticket ever this past Saturday. It was on Rt 287 North. I've read this entire post and have learned a great deal...thank you for that. I know that it's a 4 point offense, and that I will plead not guilty to hopefully get a plea bargain from the prosecutor...hopefully to a zero point offense. How likely is that? I'm willing to pay a fee, go to driving school, community service, anything. Should I tell that to the prosecutor if s/he only reduces to 2 points?
Also, I am quite nervous about this whole ordeal. My court date is June 1st, but I cannot go to that because of mandatory classes, so tomorrow I'll call and request a change of date. Now when I go, I'll tell the clerk that I plead not guilty. Will I then be directed to the prosecutor, or go directly to the judge, because as mentioned before I want to get a plea bargain and quite frankly, anyone named judge scares me.
Finally, I've heard that if the officer doesn't show up, the case is dismissed. Do I have to ask the prosecutor if the officer is in the courthouse or will that information be given to me?
Thank you for your time and information. I know that when I'm done with all of this, I'll repost with whatever happens. Thanks

missjanet

My daughter just informed me that she got pulled over in a checkpoint last night & given a speeding ticket (going 39 in a 25 mph zone). It appears to be a two-pointer from what she told me (39:4-98) - she did call the phone number on the ticket & that's the information they gave her. I believe the fine stated on the ticket is around $100.

Would it be best to plead Not Guilty & try to get a no-points violation? What could my daughter use as grounds for getting the points reduced? Is it worth doing this, cost wise?

I thought NJ had a two-point forgiveness rule. My other daughter had gotten 2 points on her license awhile ago & I believe her insurance bill stated that those two points had been forgiven.

What would you suggest? This is my daughter's first offense (she's 22 years old).
Thanks in advance.