Does a Speeding Ticket Affect my Auto Insurance Rates in Montana
Reader’s Question:
I got a ticket for over speeding while I was on vacation in Montana. How would this affect my California driver’s record? Would this violation also affect my auto insurance policy rates?
Alvin
Billings, MT
Both California and Montana are members of the Driver License Compact (DLC). The DLC is an agreement that is signed by 46 member states. This agreement covers the “one driver record” concept, which requires a driver’s record to be maintained completely– stating the up-to-date data on the driver’s eligibility in the home state and all the traffic rule violations and license suspensions received (whether it is in the home state or in another state). The violations that are committed in another state will be treated as if they were committed in the home state.
Based on California’s Department of Motor Vehicles, if you get an out-of-state speeding ticket, this will be counted as a one-point demerit in your California driving record. Therefore, you must be careful when driving in other states because any violation you commit will always be translated to your driver’s record.
Since your violation is also recorded in your California driver’s record, and your auto insurance carrier gets an update of your driving history, it is possible that your auto insurance policy rate with them would go up. However, you may try attending a driving program approved by the court of Montana to ease the weight of your violation. You may talk to your auto insurance agent, too, and explain to him about your attendance to this program. It is possible that they would consider your petition for unaffected auto insurance policy rate because of this program. However, if they don’t consider it, you may have to wait for a few years before your record becomes clean again (assuming that you don’t violate any rule from then on).
