Points. What are those things?

In short, they’re those ugly little marks on your license or insurance policy that raise your automobile insurance rates. Most people don’t think much of a traffic ticket here, a speeding infraction there. They go to court, pay the fine, and consider the matter dropped. But that’s not usually the case. Points linger for quite a while and they can wreak havoc with a person’s budget. Tickets are expensive! Court costs, attorney’s fees and fines assessed can turn that little traffic ticket into a big expense. Did you know that paying a fine doesn’t remove it from your driving record?  Many people think that when they pay a fine, the ticket is erased from their record. That’s a myth. Paying the fine doesn’t remove it from your record. What it does is turn the date paid into the conviction date. For example, if a person gets a speeding ticket on June 1, but they don’t pay the fine until October 1, the conviction date is October 1. It’s very important to pay tickets and fines as soon as possible so you’re not paying for a ticket that happened years and years ago. Also, unpaid tickets can lead to license suspensions, and people who get caught driving on a suspended license suffer a variety of unpleasant punishments including the possibility of having their vehicle  impounded, major tickets, and loss of driving privileges. Most insurance companies look back 39 months when they review a driver’s motor vehicle report. Any infractions or accidents incurred within that time period generates points. While those points, and how heavily they are weighed against drivers, fluctuate one thing is for certain: the more points a person has, the more expensive his or her insurance will get. New York also charges a driver responsibility surcharge to people who accrue six points within eighteen months. That surcharge can range from $100 to over $350 every year for three years! So, what do you do if you have points on your license? In some cases, time is the best remedy for the situation. As stated above, once a ticket is outside the company’s surcharge period (that look-back period during which all violations are counted) the rates should decrease. Defensive driving courses are another great way to reduce points. Traditionally, a driver had to sit through a six-hour course and take a test to earn the defensive driving credit, but modern technology has given drivers another option. Some companies offer an online defensive driving course that usually costs less than the traditional classroom course and allows the driver to take the course at their convenience over 30 days. Either way, the defensive driving course will remove up to four DMV points from a driver’s record as well as save approximately 10% per year FOR THREE YEARS! If a driver doesn’t have points, he or she will still save the 10%, but they cannot use the point reduction to apply to future points. If there are multiple drivers on a policy, the credit is only applied to the person who is assigned to the vehicle. For example, if there is one vehicle in the household and four household members, they will not get 40% off if they all take the course. However, if there are four vehicles and each household member takes the course, they will each get their 10% discount on the vehicle they are assigned to. Defensive driving is a great learning tool, and it can help save money on car insurance. But one thing to remember is this: if traffic laws are obeyed, a ticket is unlikely. So, follow the posted speed limits, obey traffic signals and be alert for accidents. Careful drivers have lower rates!