Traffic Violation Cameras and Your Auto Insurance Premium
Will a Traffic Camera Ticket Affect Your Auto Insurance Premiums?
With the sudden presence of traffic violation cameras (red light, speeding, aggressive driving) in states across the country, many Americans feel that their privacy is violated. Others believe that this is a government ploy for fundraising, or to replace the local police department. Many people are curious as to the effect a red light camera violation will have on their insurance premium.
Since initiating the program a few short years ago, participating cities have seen very promising results from their investments. Many have seen a 40% decrease in violations since starting the program. Fines can be anywhere from $35 to $200, depending on the city in which the violation was issued and the speed over the legal limit at the time of the photograph.
If you are found in violation, the cameras take a picture of your car, with a motion-triggered shutter, which captures an image of you in your vehicle in addition to a zoomed-in image of your license plate. Some cameras even take a few seconds of video. Once the data is analyzed, you are issued a ticket through mail.
Some drivers have contested that if the vehicle owner is not the driver at the time of the violation, they should not have to pay the fine. Most cities allow residents to appeal the citation in this situation. Other states, however, hold the vehicle owner responsible regardless of who was driving.
There have been a few reports that suggested the cameras increase traffic accidents. This is both true and false. As the lights change from green to yellow, drivers begin to panic. To avoid receiving a traffic violation, they are inclined to stop much more suddenly, which could cause minor rear-end collisions, and fender-benders. However, more serious side-impact and head-on collisions caused by drivers speeding through red lights have significantly decreased. As these crashes were much more hazardous, and resulted in far more injuries, the cameras are still viewed as a positive implementation.
Since violations are usually issued as a civil penalty and cannot prove who the driver of the vehicle actually was, in most cases they do not result in changes to your auto insurance premium or points on your license.
