speeding ticket in mass, live in connecticut

question for the southern new england hambers:

Does anybody know if a speeding ticket I got in Worcester MA would affect my insurance as a Connecticut resident? I did some googling and couldn't find any info that seemed reliable.

Thanks for your attn and sorry it's not custom car related.

-90% jimmy

 

A speeding ticket is a speeding ticket no matter where it is issued, I would think. Your driving record is available to all insurance companies, with a few keystrokes. Will it affect your insurance? Depends on how many other tickets you've received over the past three years. Short answer to your question; yes.

 

Some states also have a reciprocal agreement whereby if you don't pay the fine in the other state YOUR state will suspend your license or pull your plates until you do!

 

Pay up........

 

Pay up x2. You apparently drive in Mass every now and then, I take it? Don't pay? You will then have a warrant issued on you, so that the next time you get pulled over ANYWHERE up there, your name will come up in neon lights and you get to visit the Graybar Hotel. Next morning, you get to visit The Judge, who will likely not care at all why you chose to not pay your ticket. With every States driver license lists on the internet now, you can't skirt an out-of-state ticket like you once could...That ticket, if paid or fought successfully, MIGHT affect your record and/or your insurance, but it WILL if you choose to ignore it.

Pay it and learn your lesson.

 

I know in the past I have paid out of state tickets that my insurance company did not become aware of. That was 20 years ago though, might be easier for them to search now.

Pay quietly and hope for the best.

 

most of the New England states are now this way if you don't pay the fine and your right to drive is suspended in any state your license is suspended here in Ct.
WARNING CT. MAY NOT NOTIFY YOU OF SUSPENSION !I know someone arrested at a ct. "spot check"And his car towed and impounded along with his registration besides the fines in Mass.for the unpaid ticket it cost him close to 1,000$ to get everything back in Ct. He had no clue Ct. suspended his license until the arrest.He and I live right on the Mass.,R.I. border and I'm old enough to remember when your right to drive would get suspended in only the 1 state and that is exactly what he thought would happen.If you do get notified your license is suspended your registration is also because only licensed operators can hold registration to a vehicle in Ct. now.I just registered my wifes van so she didn't need to loose time at work and I had to bring her photo lisense with all the papers to DMV or they wouldn't give me plates in her name!Thanks to Computers anything you do anywhere in the US is now only a button push away for the cop at your window both my sons lived down south and they have gotten stopped here and their Georgia.North Carolina and Florida stuff comes up in the Ct. stops.


wasn't my intent to say He wouldn't pay the ticket sorry if you got that impression. yes it will go against your Ct. Insurance but weather or not your rate will increase depends entirely on your carrier My wife has a speeding ticket that's a couple years old and when she got it my rates did not increase.

 

You speed, you just got caught, just pay to fine or how bad is it, 100 in 65mph zone

 

Most states back there seem to be nothing more than good size counties. So its not like you will never be back again. Pay the fine and hope your insurance company doesn't hit you.

 

All the New England Stated have reciprocity between each other. If you don't pay they could suspend your liscencse and you will not know. It wont be re-instated until you pay your ticket. If you get pulled over and your liscence is suspended your screwed.

 

Does Mass. have a program where you can take an 8 hour driver ed. class. You still have to pay the speeding ticket and pay for the class, but your insurance co. is not notified of the infraction. In Calif. you can do this one time every 18 months. I received a ticket for 70 in a 55 and took advantage of the program.

 

His original question was about insurance rates increasing, not about paying for the ticket. I don't think he's trying to avoid or ignore anything...

 

this kinda stuff is exactly why i have my PPL membership. My last 5 speeding tickets were dismissed and my recored is clean. When I have a legal question I just call and get it answered. asking legal questions on a hot rod board makes as much sense as calling a Law Firm for tune up specs.

 

Same here. It's saved me $$$.

 

Sorry to be dumb but what is PPL ? Tried Google to no good.

 

wow!!! so I get this PM from one of those thin skinned defenders of all that like to camp on this board. seems there is debate as to is this was a LEGAL question? Screw the symantics. Grow up and quit the whinning.
Note that I never said HE ASKED A LEGAL QUESTION.
I constantly see people come on the HAMB and ask legal questions. which are not only OFF TOPIC but are typical of a society that would rather ask a friend, or a message board then to go straight the the knowledgable source. I simply shared a resource that has worked for me, but also around 1.5 million others.

so now for MR THIN SKIN I will clean up my previous post as I woudn't want to see an anurism take another member.

this kinda stuff is exactly why i have my PPL membership and an Insurance Agent. My last 5 speeding tickets were dismissed and my recored is clean as well as LOW insurance rates.
When I have a Legal/Insurance question I just call one or the other and get it answered.
Asking legal/Insurance questions on a hot rod board makes as much sense as calling a Law Firm/Insurance Company for tune up specs.
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pay it the computers will find you

 

contest it. Was it by radar. Was the gun calibration up to date. Was he hiding. Were there other cars around that may have interfered. .Plead on the court for mercy, beg. Lots of times u can get it lowered and maybe even thrown out. Wrong date, time etc.
Don't have to be a smartass, just tell the clerk you were keeping with the flow and just passed a guy and was gonna pull in and settle back to a more reasonable speed. Try anything.
I once got a ticket in PA and by being nice to the officer and him and I being the more mature type he rolled it back to 90 from 150 and intead of speeding was failure to obey vehicle control devices-to wit- speed limit signs LOL

 

Pay the ticket in a TIMELY manner, many times when you get a ticket in a state other than the state where your license is issued, the violation WILL NOT show up on your driving record, IF the ticket is paid quickly, and without hastle.

I KNOW this to be a fact in many jurisdictions, MA, I can't say though.

 

The OP said nothing about not paying the ticket. He was only asking if MA would report the ticket to CT.

Almost all states have reciprocity these days - it's a computer thing.

However, sometimes jurisdictions make it a point to not report - it's an incentive to get you to pay the fine. Also, it is not uncommon for some jurisdictions to play 'let's make a deal'. In Nassau County in NY, for example, if it is not a DWI and your record is decent, the DAs will usually let you cop to a non-moving violation. Obviously, nothing gets reported to anyone in that scenario.

So, it kind of matters who gave you the ticket. Was this a MA State Police ticket, or from a Worcester townie? I suggest that you call a lawyer who handles traffic infractions in the jurisdiction that gave you your ticket.

 

So it appears the MA will report to CT. If this is within driving distance, fight the ticket. Insurance points are charged even on an out of state ticket if it shows. Before going to court, try to contact the city/county attorney. Tell them you have no problem paying the ticket and that you don't want the points. Most will cut you a deal to a non-moving violation.

Not saying this always works, but i've found admitting responsibility and going this route has worked more often than not. In most cases, they just want your money.

 

I got a 300 dollar speeding ticket going 88 in a 55 along the columbia gorge in north oregon. Even in the same state I called them the day before the court date, as it was over 100 miles north of me, and they lowered it to 195 and I payed with a card over the phone, I was ecstatic. With the ecomomy of today, the courts are probably not real willing to deal like that now though.

 

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Unfortunately, today...everything from tickets and your driving record to your credit rating and do you own a home or not comes into play...... it's out of control. You can't skip it because it is out of state....I wish there was better news......Good luck.

 

Around here the tickets are handled by the Municipal Court....I've always fought ever ticket I've ever gotten. Hopefully you didn't say anything to hurt your case. I'd contact the Court with a pleading (not guilty) usually within 10 days.

After that they will give you a court date, ask for a jury trial and also file a discovery motion the see what they are going to use for evidence. A day or so before the trial date you can also contact the court and ask for a continuance....This postpones the trial and gives you the advantage of maybe having the officer not be able to show up. (On the first trial date he will most likely be there.) The people that work at the court should be able to help you file the proper paperwork.

You can go online and find out how to base your case, Also find out what method they use to track speed and what defences there are to it.

Again, around here the Municipal Court is not considered a court of record (there are no court reporters present) and as such, if you are convicted you can appeal to the County Court at Law and the lower courts ruling is dropped (trial de novo) It is the is if the first trial never even took place. Isn't the law wonderful?

The County Court at Law (around here, anyway) doesn't do this kind of shit and throws the case out of court. The last thing the courts in your jusidiction wants is for you to not pay the ticket and fight......so that is exactly what you should do. Don't ever admit to anything, as far as you know, the cop was zeroed in on the wrong car.

In the future, when you are pulled over the cop usually asks for your drivers license and insurance, he then sez something like, "Mr Limpdick, is there a reason you were exceeding the posted speed limit?" To this most people will answer, "No." You have just given the indicaton that you were speeding. The best thing to do is not say anything other than an answer that will help you. "Well, I had my cruise control set at XX mph, so I wouldn't think that was possible." or "Man, the road is crowded today." The idea being he pulled over the wrong car. All of this stuff is being recorded, to be used as evidence aganist you. But if you say the right things, it can help your case.

 

FWIW, I got a speeding ticket in Vermont. One year later, I got another one in Colorado. I live in California. Paid them both. It never went on my California driving record and Farmer's insurance never found out about it.

 

Everything is getting more and more connected. My insurance company reports directly to the DMV, and gets information from them regularly too. It might not show up, but don't count on it.

Back in the old days, when I finally lost my license in CT for ditching cops, I just moved to MA and got a license there, before the court date.

I say fight it. I fought every single ticket that I ever got, back in the days that I got them. I got almost every one thrown out, and I deserved them all. Every on that was not thrown out was dramatically reduced (reduced charge, small fine, no points). On one that I did not get thrown out, the cop asked me, on the way out, why I had bothered to fight it. I told him I did it because I knew that it would keep him from writing a full days worth of tickets to other people. He was really pissed. I was a real reckless jerk back then. I am a careful jerk now.

 

There are two types of speeding tickets issued in the democratic republic of Mass. One you get points on your license and increased insurance rates (in your home state).

The other you DO NOT get points and it is written in the law that insurance rates CAN NOT increase from that type of violation. We need to know what the posted and your speeds were and the type of road to answer your question

 

thanks for all your responses. guys.

I don't mind paying the ticket. I'd do it happily if I knew it would not effect my insurance rates. If it does effect my ins, then it's worth it for me to fight it. Finding out who issued the ticket is a good suggestion. Lots of other good tips here. Thanks again.

-jim

 

As far as mass. goes im not sure, I got one back in Virginia couple years back, paid it and moved on my insurance never went up. If you dont pay any out of state ticket the state that issued the ticket will notify the DMV in the state you live in. I know of a few people who blew off such a ticket. the DMV took there lisence when it came time for renewal. AND had to back to the state that the ticket was issued in order to clear up matters.

 

Call and ask the court clerk if they have a deferred adjudication option. You pay the fine (and sometimes a small fee, but not always.) They hold the paperwork on your offense for a period of time (6 months, a year--it varies). If you don't get another ticket within that period, your case is closed, they have their money, and it doesn't get reported to the state. If you screw up, then they send it in to go on your record. Most courts don't volunteer this info; you have to ask. I've used it three times here in TX. Every time I've asked, the option was available. It's worth a phone call to ask.