As we travel to see family this holiday season, many of us will be traveling to neighboring states. It is common lore that drivers travelling out of their home state are more likely to get a traffic ticket than drivers who are in their home state. And there seems to be some truth to this.
A car with a license plate from another state is more likely to be chased down and pulled over by a police officer than a car with an in-state license plate going at the same speed. Statistics also show that once stopped, the out of state driver has a 20 percent higher chance of getting a ticket than his in state counterpart.
There have been a number of reasons offered for this. One is that it is inconvenient for a driver to go to another state to contest a ticket and local law enforcement know it. Thus, officers can meet monthly quotas by ticketing drivers from other states
Many drivers, however, think that they can escape or ignore these tickets that they get in another state and that their insurer won’t find out about the ticket. But while it can be more difficult for a state to collect payment from a resident of another state, because states now regularly and voluntarily exchange and share information about offenses and tickets, the chances are that if you commit a major offense in another state, that state will be report it, which can also eventually affect your insurance premiums.
States now maintain vast databases devoted only to sharing information on offenses committed in their states. Not every state shares all information, such as minor infractions. States generally publish more serious tickets. You can be sure that tickets for DUI, reckless driving, and even driving more than 20 miles per hour over the speed limit are likely to show up in the shared database and follow you back home.
Some state will penalize you for violations committed in another state. If you have a high number of tickets in another state, another state may refuse to give you a driver license, for example. Your auto insurance company will also find out about the out of state ticket sooner or later, especially if your home state knows of the offense. Depending on your state’s insurance laws and your policy, your insurance rates may go up.
If you received a ticket in California while on vacation during the holidays, talk to an experienced California traffic expert right away.