A ticket, at-fault accident, or driving-related conviction can appear on your driving record and increase your insurance rates. The amount of the increase varies. The type of violation, whether it was your first violation, whether you have accident forgiveness protection, and other factors can influence how a new ticket or accident affects your insurance costs.
Here’s a look at five common traffic violations and how each of them could change what you pay for car insurance.
Speeding is considered the most common traffic violation in the US. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that speeding contributed to 29% of traffic deaths in 2023.
If you don’t have first-time ticket forgiveness on your auto insurance policy, a new speeding ticket will likely increase your insurance costs. The actual increase in rates will depend on several factors, but costs are expected to increase between 20% and 50%.
A speeding ticket can remain on your driving record for a year or more. In many states, fines remove your registration after three years.
More information: The cheapest car insurance after a speeding fine
Red light running tickets are another common violation, thanks in part to automated red light cameras. In Florida alone, red light cameras issued more than 1 million violation notices in the 12 months ending June 30, 2024.
Getting a ticket for running a red light can increase your insurance by 20% to 25%. However, the increase may vary depending on where you live and whether the ticket was issued by an officer or a red light camera. Some states classify red light camera tickets as non-moving violations, such as parking tickets. Non-traffic violations typically do not affect your insurance rates.
A ticket issued by an officer for running a red light or stop sign is a traffic violation. As with a speeding ticket, this violation could remain on your record for several years, depending on the state.
More information: Auto insurance rates are going up. Here are 4 reasons why and 11 ways to save.
A DUI conviction can be one of the most costly and long-lasting driving violations. According to the FBI Crime Data Explorer, there have been nearly 650,000 DUI arrests in the 12 months ending October 15, 2025.
More information: What is the difference between DUI and DWI??
Auto insurance rates will increase by nearly 30% to more than 100% on average, according to a sample of several insurance quote comparison sites.
In most states, a DUI will remain on your driving record for three to five years, according to Progressive. In Nevada and California, a DUI will remain for 10 years.
More information: This is how a DUI affects your car insurance
More than 2 million people a year are injured in traffic accidents, according to NHTSA data. Property damage costs associated with car accidents are estimated at more than $140 billion annually, according to data from Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.
Insurance companies bear most of the costs. It’s not surprising, then, that your insurance rates increase after you cause an accident. The average increase is 55%, according to Savvy Insurance Solutions, but it may be less depending on your insurance provider, your insurance coverage, and the severity of the accident.
Accidents typically stay on your driving record for three to five years, but this varies by state.
More information: The cheapest car insurance after an accident
Parking tickets are non-traffic violations and generally do not increase your insurance costs. The exception is that unpaid Parking tickets can affect your credit score, which could increase your insurance costs in many states.
More information: How Credit Affects Auto Insurance Rates, For Better or Worse
A clean driving record with no moving violations or accidents helps you qualify for the lowest auto insurance rates. Across the United States, the average cost of the cheapest monthly insurance for good drivers ranges from $130 to $193, according to Savvy Insurance Solutions.
Keep in mind that insurance companies consider many factors when setting prices, including your age, vehicle type, and location, so your rates could be different.
More information: The cheapest car insurance for good drivers
Your driving history greatly influences the cost of your coverage. Insurance companies use your driving history, among other factors, to assess your risk of making claims. A poor driving record usually means a higher risk for the insurance company, which translates to more expensive rates.
If you have a bad driving record, it is wise to shop around for car insurance quotes from multiple companies. Major insurance companies like Allstate or Progressive may offer a competitive rate, depending on your other qualifications and the nature of your driving violations. Otherwise, you can check with companies that specialize in higher risk drivers like Dairyland or The General.
Your driving record includes personal information, such as your name and date of birth, as well as recent traffic violations, traffic-related convictions, and accidents. State law determines how long violations, convictions and accidents remain on your record.
Tim Manni Edited this article.
Unless otherwise noted, the above estimates are provided by Savvy Insurance Solutions (“Savvy”). Savvy operates a home and auto insurance marketplace as well as an agency licensed in all 50 states. The estimates are generated using Savvy’s internal machine learning models based on more than 3 million data points and include more than 15 of the largest insurance companies in Savvy’s nationwide data set. This includes data from more than 2 million insurance accounts connected through Trellis Connect, an internal technology that allows consumers to “link” their insurance accounts before shopping for insurance, and tens of thousands of policies linked by Savvy’s own agents. It takes into account a wide variety of factors to create predictions, such as:
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Age of the insured
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Number of vehicles
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Zip code
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Vehicle age
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Insurer
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…and more
Savvy creates estimates by running models with multiple inputs for the parameters of interest. For example, the “teen driver” estimates were created by adjusting the age of the insured in the pricing model while holding all other variables stable from the baseline for “full coverage.” The models enable hyper-personalized estimates that take into account a large number of permutations of user attributes (e.g., teen drivers in specific states, teen drivers with new vehicles, teen drivers in specific states with new vehicles) to provide people with a unique, personalized experience. The boxes above are a subset of the types of customization that Savvy can perform.
The following are definitions used by Savvy in providing its rate estimates for various types of coverage.
Car insurance with full coverage: A policy with comprehensive, collision and civil liability coverage.
Average insured: A 48-year-old driver who owns a 13-year-old vehicle and lives in an average-income ZIP code.
Senior driver: A 70-year-old insured person with comprehensive car insurance.
Good driver: Drivers of all coverage types, vehicle types, and locations who are ticket-free, accident-free, and DUI-free.