# Speeding ticket in Canada. Now what?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speeding-ticket-in-canada-now-what/664348>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [July 24, 2013, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speeding-ticket-in-canada-now-what/664348 "2013-07-24T01:52:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speeding-ticket-in-canada-now-what/664348/21 "2013-07-24T15:27:59Z")

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> [@bokap](#):
>
> I was worried about getting a point because I have been a careful driver, no speeding ticket in probably 20 years, did not want my insurance to go up because I was 5 kph over speed limit. I will just wait and see.

Well, I am a plague unto the DMV’s computers and in my extensive experience, a ticket less than 10 over during the day or 5 over at night won’t affect your rates in any meaningful way. These days a lot of insurance companies will even excuse a single more serious ticket if you’ve been a customer for a while. So relax!

> [@Skammer](#):
>
> Would it even be reported to your insurance company at all? They might never even find out about it.

I don’t know exactly how it works in Canada, but at least in the US the tickets are a matter of public record and the insurance companies have database services that collect that information with varying degrees of success. It’s completely separate from the points system some states have and thus whether two states/provinces share infraction information for points purposes is irrelevant to what your insurance rates will do.

It used to be that if you got a ticket in some podunk town (or state) somewhere it might not ever show up on your insurance company’s version of your driving record, but these days at least in my experience they all do. Although sometimes they take a long time-- I had one local ticket that didn’t show up on my record until a year and a half later and so with my renewal schedule and since they only count them for three years I only had a year of inflated rates as a result.

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**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speeding-ticket-in-canada-now-what/664348/22 "2013-07-24T19:07:26Z")

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Seriously, it’s your first ticket in 20yrs and it’s only 5 over!

You should relax, I think.

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**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speeding-ticket-in-canada-now-what/664348/23 "2013-07-24T20:17:00Z")

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> [@GreasyJack](#):
>
> I don’t know exactly how it works in Canada, but at least in the US the tickets are a matter of public record and the insurance companies have database services that collect that information with varying degrees of success.

That’s what I’m saying - an insurer in California may or may not bother to check for tickets - especially minor violations - in another country. I did get a ticket in Canada once, but it was a parking ticket, not a moving violation.

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