State laws and definitions of moving violations differ so in some states a defective or unsafe vehicle citation may be considered a moving violation while in other it may not be. It should be entered into our incidents page and the company rating will determine if it is classified as a moving violation.

For example the Texas Department of Public Safety chart of moving violations that we have read lists vehicle without required equipment or in unsafe condition as a moving violation that will have driver responsibility points assessed to the person's license if they are convicted of this offense. Operating an unsafe vehicle is also listed as a moving violation that is assigned points.

In Texas a citation though for specific defective equipment on a car would be a non-moving violation. For example defective breaks, head lamps, tail lights, etc would be considered an equipment ticket which is a non-moving violation. It may be up to the discretion of the officer or court to determine if a defective equipment ticket will be a fix-it ticket or not. With a fix-it ticket normally if you get the defective equipment taken care and can show the court proof by your court date the citation can be dismissed.

South Carolina is different in that it lists driving an unsafe vehicle, unsafe equipment and defective parts cited on a vehicle under equipment violations and not as moving violations.

To find out how your state regards citations for either a defective part or vehicle or an unsafe vehicle contact your Department of Motor Vehicles. To find out if it is a ratable factor, enter it into our quote form and we will display an accurate rate.