You did not mention your state however the prayer for judgment continued (PJC) seems to be unique to North Carolina. In NC a motorist can use this type of plea for traffic cases.

A basic definition of a "Prayer for Judgment" is a plea that can be entered in a courtroom and is neither an admission of guilt nor a plea of innocence. If the plea is accepted by the judge the charge against the accused is dismissed though the judge usually has conditions for the violation to not go on the person's record.

The conditions normally include that if within a certain time period the accused repeats the crime or a similar one he/will face both charges. However if the accused stays clean for the time period the record is expunged and the accused will face no trial or punishment for the alleged offense. In North Carolina the probationary time period is typically three years.

In NC for automobile insurance purposes, one can have up to one PJC per household every three years that will not cause insurance premium increases. For driver’s license purposes, a driver can have up to two PJCs within a five year period which will not result in driver’s license points nor have any effect on the driving record of the person receiving the PJC.

So a Prayer for Judgment is a form of deferred prosecution, thus it means that the court reserves the right to pass judgment later. The driver is charged the cost of court, no decision is rendered, and no points are assigned. The judge can come back and finalize the citation later.

A household can use a PJC as long as no one else has used a PJC in the last three years. If another violation occurs in the 3 years a PJC is on your record, both violations (and related points) may get placed on your driving record kept by the NC Division of Motor Vehicles.

Since your husband used up the household prayer for judgment then if you also were able to receive a PJC it would keep your DMV record in better standing however your stop sign offense could be seen and thus rated upon by your insurance company. So depending upon your insurance company's rating system this stop sign violation may raise your rates.

Insurance companies rating systems in NC differ so you should contact your insurance company to see if they go by Safe Driver Incentive Plan (SDIP) to calculate insurance surcharges or have their own points system to determine insurance rates. Or since your insurance company must file their rates with the NC DOI you can contact this state agency for information on your insurance carrier's rating system.

If this running a stop sign violation will affect your rates your agent should be able to tell you by how much or if because this is your first traffic infraction he or she may tell you that you will only lose a good driver discount.

If your rates go up too much with your current insurer than shop around for low cost car insurance here with us.