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QuestionInsurance Question  I have a car which is under my fathers name and my friend drove my car and ran a red light. The intersection took pictures of my vehicle and sent it to my father. Will my insurance go up if I claim I was the driver?

AnswerAuto Insurance Answer

It will depend upon state laws as well as your insurance company's rating system if a red light photo ticket will affect your insurance premiums.

For example, Maryland has red light cameras that allow for photos to be taken of those entering an intersection after the light has turned red and thus sends them a citation. However, according to the Maryland District Courts site, payment of the penalty for this type of violation does not result in MD points being assessed to your driving record and cannot be used to increase your insurance rates. It is basically handled as a parking ticket.

So if your ticket and license are in Maryland your insurance rates should not be affected if you took responsibility for the red light photo ticket.

On the flip side are states like California and Hawaii were a red light photo ticket is considered a moving violation just like a normal running a red light ticket given to you in person by a police officer.

For example in San Diego, California if you wanted to take responsibility for driving the car at the time of the infraction your father would fill out your information in Section D on the back of the citation. This would identify you as the actual driver. The Section D form must be completely filled out and returned to the Traffic Violations Bureau, at least ten days prior to the appearance date. The citation would then be re-issued to the correct violator, you instead of your father as it currently is.

In Hawaii if the registered owner was not the driver at the time of the violation, the name, address, driver’s license number and signature of the operator of the vehicle may be provided to the courts. The declaration form is on the reverse side of the citation. The Hawaii DOT notes that it is up to your insurance company and how they determine your policy rate to determine if your rates would rise due to this type of traffic ticket.

So to find out if your rates will rise due to a red light photo ticket in your name, check first with your States Department of Motor Vehicles to see how the ticket classified. If it is a moving violation just like a normal running a red light citation then check with your insurance company to if according to their rating system your rates will be affected.

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