Car Accidents and Lawsuits In Arizona – Is It My Fault
Reader’s Question:
What if I got into a car accident in Tucson, Arizona and someone sues me, what if I think the car accident is my fault, should I say so?
Bryan
Tucson, AZ
The Arizona Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) wants to make sure that everyone on its roads is protected and safe. For that same reason, it requires that all vehicles, including motorcycles, mopeds, and golf carts, be covered with liability insurance from a company that is authorized to provide the service in Tucson, Arizona.
If you get sued, contact your insurance agent and your lawyer right away. Normally, your car insurance company will assign a lawyer to handle your case. But, if you are sued for more money than the coverage of your policy, you may need your own attorney too. In addition, car insurance company lawyers do not handle traffic citations or criminal cases, such as hit and run charges. If you have been charged with a crime and cannot afford a lawyer, call your county’s Public Defender. You may qualify for free assistance, depending on your income.
If you have been involved in a car accident, do not volunteer any information about whose fault the accident was. You may think you are at fault and then later find out that the other driver is as much or more to blame than you are. Before taking and admitting your fault, you should first talk to your car insurance agent, your lawyer or both before taking the blame. If you confess anything to the police or the other driver it can be used against you in the court. Do not agree to pay for car damages or sign any paper except a traffic ticket until you check with your car insurance company or your lawyer.
Will Teen Driver Speeding Ticket Increase Parent Insurance Rate
Reader’s Question:
My teenager son just had his first traffic ticket. And I fear that it will affect the rate of my insurance policy in Manchester, NH since he is under my name. Is it going to cause my insurance to go up?
Rey
Manchester, NH
Yes. No matter which side of the coin you look at, having a traffic violation always means one thing – negative impact to the insured driver.
When my teenage daughter had her second speeding ticket, I was shocked on the increase in my car insurance policy. My rate increased from 50% – 150%. When she got her first speeding ticket, we used the deferment program for the first time and just paid the ticket. With this, given that my daughter does not get her second speeding ticket within the year, her traffic violation will be removed from her record, so my insurance company will never know about this. But unfortunately, she does it again within the same year. So my car insurance charged me with higher rate, more than I could imagine.
But you should know that such increase does not apply if your son was caught driving going 20 miles or more than the speed limit. Brace yourself, because you’re just up to paying even higher premium to your auto insurance.
It’s always important to remember that having a clean driving record is a significant factor on keeping our premium low. Teenagers should know the value of being a responsible driver. After that incident, I demanded that my daughter pay her share in our auto insurance. Since then, gone are the speeding tickets.
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