Reader’s Question:

In Macon, Georgia how much is a seat belt ticket?

Taylor

Macon, GA

The state of Georgia is a primary enforcement state, meaning that law enforcement officers are authorized to pull motorists over solely to issue a seat belt ticket.

If a child is not wearing a seat belt, the penalty is about a $25 fine. Children under the age of six are required to be in an weight/age appropriate child restraint or booster seat. The failure to belt a child under the age of six is around a $50 fine.

Generally fine amounts can vary according to the jurisdiction you are ticketed due to court costs, etc in so if you have been ticketed for driving without a seat belt I suggest that you contact the court listed on the ticket.

Tags: traffic violation

Reader’s Question:

What will be the consequences for driving with no insurance on a leased car? Can the vehicle company repossess your car if you have no insurance on your leased car? I live in Atlanta Georgia.

Grey

Atlanta, GA

The consequences for driving uninsured on a financed or leased car will depend upon state laws as well as the terms of your lease. Laws vary by state but generally most state laws permit for a lien holder to repossess a car if you fail to uphold your part of the lease or loan contract.

Some lien holders will not take back the vehicle but will add these charges to your payments. This type of insurance will not be cheap and the cost will be added to your payments normally, as permitted by law and the terms of your loan or leased paperwork.

To check the specific consequences you may face from your leasing company for not carrying insurance, meaning both state liability as well as physical damage coverages of comprehensive and collision, speak with the financial institute the lease is through or read through your leasing document.

Tags: auto insurance

Reader’s Question:

My daughter lives in Atlanta GA, He had a Kentucky driver’s license but she has lost it. She had an accident and had let her insurance lapse. What kind of penalties she will be facing?

Arthur

Atlanta, GA

It will depend what all your daughter was cited for as to what penalties she will face. If she was found to be driving uninsured and without a license and was at-fault in an accident her penalties might be harsh.

In Kentucky, for a first violation of driving uninsured you must go to court and be imprisoned for not more than ninety days and can be fined between $500 to $1000 or both. Your Kentucky license plates and motor vehicle registration can be suspended for 1 year or until proof of auto insurance is presented. You also could lose your drivers license for up to 1 year.

To verify for sure what penalties she will be facing, if your daughter was cited for the above violations, she can call the court listed on her ticket and also check with the GA Department of Motor Vehicles.

Tags: auto insurance lapse, automobile, car insurance

Reader’s Question:

I got involved recently in a minor accident with a uninsured vehicle in Arizona. I’m afraid it was my fault and because I didn’t have some type of car insurance and it was just really minor accident I did not stop. What penalties do I expect? This happened in Dothan Alabama.

Mike

Dothan, AL

The state of Alabama has minimum car insurance requirements of 20/40/10. This liability limits stands for $20,000 of bodily injury coverage for one person up to $40,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident and property damage coverage or $10,000.

The penalty for drivers if found driving uninsured in Dothan Alabama can typically range from a $500 fine and potential suspension of license for the first offense up to a $1,000 fine and revocation of license for multiple offenses. It seems like you also didnt stop after the accident which this might be considered a hit and run and could come with harsh penalties of its own if the other motorist got your license plate and reported it to the law enforcement.

Tags: auto insurance, automobile, driving without insurance, traffic violation

Reader’s Question:

My teenage daughter is 18 years old and still resides with me in Atlanta, my question is :can she drive your car without being listed on your auto insurance? A friend for example borrows your vehicle and gets into an accident, was it legal for them to drive your vehicle because you gave them permission? Therefore will your insurance provider cover costs incurred minus your deductible?

Michelle

Atlanta, GA

Most insurance companies in Atlanta require you to list all of your household residents. With those who are licensed (or of driving age), your insurance company will give you the choice of listing them as ‘eligible’ to drive or ‘excluded’ from driving. If they are listed as ‘eligible,’ they will be rated against your policy’s premiums. If they are ‘excluded,’ they will not be rated against your policy’s premiums; however, you are accepting full responsibility if you let them drive - even once and no matter the circumstance. Now, the example you provided is an entirely different issue. Also household residents, your insurance provider wants to know who will be driving your car with any frequency or regularity. If someone is going to be driving your car with any regularity or frequency, that individual will need to be listed as an ‘eligible’ driver on your car insurance policy. The insurance carrier will cover someone who does not reside with you and you let that individual drive it for a ‘one-time’ thing.

Tags: automobile, car insurance rate, teen insurance, Young driver car insurance

Reader’s Question:

If I have a license in Georgia and received a ticket in the state of VA, can the points be accessed on my Georgia license?

Andrew

Atlanta, GA

Although Georgia is not part of the Drivers License Compact (DLC) which VA is a part of Georgia still has agreements with other states to share ticket information and receive in information on its licensed motorists infractions out of state.

According to the GA Department of Driver Services (DDS) points could be accessed to your GA driving record after a infraction of a Virginia traffic ticket since they will be informed by the Virginia courts or see it when they connect to the National Registry.

So if you are convicted of the VA traffic ticket it will go on your GA driving record and points could have assigned to it. It will likely depend upon if the offense is points worthy in Georgia or not. If it is an infraction that normally is assigned points in GA then it will most likely be assigned points even the violation occurred out of state.

Tags: car insurance

Reader’s Question:

I know that you should add someone in you insurance policy if they use your car more than regularly. But what are the consequences of them being involve in an accident and not having them listed on your policy? I have a friend that borrows my car, and we are living in the same household but if I add him to my insurance policy, my insurance rate goes up a lot and its so unreasonable! We live in Atlanta GA and I would like to know what will happen if he damages my car and he is not added to my policy?

Mike

Atlanta, GA

Generally, the consequences of not adding a household member to your insurance policy when it is required by your insurance company is that if he get involve in an accident while using your car they would deny claims since he was not a motorist on policy and therefore you were not paying premiums for him to covered to drive your car. We have heard of some insurance companies that will cover a household member that was not listed on the insurance policy.

Most insurance companies and state laws require you to add all licensed household members on your policy and either add them as motorists or exclude them. It does not appear that in Atlanta GA you could totally exclude your roommate from your policy, only from collision and comprehensive coverages.

Georgia law states that car insurance fraud happens when people knowingly misrepresent pertinent facts to an insurer or agent to get a policy or collect money to which they are not entitled. Removing a licensed household member from your insurance policy is a misrepresentation of facts and is considered soft fraud. Any form of car insurance fraud is a serious crime in Atlanta GA that can lead to possible jail time and heavy fines.

Reader’s Question:

My brother’s vehicle was hit while parked on a street in Atlanta, Georgia. There was no witness and he is filing a claim with his insurance company. In the state of Georgia, is there a maximum deductible allowed for hit and run claims?

Polly

Atlanta, GA

According to the Georgia Department of Insurance (DOI), Uninsured Motorist Insurance may be included on an insurance policy. Although Georgia requires all motorists to have “liability insurance” to operate a vehicle, there are unfortunately those that either do not abide the law or may have unknowingly permitted their insurance to cancel.

For injury to or destruction of property of the insured, deductibles of $250.00, $500.00, or $1,000.00, at the choice of any named insured in the insurance policy. Subject to the approval of the Commissioner, deductibles above $1,000.00 may be offered, .

If your brother is filing a claim for the damages he sustained in Atlanta GA under collision and not Uninsured Motorist Property Damage (UMPD), then verify with the GA DOI to find out if there is a maximum deductible allowed since the damage is from a hit and run accident.

Reader’s Question:

My son has let his auto insurance lapse. He have been cancelled for non-payment over the past years. He can’t seem to find an insurance company now to insure his auto in Atlanta GA. How can he get car insurance?

Noel

Atlanta, GA

Due to your son having car insurance issues previously (non-payment, lapse in coverage, etc) he is considered a high risk motorist. For motorists such as your son that are unable to find an insurance provider in the voluntary market that will insure them, most states have high risk insurance company that will cover these types of motorists.

Typically high risk drivers in Atlanta GA have to go the Georgia Automobile Insurance Plan (GAAIP). It was created in 1949 to give auto insurance coverage to eligible high risk motorist who seek coverage and are unable to get such coverage through the voluntary market.

Eligible Georgia Automobile Insurance Plan risks are shared among companies writing car insurance in the state of Georgia. To get more information who these insurance companies are in Georgia and how your son can get car insurance in Georgia through the GAAIP so that he can insure and operate his vehicle contact the Georgia Insurance Commissioner.

Reader’s Question:

My mother bought me a car but she lives in Alabama and I live in Atlanta Georgia. Can she insure it in AL and I tag it here in GA?

Brenda

Atlanta, GA

The answer is No. The Georgia laws states that you will need to have your vehicle insured in Georgia if your registration and license plates are from Georgia. Even if Georgia did allow you to have an out of state insurance company cover your car it would likely be difficult to find an insurance carrier that would cover a car that was insured in Alabama but driven and kept out of state in Georgia.

If your name is on the title of the vehicle your mother bought for you then it should not be difficult for you to get your own car insurance on the vehicle. If your name is not on the title then there are some insurance providers that will allow you to get insurance without insurable interest in the vehicle, but it would be easier for you to place coverage on the vehicle if your name was added to the car’s title.