The Maryland Car Law That Could Penalize You Without Even Driving

Traffic tickets can have a profound impact on many parts of your life, including your state driver's record. Additionally, getting a speeding ticket costs much more than you realize and can happen to even the most careful of drivers. While speeding tickets and traffic violations are left up to individual states, fines for speeding can reach as high as $500. While these laws are in place ultimately to keep drivers safe, a new law introduced in Maryland will fine car owners regardless of who is driving.

Maryland recently introduced a law that charges vehicles caught by speeding cameras based on their speed. This new law is meant to catch what the state calls "Super Speeders" or repeat offenders who consistently break the law. The state reports that the law is in juxtaposition to a former policy in which vehicles were issued a flat $40 fee for getting flagged by cameras, regardless of speed or offense. The catch in this new law is that tickets are issued via license plate and violations are assigned to registered owners, meaning if it's your car, even if you are not behind the wheel, you will be charged. This means owners can have a cascade of repercussions beyond just fines, as one's insurance premiums can also go up.

It is important to note that when it comes to speeding fines, some may be unavoidable and are just bad luck. Such is the case for one Washington D.C resident who told New 4 Washington that they had to battle hundreds of dollars in fines due to a stolen license plate. With thieves only needing a simple pair of tools to extract a plate, it can be easy to fall prey to this scam, adding to the terrifying amount of money Americans lost this year to scams. With this being said, the state of Maryland allows vehicle owners to contest tickets with vehicle models as a key piece of evidence in a defendant's case.

Additionally, speeding tickets affect your insurance rates regardless of who is driving, with some states seeing a nearly $1,000 increase in premiums for just one violation. One way to combat this is by taking an active role in understanding your premiums and expanding your coverage to ensure that any drivers who may get behind the wheel of your car. Another issue that affects insurance is collision coverage joining premiums on a list of auto insurance choices that could cost you big. Maryland is among many states in America that utilize traffic enforcement via camera, with Illinois and California as states with some of the most extensive coverage.