As the defense attorneys at & Torrice, PLLC / Canu Torrice Law cautioned all Michigan driver’s on our www.AllLegalMatters blogs several months ago, despite the general representation to the public that a “no emailing / texting while driving” ticket in Michigan is just a zero (0) point offense with only a $100 fine, there are hidden penalties and severe financial consequences associated with such tickets because it will be abstracted to your driving record.
See Blog comments below:
http://alllegalmatters.com/blog/general/michigan-texting-driving-law/comment-page-1/#comment-850
Our insight into this new and confusing traffic law caught the attention of local Channel 7 news reporters in Michigan, who featured a segment with Peter A. Torrice from this law firm about the hidden penalties contained in Michigan’s no text messaging while driving law.
Until now, the Michigan criminal and traffic defense lawyers at Canu Torrice Law could only speculate how insurance companies would treat this type of traffic ticket for emailing or texting and driving in Michigan. We were correct in our concern over the effects of this new
Canu Torrice Law has been provided with a copy of a confidential memo from Citizen’s Insurance Company to their respective insurance agents in Michigan that reads as follows:
Texting/Emailing While Driving – Effective 9/1/10
Drivers ticketed for texting or emailing while driving will be assessed the same surcharge as a careless driving incident.This is effective 9/1/2010. For existing policies, the violation will be added at the next renewal. The violation will remain on the policy for 3 years.
Although this memo is just from one insurance carrier, there is no doubt that all major insurance companies will follow suit by implementing similar policies in order to radically increase your insurance rates.
Careless Driving in Michigan is a 3 point civil infraction and is one of the most severe civil infraction traffic tickets (non-criminal) that a police officer can issue. As evidenced by this memo, this allegedly harmless 0 point offense for emailing or texting while driving will actually be treated like a 3 point Careless Driving ticket by insurance companies, who will use this to drastically increase your insurance rates for 3 years! It is unremarkable that insurance companies and insurance lobbies were such strong supporters of this new legislation.
This is just further proof that if you are issued a traffic ticket in Michigan for emailing or texting while driving from your cell phone, it will cost you FAR more than the $100 fine for a 1st offense, unless you retain the services of a qualified defense attorney to fight these charges or negotiate a plea on your behalf. We strongly encourage you to contact Canu Torrice Law immediately if you are issued such a citation and not to merely pay this ticket, otherwise that $100 you think you are spending on the violation may have another “0” added to the end of the dollar amount you think it will cost you. Do not give the insurance companies more of your hard earned dollars by being misled to believe this is just a traffic ticket with a fine and no points; it will clearly have far more of an impact on your wallet than you were led to believe.
& Torrice, PLLC / Canu Torrice Law
(586) 285-1700
That is such crap! How can they treat a no point ticket like a careless driving in order to screw you on rates? If it was supposed to be that bad of a ticket why didnt the state make it that bad just confirms insurance companies screw you