First, the idea that a police officer will not pull you over unless you are going over ten miles per hour over the speed limit is wrong. However, it is true that in most cases you are safe if you stay under that ten mile per hour barrier. But that does not mean there aren't cops out there who pull people over for speeding but staying under that ten mile per hour barrier.
Most often the reason for pulling someone over is not for speeding, but for some other reason (even though police are constitutionally prohibited from doing this, we know it happens all the time - it's what I like to call legal profiling). So you will find people that have been pulled over for going even 1 mph over the speed limit if the cops wanted to search the vehicle or otherwise make contact with the driver or passenger (just getting pulled over doesn't entitle the police to a search, but many people will consent when asked).
As Seattle traffic lawyers we often tell people whether or not they choose to speed is up to them, and I can help them no matter how much over the speed limit they are accused of going. But I must admit that a large majority of the tickets I defend are over 10 mph. I think at that point the cops think you may be reaching speeds that are unsafe for the roadway, and that is why you will often receive tickets for going that fast.
The insurance side of a Seattle speeding ticket is another story. Each company treats traffic infractions differently, and because Washington State doesn't have a points system, but simply reports infractions with the Department of Licensing as they occur, it is difficult to truly know exactly how an insurance company deals with a specific traffic infraction. What is pretty well known and understood, however, is that speeding tickets for going under 10 mph are generally not counted against you for insurance premium purposes.
This is not to say, however, that an insurance company won't increase your premiums just because you were found to have been speeding under 10 mph over the speed limit, particularly if you have a bunch of them. But, generally speaking, you usually won't see a hit on your insurance for a traffic infraction like that.
Something you can do to give you the best shot of the traffic infraction not showing up at all is to hire a Seattle traffic attorney to help. Not only do they know the ins and outs of traffic law and procedure, but they can recognize when you need to bite the bullet and ask for a deferral and when you have a legitimate chance to beat the speeding ticket. So, give us a call today.
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