Reader’s Question:

My boyfriend was driving my car over the past weekend. He got pulled over for speeding and also received a drunk driving violation (DUI) and driving without a license in Houston Texas. How will this affect my auto insurance rate?

Kelly

Houston, TX

Generally, any tickets your friends receive while driving your car will not affect your auto insurance rates. The tickets for speeding, drunk driving and driving without a license should all have been issued to your boyfriend in Houston TX, the driver, and not the car, so typically will show up on his driving record and affect him.

If your boyfriend had an accident while driving your vehicle it would have affected your auto insurance since most likely it would be your insurance that would have to pay out on claims resulting from a crash.

Tags: auto insurance, car, car insurance rate, DUI, traffic school

Reader’s Question:

I know in my state, there is a different penalty for a DWI arrest with a child inside the car. Is this kind of DWI offense more serious than the DWI arrest that caused harm to someone in Texas?

William

Houston, TX

Thanks for asking William. The state of Texas has enacted a variety of different laws and regulations that are each designed to help eliminate the increasing number of DWI accidents, injuries, and fatalities occurring within the state by making it less appealing for underage individuals to purchase alcohol, less appealing for people over the age of 21 to sell alcohol to underage individuals, and less appealing for individuals to drive while intoxicated.

DWI is always considered to be a serious and major offense, but driving with a child in the car while intoxicated is considered to be a much more serious offense. If an individual is pulled over and had DWI arrest and there was a child under the age of 15 present in the car, the driver will be arrested for felony DWI. An individual convicted of felony DWI will receive a minimum of 180 days in jail to a maximum of two years in jail and may be imposed with up to a $10,000 fine. It is also important to keep in mind that the individual may be charged with other crimes related to the well-being and safety of the child in the car depending on the specific situation.

Even though the act of DWI with a child present in the car is considered to be an extremely serious offense, it is not the most serious alcohol-related offense for which an individual can be charged. If an individual is involved in a motor accident in which someone was seriously injured or harmed and it is determined that the individual was driving while intoxicated, the individual will be arrested for DWI and for intoxication assault.

Reader’s Question:

I live in Houston, Texas and was charged a DWI offense last month. How long will a DWI offense stay on my record and will it affect my insurance rates?

Carrie

Houston, TX

Thank you for asking Carrie. All alcohol related offenses are crimes, and are classified as either misdemeanors or felonies. Thus a DWI arrest will remain on your record for life.

In Texas, a DWI arrest will generally remain on your record past your lifetime. It is never removed unless you receive a pardon from the governor or the legislature changes the laws regarding the expunction of records. Thus, the DWI offense on your record will never go away. If you are found not guilty by a jury or by the court, you may be eligible to have the arrest and prosecution records destroyed through deletion. If you are concerned about having a criminal record for employment or credit purposes, you may consult a DWI attorney about fighting the charge.
Just so you know, it may take approximately 10 business days for the results of a criminal history record check, once the information is received by Texas Department of Public Safety. However, this government agency cannot guarantee the amount of time it may take to receive this information through the postal service.

As for the insurance, a DWI conviction will usually raise your rates from 300% to 500% for 5 or more years. Your insurance provider may have the option to cancel your coverage, forcing you to find another insurance provider. Moreover, most insurance companies will stop considering drunk driving convictions in accessing auto insurance rates after a period of years.

Reader’s Question:

I am from Houston, TX and I own a motorcycle. I want to get an idea as to how will I be required to file for an SR22? What are the violations included in the filing for an SR22?

Anthony

Houston, TX

Thanks for asking, Anthony. The Texas (DPS) Department of Public Safety mandates drivers in Texas for SR-22 requirements. If you have certain violations that have occurred in the State of Texas, you may be required to maintain SR22 insurance. Violations that trigger an SR22 requirement include, but are not limited to: DUI, driving without insurance, reckless driving, or acquiring too many points within a certain period of time. Generally, filing must be held within a 2-year period. The state will determine the amount of time, and a policy will need to be maintained until that date, or your license will be suspended. The insurance company and the DPS office will communicate to assure that the policy is kept in force. As long as the SR22 policy is maintained, the state will allow the license to remain valid on either a hardship or occupational status.

Most cases, a motorcycle policy will run $300 per year for the first year, and then lowered to just about $100 per year for each successive year. You may want to consider applying for SR22 insurance on a motorcycle/scooter if you are younger or live in the Houston area or other areas in Texas that involve more expensive insurance.

Reader’s Question:

I was convicted for a DWI offense last week and as I was researching I read that tolerance to alcohol may affect intoxication. Is that true? Because I have a high tolerance towards intake of alcohol, will my tolerance to alcoholic drinks affect my blood alcohol level when I undergo a blood alcohol test in Texas?

Sam

Houston, Texas

That answer to that question Sam is a big No. Tolerance to alcohol will not affect the measurement of your blood alcohol content if you take a blood alcohol test. As you know, in Texas a person may be convicted of DWI if their blood, breath or urine has a 0.08 alcohol concentration. Although their alcohol content will not be affected, their level of impairment and intoxication may. Alcohol tolerance may vary from an individual to another, depending on their genetics, prolonged use of alcohol, and effects with other drugs. Unless a person exhibits a very high tolerance to alcohol, a 0.20 blood alcohol content already indicates a very dangerous level for intoxication and for first time drinkers at only 0.15 they would already be unconscious. In extreme situations, like a case reported in Bulgaria, a very high alcohol tolerance can survive a blood alcohol content of 0.0914.

There is no actual definite rule that can accurately predict alcohol level, as every person is different and will process and metabolize alcohol at their unique rate. The only difference is that if a person has a liver failure, if they drink, the alcohol level will not easily be metabolized since the liver has been damaged already.

Reader’s Question:

My grandson was riding his dirt bike on a public road and received a violation for no insurance in Houston. Can we even obtain insurance on a dirt bike? Will the coverage we have on our current cars meet the insurance requirement?

Taylor

Houston, TX

You can contact your car insurance agent in Houston to check if your current vehicle insurance policy will cover the dirt bike and therefore can be used in court as proof of insurance but it is unlikely that it will cover the bike.

Your car insurance policy usually covers only the cars listed, not any type of car not listed such as a dirt bike, motorcycle, etc. You would need a separate policy for these motor vehicles to be covered. If your car insurance does not cover the dirt bike then you could not take this insurance policy into court as proof of insurance. The court is looking to see that if your grandson had damaged anyone or anything while driving the dirt bike on public roads that there was insurance at least state minimum liability insurance in place that would have covered the accident.

You or your grandson will need to call the court listed on his violation to find out what the penalties are for driving his dirt bike on public roads and without insurance. You may see if buying insurance for the bike now would help his case in any way.

Reader’s Question:

I am a resident of Houston, Texas and I am just wondering if I get two tickets for driving without insurance, will I need to get an SR22?

Carol

Houston, TX

Normally, yes, if you have been convicted of operating a vehicle without insurance in Houston Texas or in any plac in Texas for a second time your license will be suspended and to restore it you will be required to get and maintain an SR-22 for two years after your conviction date.

If the Department of Public Safety informed you that an SR-22 is required then it will need to be filed by your insurance provider. An SR-22 insurance policy is a form of insurance that shows the Texas DPS proof of insurance for the future, as required by the Texas law. SR-22 insurance is car liability insurance which requires the insurance carrier to certify coverage to DPS, and the insurance carrier must notify DPS anytime the policy is cancelled, terminated or lapses.

Reader’s Question:

I was charged with a DUI in Houston, Texas and I have had full coverage on my vehicle for 5 years and it was in effect on the day of the conviction. Am I required to get AR22 in conjunction with my current insurance policy I have, which I have never allowed to lapse?

Andrea

Houston, TX

If you are charged of the DUI and had your license suspended by the state of Texas for this offense then yes. Normally you would now be required to acquire and maintain a SR-22 as part of your driver’s license reinstatement process.

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) states that a conviction for driving while intoxicated (DWI) typically results in a license suspension. The time period varies by court but may not exceed two years. A conviction of a DWI/DUI for an individual under the age of 21 will result in an automatic suspension for a year per Texas Transportation Code 521.344

Now, you will need to then maintain the SR-22 for the required period of time. If you are going to cancel it and the DPS received notification from the insurance provider that the policy was cancelled, terminated, or lapsed, appropriate enforcement action may be taken. If the SR-22 is still required and there is no valid SR-22 on file, the driving privilege and vehicle registration will be suspended or revoked by the DPS.

To make sure if in your particular situation you will need to file a SR-22 if not, contact the Texas DPS directly.

Q: What can I do to get cheap SR22 in Houston TX?

A: If you want a cheap SR22 in Houston TX, then you need to start shopping around regularly to make sure you are with the best car insurance company. Many Americans choose not to do this, whether out of igorance or laziness, and as a result the average policy holder in this country pays four hundred dollars more than necessary on their car insurance coverage.

In order to maintain a cheap SR22 in Houston TX, you need to start shopping around at certain times. A minimum amount of shopping and comparing of car insurance companies you should be doing is once every year. I prefer to do it every time my policy is renewed. My policy is renewing this monh, so I looked around, and while my company is the best, if I had gotten with another company I would be paying a hundred and fifty more a month. Comparing is worth it.

Other than that, the other times you should be shopping around are when something important in your life has changed. If you recently had a change of address, got married, or turned 25, for example.

Q: What is Houston SR22 and how much is required?

A: When your driver’s license is suspended in Texas, here are certain consequences in the form of higher car insurance requirements which you must hold for two years after the date of your license’s first suspension. This special requirement is called the Houston SR22 form, and it must be filed by your car insurance company with the Texas DPS if you want to have your driver’s license’s workability returned to you.

Houston SR22 car insurance is costly, and although you don’t have to have more coverage than usual, you are required to keep paying on it and will be caught immediately if you fail to continue being insured. If you don’t pay your car insurance premium, your coverage will be canceled and your driver’s license resuspended along with it.

As for the required minimum car insurance for your Houston SR22 policy, you will have to follow Texas insurance laws which require you to have a total of seventy five thousand dollars in coverage, which breaks down to forty thousand bodily injury liability per accident, with twenty thousand allotted per person, and fifteen thousand dollars of property damage coverage.