You Can Better Your Driving History
If you’ve got some bad marks on your driving record, this can hamper you in a surprising variety of ways. Did you know if you’ve had a DUI, you’re not allowed to enter Canada unless you’re able to get specific approvals or temporary citizenship? It’s true! The only way around it other than that is for the DUI to fall off your driving record, but in some states that won’t happen.
If you’ve gotten into an accident, gotten tickets, had a DUI, or managed to damage your driving record in other ways, you’re not alone. Entire legal agencies exist to address insurance claims and collateral fallout. Also, you’re likely not going to see the record get “set straight”, as it were, without working to see as much happen yourself. Accordingly, following are several strategies you can use to help clean up your driving record.
Avoid Claims Being Filed
This is a simple one that seems self-explanatory, but there is some subtlety here. The likelihood is, you’re going to have to deal with accident claims in your life at some point; as BattaFulkerson.com points out, “According to the car insurance industry, the average driver files an auto accident and property damage claim every 17.9 years.” That means you’re likely to have three or four of these over the course of a normal life.
Whether you’re a Texas business or a private individual in Kansas, you need appropriate legal representation for fullest asset recovery in many situations involving claims. But avoiding the claim itself makes more sense. Now if you’ve already got demerits on your record, you want to avoid getting more. Additionally, if you don’t, you want to keep things clean. So how do you keep a claim from being filed—especially if you’re the one who is at fault? Well, first, look into the legal restrictions of your state.
Some states don’t require that an accident is reported if under $1,000 in damages have taken place, and nobody was injured. For a lot of little fender-benders that would increase your insurance rate monthly and put permanent marks on your driving record, you can avoid bureaucracy by settling with the other driver(s) immediately.
If you can keep $1,000 safely stashed in your car, do so. If neither of you needs to be towed after the accident, odds are a grand will cover it. You can ask for the other driver to assess the situation and see how much they think the damage is worth, then pay them in that amount. This could save you massive premium hikes in the event of a collision that will cost you far more in the long-run. If you do get into a little crash where you’re at fault, offer to pay the individual impacted directly. This is legal in many states, but you should check the legality of your own to see whether or not the law requires all accidents to be reported.
Keep Clean Until Certain Things Fall Off
In some states, if you can just keep from making the same mistake twice, it’ll fall off your record. In California, a DUI falls off your record after ten years. This isn’t the case for DUIs in Colorado, though. Check with your state. Sometimes all you’ve got to do is wait it out.
Get Records Expunged Or Sealed
Last but not least, you can get records expunged or sealed in many states provided you’re able to source the right legal representation. Be tenacious about this. The right lawyer can get the job done in most scenarios, but you’re likely to find many practices who may tell you it’s impossible.
Well, that depends on what you can pay to get it done, and the circumstances regarding the incident. True, there may be some things you just can’t clean up; but you may be surprised at what can be expunged or sealed. Check with an attorney.
A Cleaner Record
Waiting for infractions to fall away, getting records expunged, and avoiding claims where possible can be effective strategies in ensuring your driving record isn’t hampered by past mistakes.
