Repercussions Of An SR-22 Policy
When you are required to carry an SR-22 policy added on to your regular car insurance, there are numerous repercussions. Even though the SR-22 is supposed to help you get back into good favor with all auto insurance companies, you may still find that additional consequences follow after you have been required by a traffic court judge to carry it. Here are some of those consequences and repercussions, as well as what can happen if you re-offend, try to cancel your insurance, or terminate the SR-22.
It Is on Your Driving Record for Two Years, Minimum
Even if the rest of your punishment for car accident, DUI, or driving uninsured does not come close to lasting that long or costing as much, you still have to carry the SR-22 certificate on your driving record for the time required and stated in your punishment. Two years is the minimum for most cases, while three years is the average for more serious offenses, and it is possible that you may have to carry it on your record even longer than that. What that means in terms of insurance rates is that you will pay a very high cost of insurance every month over the period of time in which you are required to carry the SR-22 on your record.
If You Re-Offend, You Have to Carry It Longer
An SR-22 policy is a lot like a suspended license. If you screw up and end up in traffic court while the license is suspended, for a similar offense that cost you your license before, your license is then revoked and the punishment is extended. An SR-22 is like that in that if you re-offend (e.g., get caught drinking and driving again, or create another major traffic accident), the judge just adds more time to an SR-22 policy requirement.
Let's say that you only have five months left before you can finally cancel your SR-22 insurance policy and be rid of it. Then you make a tragic mistake, or something really goes wrong, traffic-wise. The judge determines your role in the matter, and decides that maybe you did not learn your lesson, or that you have not learned to be careful enough. So, he/she decides to add another year or more to the SR-22 requirement you already have. Likewise, if you cancel your SR-22, or the car insurance you are required to carry, and then you find yourself in some trouble, the judge can, and probably will, make that required time even longer yet. Conversely, if you do everything right, you can terminate the SR-22 when the required time period is complete.
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