Monday, January 17, 2000
Insurer gives Ohioans a break
Says drivers here are most-ticketed
The Associated Press
COLUMBUS — Ohio drivers who have one traffic ticket for a minor violation are getting a major break from an auto insurer.
Farmers Insurance Group, the nation's third-largest home and auto insurer, says Ohio passes out more traffic tickets for minor moving violations, such as speeding, than any other state.
For that reason, the Los-Angeles-based insurer expanded a program last year offering Ohio drivers a 21 percent rate discount previously offered only to drivers with no violations.
Annette Thompson, Farmers' state executive director in Ohio, estimates there are 1.6 million drivers in Ohio with one minor citation that may be eligible for the savings this year.
“We didn't feel that what we were doing in Ohio made sense for the marketplace,” Ms. Thompson said. “We wanted to make sure that every driver pays the appropriate price based on their driving characteristics.”
For its population, Ohio has more drivers with one traffic ticket than any other state, according to Farmers, which based its research on sta tistics from the Ohio Department of Public Safety and on information in a 1996 Columbus Dispatch series on Ohio traffic laws.
Also, Ohio has 27 municipalities that derived more income from traffic tickets than property taxes, the newspaper said.
Sgt. Gary Lewis, a spokesman for the State Highway Patrol, could not confirm whether Ohio has more minor moving violations than other states.
The patrol and the state keep track of traffic tickets, such as speeding violations, in one-year time periods, Sgt. Lewis said. A speeding citation receives 2 points towards a maximum 12 points per year.
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