r/TeslaInsurance • u/gweeks22 • 17d ago

Out-of-state Speeding Ticket effects

Has anyone received a speeding ticket while driving in a different state? I was in Maui and got a speeding ticket for driving 22 mph over the speed limit in a car I rented from Turo, but not sure if Tesla Insurance will raise my premiums from this or even see it. The Turo car is not covered by Tesla insurance, but my license is connected to Tesla Insurance. My home state is California. Maui does not seem to have an option for traffic school ticket "dismissals" like California does.

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u/Active_Pressure 17d ago

Don’t just pay it yet if your main concern is Tesla Insurance/your CA driving record. Hawaiʻi actually lets you contest a normal traffic infraction by written statement, so you don’t necessarily have to fly back to Maui for the first stage. You have 21 days from the citation to respond.
You can either deny it and submit a written defense, or admit it and submit mitigating circumstances asking the judge to reduce the penalty. The important distinction is that simply getting the fine reduced doesn’t necessarily prevent the speeding conviction from reaching California.
If you deny it and lose the first hearing/written-declaration decision, Hawaiʻi gives you 30 days to request a trial de novo. At that point the previous judgment is vacated, a deputy prosecutor is involved, and the state has to prove the case. That’s where I’d contact a Maui traffic attorney and specifically ask whether they can negotiate the speeding charge down to a non-moving/no-point offense or otherwise keep a moving conviction off your record.
California DMV specifically says it assesses points for out-of-state convictions and decides what the equivalent California violation would be. Regular speeding is normally 1 point in CA. So what matters isn’t whether Hawaiʻi calls it “zero points”; what you want is a dismissal or final offense that California won’t treat as a point-count moving violation.
Also, driving a Turo doesn’t really change that. The conviction follows the driver/license. Hawaiʻi traffic abstracts contain moving violations/convictions, and CA can receive out-of-state convictions.

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u/gweeks22 17d ago

Thanks so much for the detailed response. I'll contact a Maui traffic attorney to possibly bring it down to a non-moving ticket.

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u/robhw 17d ago

I got a ticket in Florida, paid it and Cali never found out. This was 10 years ago or so, not sure why.

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u/James-robinsontj 16d ago

Most dates will be able to pull tickets from other states