"The hassle of contesting it ended up costing me more in time and stress than the fine itself."
I totally get where you're coming from—contesting tickets can be a headache, especially out-of-state. But I'd gently push back on the idea of always paying upfront. Sometimes, even if it's a bit of a hassle, contesting can actually save you money in the long run. For instance, certain tickets can bump your insurance premiums significantly, and that increase can stick around for years. I've seen cases where clients regretted not contesting because their rates jumped noticeably.
If you ever find yourself in this situation again, here's a quick tip: first, check with your insurance provider to see how much the ticket might affect your premium. Then weigh that against the hassle factor of contesting. It might still be worth the effort, even with Rhode Island's notoriously tricky system. But yeah, traffic tickets happen to everyone eventually...no big deal in the grand scheme of things.
Does anyone know if there's a way to easily check how much a ticket could bump your insurance rates before deciding to contest? Just bought my first policy and honestly had no clue a single ticket could mess things up that badly. Now I'm kinda paranoid...is there like an online calculator or something, or do you have to call your insurer every time? Seems like it'd be good info to have upfront.
