A speeding ticket can raise your auto insurance rates by an average of 28% in Nebraska. After paying your fine, shopping for new quotes is the best route to a better rate.

Written by Jaya Anandjit

Edited by Jessica Barrett

Reviewed by Brice Regling

Updated on Jan 31, 2024

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How to deal with a speeding ticket in Nebraska
Nebraska Speeding ticket Penalties
Your insurance rates will increase at renewal after a Nebraska speeding ticket
Best insurance companies after a speeding ticket in Nebraska
FAQs

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If you receive a

Nebraska

speeding ticket, you have three options: pay the fine—and face a potential 28%

car insurance

rate hike—fight it in court, or take a driving safety training class to get the citation dismissed.

How to deal with a speeding ticket in Nebraska

Step 1: Decide how you will handle your speeding ticket

You have 15 days to respond to the ticket. You can plead guilty and pay the fine (if permitted), appear in court to contest the charge (sometimes required), or take a class through the Nebraska Safety Council’s

Safety Training Option Program (STOP)

(if allowed) before the court date to have the citation dismissed.1

Step 2: Prepare for the outcomes of your speeding ticket decision

Plead guilty and pay: If you choose to plead guilty and pay the ticket, you will need to prepare for the fines, fees, points on your record—which could lead to a driver’s license suspension—and higher insurance rates as a result. Make sure that the “Waiver Allowed” box is checked off on your citation.

Appear in court: If you decide to contest the charge in a Nebraska County Court, you may need to hire a Nebraska traffic ticket attorney and you will need evidence to support your case.

Safety Training Option Program (STOP): If you want to get your citation dismissed by participating in STOP, you will need to do so before the assigned date of your court appearance. Keep in mind that this may not be an option for more serious moving violations, like reckless driving or speeding while driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI).2

Step 3: Shop for car insurance before your next renewal

Your insurance company will only find out about your speeding ticket if you plead guilty or it isn’t dismissed—and only once your policy is up for renewal. At this time, you’ll probably see your rates increase by an average of 28%. Shopping around and comparing quotes from different providers can help you find a rate lower than your renewal premium.

Learn more:

Car insurance renewal—are you ready for your new rate?

How to pay your speeding ticket in Nebraska

In some cases, you may be required to appear in court to fight your speeding ticket. Otherwise, you may receive a waiverable citation, in which you can waive your right to a court appearance and plead guilty to your traffic citation by paying it upfront.

If you choose an admission of guilt, you have three options to pay your ticket:

Online: You can use the

Nebraska Judicial Branch Internet Citation Payment System

to waive your right to trial and make an ePayment using a credit card, debit card, or eCheck. You will need your citation number, the county where the ticket was issued, the citation date, and your personal information.

By mail: Your ticket will list an address to which you can send a check or money order to the institution outlined on the citation.

In person: You can visit the court address listed on your ticket to pay the fine and additional fees for your speeding ticket. To find out about acceptable forms of payment and office hours, you can

call the court

beforehand.

Warning: Failure to Comply If you fail to pay your speeding ticket fine or do not appear in court to plea your citation, your driving privileges will be revoked. You will need to provide the DMV with a Notice of Compliance or a receipt from the court to prove that you’ve taken care of the citation.3

How to get your speeding ticket dismissed in Nebraska

To get your Nebraska speeding ticket dismissed, you can either take a Nebraska STOP course or go to trial.

If eligible, you will be required to enroll in a STOP course within 10 days of getting your ticket, but in some cases, you may be offered the chance to enroll after your court proceedings have begun. For more information, scroll down to the next section.

Here’s how the trial process typically works:

Pre-trial conference

Before your actual trial, you’ll meet with a state prosecutor. The typical outcomes of a pre-trial conference are a plea agreement to which you plead guilty but face lesser penalties, your enrolment in a STOP course to dismiss the charges, or your case will be taken to trial.

Trial

If a plea agreement can’t be met, your case will be taken to trial. This is where you might hire a traffic ticket lawyer to present evidence. The most common defenses for a speeding ticket in Nebraska are a defective radar or LiDAR gun, improper use of speed timing technology by the responsible law enforcement officer, a defective speedometer in your vehicle, or a medical emergency.

Verdict

The judge will come to a final verdict concerning your case. Typically, drivers with

clean driving records

and no previous traffic violations are granted a dismissal, but it depends on the severity of your traffic infraction.

Keep in mind that if the judge convicts you, you could face the following penalties:

Fines

Demerit points on your driving record

License suspension due to points

If your traffic violation is deemed reckless driving in court, you could face jail time.

Ignorance is not a practical defense: Whether you are an out-of-state driver, a new resident of Nebraska, or a new driver—you must be aware of Nebraska’s traffic laws, including speeding regulations for all applicable roadways. A lack of knowledge will not support your case in court.

Learn more:

How to get a clean driving record (and save on insurance)

Nebraska Safety Training Option Program (STOP)

Depending on the circumstances of your violation, you may have the option of attending a four-hour

STOP class

—also known as a defensive driving course—in lieu of paying a fine, going to court, and having points added to your driving record.

A copy of your driver’s license

A copy of your ticket

A copy of the accident report (if there was one)

Certain Nebraska drivers are not eligible for this program, including:

Drivers cited for speeding more than 19 mph over the speed limit

Drivers who have taken any STOP class in the past three years

Drivers with more than one moving violation on the ticket

Drivers who were operating a vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol

Drivers who left the scene of the accident

Driver who failed to move over, slow down, or yield to an emergency vehicle

Driver who did not have valid insurance at the time of the moving violation

Drivers with a commercial driver’s license (CDL)

Nebraska Speeding ticket Penalties

The base fine for a Nebraska speeding ticket is $10 for driving less than 5 mph over the speed limit. The price will increase depending on your speed and your location. Fines are doubled if you are caught speeding in a construction zone or a school crossing zone.

In addition to fines, you will face one to four points on your driving record.

Nebraska speeding ticket fines

Speed	Base fine	Construction zone or school crossing zone fine
1 to 5 mph above speed limit	$10	$20
5 to 10 mph above speed limit	$25	$50
10 to 15 mph above speed limit	$75	$150
15 to 20 mph above speed limit	$125	$250
20 to 35 mph above speed limit	$200	$400
Over 35 mph above speed limit	$300	$600

Nebraska speeding violation point system

The Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) adds points to your record for speeding in residential districts, business areas, county roads, state highways, and interstate highways.4

Violation	Points
Speeding less than 5 miles per hour over the limit	0
Speeding 5 to 10 miles per hour over the limit	1
Speeding more than 10 but less than 15 miles per hour over the limit	2
Speeding more than 15 but less than 35 miles per hour over the limit	3
Speeding over 35 miles per hour over the limit	4

Improve your driving habits & earn perks

If you recently received your first speeding ticket in Nebraska, you might be driving on the safer—and slower—side going forward.

To avoid future speeding citations and improve your speed management on the roads, use a telematics tool like Jerry’s DriveShield to track your speed and overall driving habits.

Drivers who track their driving in the Jerry app earn an average safe driving discount of 12% from their auto insurance provider.

Your insurance rates will increase at renewal after a Nebraska speeding ticket

If you paid your speeding ticket fine or were found guilty of the infraction, you’ll need to prepare for a car insurance rate hike.

Step 1: Check your renewal date

Your speeding ticket won’t affect your car insurance rate until your policy is up for renewal. When your renewal date rolls around, your insurance provider will look for new traffic violations on your

motor vehicle report (MVR)

. When they detect your speeding ticket, a surcharge will be added to your premium.

Step 2: Review your renewal rate

Your current insurer will send you a renewal notice when your policy renewal date is coming up. You’ll notice a higher premium due to your speeding ticket surcharge, and you can choose to pay that rate or look for a lower offer.

Step 3: Compare rates from other insurance companies

If your renewal rate looks too high, you can compare quotes from at least three to five different providers to find a better rate. Even with a speeding ticket on your record, a more affordable rate could be out there.

Car insurance rates increase by an average of 28% at renewal after a speeding ticket, but each insurance company uses a different method to

calculate rates

Your current provider might increase your insurance premiums by 28% or more while another insurance carrier could offer you a policy that costs only 20% more than your pre-infraction rate.

Our recommendation: Use the Jerry app to build a profile with your current driving record and efficiently compare quotes from different insurance providers in one place.

Browse personalized quotes from different companies and receive automatic reshop quotes to help you stay up to date with new rates that can help bring your car insurance expenses down.

As your demerit points fall further back on your driving record, automatic reshopping can help you uncover lower premiums when your policy is up for renewal or when a better rate is available in your location.

Best insurance companies after a speeding ticket in Nebraska

Remember: Each insurance provider handles traffic offenses differently, but you will see an increase in your premiums due to a speeding ticket, regardless of your insurer.

To give you an idea of how much your rate could go up, here’s a rundown of post-speeding ticket rate hikes from popular insurance companies.

Insurance company	Average rate increase after a speeding ticket
Allstate	15%
USAA	17%
American Family	22%
Nationwide	26%
State Farm	26%
Farmers	31%
Auto-Owners	36%
Travelers	37%
GEICO	Progressive
Progressive	43%

Where'd we get these numbers?
Jerry’s editorial team researched the average rate increase after a speeding ticket for these 10 insurance companies using expert sources from Forbes, NerdWallet, ValuePenguin, WalletHub, Liberty Mutual, The Zebra, and CarInsurance.com. Our data shows the average of the data shared by these sources.

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FAQs

Will I lose my license if I don’t fight a speeding ticket?

If you choose not to fight your speeding ticket, you will need to pay the fine before the deadline to avoid losing your license.

You could also lose your license if you accrue 12 demerit points on your driving record in two years. A speeding violation will add up to four points to your record, so you could lose your license if you already have at least eight points before the speeding incident.

Should I fight or pay my speeding ticket?

If you have evidence and/or witnesses to back up your story, it may be worth it to fight the ticket and try to avoid the added driving record points and increased insurance rates.

If you don’t think you can prove that the speeding ticket was unwarranted, it’s best to take a STOP class instead and get both the points and the fine dismissed.

What is the penalty for speeding in Nebraska?

The penalties for speeding in Nebraska include a fine plus administrative fees and points on your driving record. If you are convicted of a speeding infraction in Nebraska, you will also face a car insurance rate increase of approximately 28%.

How long does it take for a speeding ticket to come off your record in Nebraska?

If convicted, your Nebraska speeding ticket will remain on your driving record for five years.5

How do I get out of a speeding ticket in Nebraska?

To get a speeding ticket dismissed in Nebraska, you can take a Safety Training Option Program course or fight your ticket in court.

What happens if I don’t pay a speeding ticket in Nebraska?

If you do not respond to your speeding ticket by paying it before your court date or appearing in court to fight it, your driver’s license will be suspended by the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles.

SOURCES

https://www.dmv.org/ne-nebraska/paying-traffic-tickets.php

https://www.lancaster.ne.gov/195/Safety-Training-Option-Program-STOP

https://dmv.nebraska.gov/fr/failure-comply-traffic-ticket#:~:text=Explanation,or%20from%20any%20other%20state

https://dmv.nebraska.gov/fr/nebraska-point-system

https://dmv.nebraska.gov/fr/nebraska-point-system#:~:text=Upon%20conviction%20of%20a%20violation,for%20five%20(5)%20years