What To Do If You Have an Oregon Speeding Ticket

A speeding ticket can raise your insurance rates by an average of 30% in Oregon. Shopping for new rates should be your first step after paying your fine.
Written by Sarah Gray
Edited by R.E. Fulton
Oregon
drivers have two options for dealing with a speeding ticket: plead guilty and pay the fine or fight the charge in court. Minimum fines for speeding in Oregon typically range from $115 to over $1,000—plus, you’ll see an average 30% increase in your
car insurance
premiums.

How to deal with a speeding ticket in Oregon

Step 1: Check your traffic ticket to determine if you’re required to make a court appearance. In Oregon, speeding is a violation, not a crime, so you won’t usually be required to make a court appearance. However, certain circumstances may require you to make a court appearance, especially if your ticket coincides with a criminal offense, like reckless driving.
Step 2: Decide whether to pay your ticket or fight it. Oregon drivers can choose to pay a presumptive fine, appear in court to have a judge determine your fine, or appear in court to fight your ticket. If you plead guilty or are found guilty of speeding, the ticket will be added to your record, which could lead to loss of driving privileges and higher insurance rates.
Step 3: Shop for car insurance before your next renewal. When your insurer learns of your speeding ticket, you’ll face rate increases averaging around 30%.

How to pay your ticket

If you choose to plead guilty or “no contest” to your speeding ticket, how you pay your ticket will depend on whether you’re required to appear in court.
Option 1: If you’re not required to appear in court, you can simply pay the presumptive fine online
If you know you’re guilty and don’t want to bother with a court appearance, you can chose to pay the presumptive fine for your violation using the Oregon Judicial Branch’s
OJD Courts ePay
system:
  1. Select “Citation/Summons/Complaint”
  2. Select the county in which you were cited
  3. Enter the citation number found on your speeding ticket
  4. Confirm that you’re entering a plea of “no contest,”
  5. Enter payment information for Visa, MasterCard, or Discover credit or debit card
  6. Confirm payment for fine, plus $1.50 processing fee.
You can also pay your fine by mail, by phone, or in person.1 Check the
Oregon Judicial Branch’s Payments page
for more information on utilizing these options.
Expert Tip: Use the Central Violations Bureau electronic system to see if you
qualify for a fine reduction
before making a payment. 
Option 2: If you’re required to appear in court, or you simply choose to appear to enter your plea, your fine will be determined by a judge.
Note that the presumptive fine associated with your class of speeding ticket is usually the starting point for judges in these matters. Depending on the circumstances you present, the judge may decrease your fine or approve a payment plan, or if you fail to appear the fine may be increased.2
Payments for Oregon traffic ticket fines must be made by the deadline shown on your speeding ticket. Failure to pay your ticket by the deadline could result in driver’s license suspension and additional fines and penalties.

How to get your ticket dismissed

There are several situations in which a speeding ticket may be dismissed in Oregon, especially with the help of an experienced traffic lawyer. Some typical reasons for dismissal include3:
  • Failure of the ticketing officer to show up in court
  • A missing element of the traffic citation, such as a clerical or officer error
  • A legal justification for speeding (such as a medical emergency or defective speedometer)
  • Weaknesses in the officer’s subjective judgment in issuing the ticket
  • Discrepancies in the officer’s objective observation of the violation or defective equipment
No matter which legal pressure point you think you can press to get your ticket dismissed, you need to ensure you respond by mailing your traffic ticket to the court indicated on the citation within 10 business days of receipt. Ensure you’ve marked the appropriate plea box on the back of the citation and that you’ve signed it.4
Even with a traffic ticket attorney, you  have a better chance of getting your ticket dismissed if it’s a first offense. If you don’t have a
clean driving record
, the court is less likely to dismiss your citation, but even with a clean history, any of these situations can be hard to prove. 
Unless you have a
CDL
or your speeding ticket also includes a
reckless driving
charge or other major offense, like a
DUI or DWI
, it may be less hassle (and less cost) to simply pay the fine. 

Calculate your Oregon speeding ticket penalties

Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 811.109
defines exceeding the speed limit as a violation rather than a criminal offense. Speeding violations are punishable by two main types of penalties:
  • Fines and fees: Oregon assigns a minimum $115 to $1,150 fine for speeding with additional fees added for speeding in construction and school zones.5 Surcharges and court fees vary across the state.
  • Items added to record of past convictions: Rather than assigning points to a given violation, Oregon records the violations themselves. Accumulation of multiple serious violations, such as speeding tickets, can result in
    license suspension
Below is a breakdown of the
Oregon Department of Finance and Administration
schedule of costs and penalties associated with speeding violations and excessive speeding in Oregon.

The Oregon speeding ticket fines schedule

Speeding offense
Infraction classification
Presumptive fine
Additional fines for speeding in school/work zones and safety corridors
Additional penalties
One to 10 mph over speed limit
Class D traffic violation
$115
$225
11 to 20 mph over speed limit
Class C traffic violation
$165
$325
10 mph or less over speed limit of 65 mph or more
Class C traffic violation
$165
$325
21 to 30 mph over speed limit
Class B traffic violation
$265
$525
10 to 20 mph over speed limit of 65 mph or more
Class B traffic violation
$265
$525
30+ mph over speed limit
Class A traffic violation
$440
$875
License suspension up to 30 days
20+ mph over speed limit of 65 mph or more
Class A traffic violation
$440
$875
License suspension up to 30 days
100+ mph at any time
Class A traffic violation
$1,150
$875
30 to 90 days license suspension
Oregon’s Department of Licensing does not operate a driving record points system—but they do keep track of all moving violations to ensure proper penalties for repeat offenders. Accumulation of multiple speeding violations won’t add up points on your
Oregon driving record
, but it can still lead to license suspension.

How to remove speeding tickets from your Oregon driving record

Every three years, drivers have a chance to get one speeding ticket removed from their record by completing Oregon’s Traffic School Diversion Program.6 This option is not available to commercial drivers.

Earn safe driving perks

Unfortunately, there’s no other way to remove a ticket that’s already on your record. But you can avoid accumulating more traffic violations and help improve your driving record by using telematics tools like
Jerry’s
DriveShield. 
app screenshot
DriveShield tracks your driving habits, including speeding, harsh acceleration and braking, and phone use and rewards you with points to spend on perks.
Plus, drivers who track their driving in the Jerry app earn an average safe driving discount of 12% from their auto insurance provider.

Your insurance will go up after a speeding ticket—here’s how to lower it

Traffic violations cost you in more ways than just fines and fees—they’ll result in increased insurance premiums too. Drivers in Oregon should expect an average 30% increase in car insurance rates following a speeding ticket.
Here’s what you can do to help keep your Oregon insurance affordable, even after a speeding ticket:
Step 1. Check your renewal date. 
When your provider prepares a renewal quote for your next policy term, that’s when they’ll run your most recent
motor vehicle report (MVR)
—and that’s also when they’ll find out about and surcharge you for your speeding ticket. If your policy recently renewed, you’ll get to continue enjoying your low rates for at least a little while. 
Step 2: Wait for your renewal notice.
Approximately one month before renewal, your current insurer will send you a renewal notice (or a cancellation notice if you’ve gotten a few too many tickets). Once you’ve got that renewal letter with your new rate in hand, it’s time to get to work.
Step 3: Compare rates from other providers.
Your provider will offer you the best rate they can given your driving history—but if you’re not happy with it,
compare quotes
from at least a handful of other providers to see if they have better rates to offer after your ticket.
Oregon car insurance rates increase by an average of 30% after a speeding ticket, but each provider uses their own
process to calculate rates
—some may give your speeding ticket less weight than others resulting in a more affordable policy.
app screenshot
A simple way to compare rates from multiple providers based on your current record is to use the
Jerry
app.
Once you build your driver profile by answering just a few questions, you’ll be able to see quotes tailored for you.
For drivers actively working toward a clean driving record, Jerry offers automatic reshops. With this feature activated, you'll instantly get new quotes when your policy is up for renewal, plus you’ll get notifications if a new provider in your area might be able to offer lower premiums.
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Cheapest car insurance companies after a speeding ticket in Oregon

Here’s how major insurance companies tend to handle rate renewals after a speeding ticket:
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
38%
Progressive
43%
Remember: Every car insurance company calculates rates differently and that includes how they deal with traffic offenses. Your rate may increase by less or more than shown in this table based on the length of time you’ve been with your provider, your existing record, and whether or not you plead guilty to your ticket.
Highlighticon
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.

FAQs

How much is a speeding ticket in Oregon?

Base fines for speeding in Oregon vary from $115 to $1,150. If you’re caught speeding in a school zone or work zone, or a safety corridor or construction zone, you could face fines up to $875 to that base fine.

Is it worth fighting a speeding ticket in Oregon?

Maybe. If you have a legitimate reason to believe you shouldn’t be cited for speeding, you should enter a not guilty plea and take your case to court. That said, fighting a case on your own is tough, so you may wind up spending just as much in lawyer’s fees as you would for the fine.
Unless your speeding ticket also includes a more serious violation, like reckless driving or a DUI, it might make more financial sense to skip court and pay the fine.

How strict is Oregon with speeding?

While Oregon doesn’t consider speeding a misdemeanor offense like many other states, it does levy some very serious fines and fees as a penalty for speeding. In other words, you may not go to jail, and you may not lose your license, but your bank account won’t be thanking you anytime soon following a speeding ticket in Oregon.

Is going over 100 mph a felony in Oregon?

No. Like other Oregon speeding infractions, traveling at 100 mph is considered a violation, not a crime. However, when you’re traveling that fast, it’s likely you’ll also be cited for other traffic infractions that could be classed as misdemeanors or felonies.

Can I just pay my ticket and not go to court in Oregon?

Yes. In fact, simply paying the presumptive fee through
OJD Courts ePay
is the method most commonly pursued by those who know they’re guilty of speeding. 

How do you get a speeding ticket dismissed in Oregon?

To get an Oregon speeding ticket dismissed you can either attend a court date and plead your case for dismissal, or request permission to enroll in Oregon's Traffic School.

How long does a speeding ticket stay on your driving record in Oregon?

Speeding tickets remain on your Oregon driving record for 2 years.

What happens if you get three tickets in Oregon?

If you get three tickets within a 24-month period, the Oregon DMV will restrict your driver's license. You will no longer be allowed to drive between 12 midnight and 5 am for 30 days.7

What happens if you don’t pay a traffic ticket in Oregon?

Failing to pay an Oregon traffic ticket can result in increased fines and penalties and license suspension.

How much does traffic school cost in Oregon?

Depending on where you attend and whether you attend in person or online, Oregon Traffic School typically costs $70 to $200 depending on the original ticket classification.

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