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Don’t Be Reckless in Portland

Written by Michele Wilmonen. Posted in Research Last Updated: 06/15/2013

Being Reckless in Portland Includes Minor Traffic Infractions and Driving Without Insurance.

portland car insurance

Keeping your driving in Portland as calm as the Columbia River is in this picture will keep you from getting a reckless driving ticket.

Bad driving, driving under the influence, and driving without insurance are all ways to drive recklessly. But in Portland there are so many easier ways to find yourself with a reckless driving ticket, ways that you may not have even realized.

Reckless Driving Law in Portland

Many of us think of reckless driving as whenever someone is swerving all over the place, having a road rage fit, or just basically doing anything that is getting them dangerously close to causing a car accident. In Portland, yes, acting this way will get you a reckless driving ticket by the police.

But, you can also get a reckless driving ticket for committing any two of the following seemingly innocent traffic infractions:

  • Failing to signal
  • Speeding in a urban area
  • Stopping or slowing down illegally
  • Backing up your car illegally
  • Illegal lane change
  • Passing a vehicle on either the left or right unsafely
  • Tailgating
  • Passing in a no passing zone

Reckless driving in Portland is treated as a Class A Misdemeanor.

Driving Safer by Having Portland Car Insurance

Just having Portland car insurance doesn’t automatically make you a safer driver behind the wheel, but is does make you a safe driver for having it. It also makes you a driver that is driving legally, since both Portland and the State of Oregon have deemed insurance a mandatory part of driving.

The minimum requirements that have been set forth by the State of Oregon, and enforced by every level of law enforcement in the state include:

  • $15,000 in pip coverage
  • $25,000 in liability coverage for injuries to a single person, and $50,000 in coverage total for injuries to two or more people
  • $20,000 in liability coverage for damage done to another person’s property
  • $25,000 per person in uninsured motorist coverage and $50,000 for per crash

Penalties for Driving Reckless Without Portland Car Insurance

While having insurance doesn’t make you a safer driving behind the wheel, it does make you a reckless driver for not having it. For not having Portland car insurance you will face fines, could have your vehicle towed away on the spot, and could also have your driver’s license suspended.

Furthermore, you can also face the possibility of having to carry SR-22 insurance on your Portland car insurance for the next three years. SR-22 insurance is a “proof of future responsibility” coverage that is added to the price of your basic Portland car insurance, so you will now be paying even more for the insurance that you were trying to get out of paying earlier.

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Michele Wilmonen

Michele's first introduction to insurance was working for a major insurance company as a file clerk and a mailroom supervisor in a regional office. She learned insurance directly from underwriters and claims adjusters from questions and also watching them do their job. Since then, she's earned a number of insurance certifications from the Insurance Institute of America and also a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Idaho. She blogs at Car Insurance Guidebook.

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