Difference between revisions of "The Points System and ICBC"

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{{REVIEWEDPLS | reviewer = Janet Mackinnon, ICBC |date= May 2018}} {{Dial-A-Law TOC|expanded = cars}}  
{{REVIEWEDPLS | reviewer = [https://www.icbc.com Krista Prockiw], ICBC|date= February 2024}} {{Dial-A-Law TOC|expanded = cars}}  
If you get a ticket for a driving offence, you’ll typically get '''points''' on your driver's record. The more points you rack up, the more you’ll pay in insurance premiums.
When you get a ticket for a driving offence in British Columbia, you’ll typically get '''penalty points''' on your driver’s record. The more points you get, the more you may have to pay in insurance premiums. Learn how penalty points work.


==What you should know==
==Common questions==
 
===What are driver penalty points?===
===Driving violations lead to driver penalty points===  
'''Driver penalty points''' are like black marks on your driver’s record. You get them when you commit certain driving offences. The number of points varies depending on the type of offence. For example, speeding tickets earn you three points, while distracted driving earns you four. ICBC lists the [https://www.icbc.com/driver-licensing/tickets/Pages/fines-points-offences.aspx number of penalty points for each type of driving offence].
When you receive a ticket for speeding or some other driving offence under the BC ''Motor Vehicle Act'', you typically get points on your driver’s record. You also get points for certain ''Criminal Code'' offences like impaired driving, criminal negligence, and failure to remain at the scene of an accident. '''Driver penalty points''' are like black marks on your driving record.
 
===How many points you get===
The number of points you get depends on the driving violation involved. Many driving violations result in two or three points. All speeding violations are three points. Distracted driving is four points. Driving while prohibited or suspended is 10 points.


You don’t get points for parking tickets and other minor violations of city bylaws.
If you get more than three points in a one-year period, you have to pay a '''driver penalty point premium'''. This is an extra amount that’s separate from any fine for the offence. It’s also over and above your regular Autoplan insurance premiums.


===If you dispute a driving violation===
===How does ICBC calculate driver penalty point premiums?===
Points are added to your record if you plead guilty to a driving offence or if a court convicts you of the offence. If you pay a traffic ticket, you’re admitting you are guilty.
Every year, ICBC looks at the number of penalty points you collected in a 12-month period. (They call this your “assessment period.”) If four or more points have been added to your driver’s record since your last assessment, you’ll be billed a penalty point premium.


If you don’t agree with a ticket, you must fight (or dispute) it. You have 30 days from the date of the ticket to dispute it. If you don’t do so, the offence and points are automatically added to your driving record. [[Traffic Tickets|See our information on traffic tickets for more information on how to fight a traffic ticket]].
The more points you have, the higher the premium. For example, say ICBC looks at your record and sees you only have three penalty points for a speeding offence in the assessment period. This is below the four-point threshold, so you wouldn’t pay a premium. But say you got ''two'' speeding tickets in your assessment period. In this case, you’d have six penalty points, resulting in a penalty point premium of $367. [https://www.icbc.com/driver-licensing/tickets/Driver-Penalty-Points See ICBC’s website for details].


===Driver penalty points can increase your insurance premiums===
===How long do penalty points stay on my driving record?===
Everyone who owns a motor vehicle in BC [https://www.icbc.com/insurance/Pages/Default.aspx must have basic vehicle insurance from the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia] (ICBC). Each year, ICBC looks at your record of driver penalty points. If you had four or more points in the previous year, ICBC bills you a '''driver penalty point premium'''. This is an additional premium beyond the premium you pay to insure any vehicle you own. You are billed even if you don’t own or insure a vehicle.
Tickets and driver penalty points stay on your driver’s record for '''five years'''. But you only pay the penalty point premium once. You’ll get a bill just before your assessment date, which is usually your birthday.
 
===The amount of the premium===
The driver penalty point premium depends on the total number of points you get in a 12-month period, called the assessment period. ICBC reviews your driver’s record for this period, which starts about 17 months before your birthday.
 
If you have four points, the premium is $252. It’s $331 for five points, $432 for six points, and so on. If you have 50 points or more, you get the maximum driver penalty point premium of $34,560. [https://www.icbc.com/driver-licensing/tickets/Pages/Driver-Penalty-Points.aspx ICBC’s website lists all the premiums].
 
===How you are billed for the premium===
The bill for any driver penalty point premium is sent four weeks before your birthday. ICBC uses the points just once to calculate the premium and bill you. So if you have three or fewer points in an assessment period, you won’t be billed for any premium.
 
===Another driver premium program applies to more serious driving offences===
ICBC has a second program, '''driver risk premiums''', that applies to more serious driving offences. Under this program, ICBC reviews your driving record for offences for the previous three years. You will have to pay a driver risk premium if, during the previous three years, you have:
 
* one or more driving-related ''Criminal Code'' convictions (such as impaired driving)
* one or more ''Motor Vehicle Act'' convictions worth 10 points or more (such as driving while suspended)
* one or more excessive speeding convictions
* two or more roadside suspensions or prohibitions
 
===The amount of the premium===
The amount of the driver risk premium depends on the type and number of convictions you get. For example, the premium for one ''Criminal Code'' conviction (such as for impaired driving) is $1,303. The premium for two ''Criminal Code'' convictions is $5,414.
 
===How you are billed for the premium===
You will be billed only for one driver premium, whichever is highest. Because the assessment period for the driver risk premium is three years, one conviction during this period means you have to pay this premium each year for three years.
 
==Common questions==


===What if I can’t (or don’t) pay the premium?===
===What if I can’t (or don’t) pay the premium?===
If you don’t pay the bill for a driver premium within 30 days, ICBC will charge you interest. ICBC can also refuse to renew your vehicle insurance until you pay. Also, you won’t be able to renew your driver’s licence if you don’t pay a driver premium bill.
If you don’t pay the bill for a driver penalty point premium within 30 days, ICBC will charge you interest. ICBC can also refuse to renew your vehicle insurance until you pay. Also, you won’t be able to renew your driver’s licence if you don’t pay a driver premium bill.


If you give up your driver’s licence to an ICBC driver licensing office for the whole one-year billing period, you won’t have to pay the bill.
If you give up your driver’s licence to an ICBC driver licensing office for the whole one-year billing period, you won’t have to pay the bill.


Or you can reduce a driver premium bill by giving up your licence for 30 days or more during the billing period. When you want your licence back, go to a driver licensing office and pay the reduced bill, plus any extra licence fees. But this works only if you do not have to take a driver re-examination and don’t have any outstanding prohibitions.
Or you can reduce a driver premium bill by giving up your licence for 30 days or more during the billing period. When you want your licence back, go to a driver licensing office and pay the reduced bill, plus any extra licence fees. But this works only if you do not have to take a driver re-examination and don’t have any outstanding driving prohibitions.


===What if I’m not allowed to drive? Do I have to pay the driver premium?===
===What if I’m not allowed to drive? Do I have to pay the driver penalty point premium?===
ICBC will reduce a driver premium bill if you’ve been prohibited or legally banned from driving for 60 days or more in the billing period. It usually does this automatically, but you may have to ask it to do so and to prove your situation.
ICBC will reduce a driver penalty point premium bill if you’ve been prohibited or legally banned from driving for 60 days or more in the billing period. It usually does this automatically, but you may have to ask it to do so and to prove your situation.  


Also, you can apply to ICBC for a refund or reduction if, for at least 30 days in a row during the billing period, any of the following apply:
Also, you can apply to ICBC for a refund or reduction if, for at least 30 days in a row during the billing period, any of the following apply:
Line 63: Line 35:
Again, you may have to prove your case to ICBC.
Again, you may have to prove your case to ICBC.


===Are there premium increases if I cause multiple accidents?===
===How many penalty points lead to a driving prohibition?===
Yes. If you are 50% (or more) at fault for three motor vehicle accidents in three years, you might need to pay a '''multiple crash premium''' of $1,000. This is in addition to your regular Autoplan premiums.
As a rule of thumb, those with a class five licence (the basic licence) get a driving prohibition if they get nine to 11 points. For those with a class seven licence (the new or learner’s licence), it’s four points. However, that’s not the whole picture. ICBC has the final say about whether to issue a prohibition.
 
For each additional crash within three years, you would pay an extra $500.


==For help==
In coming to a decision, ICBC will look at the circumstances behind why you got the points. For example, imagine a class five driver with six points on their record. The points came from three tickets for the same two-point offence — failing to yield to pedestrians. ICBC may decide to issue a driving prohibition even though they’re below the nine-point threshold. Because a dangerous pattern of conduct is on display here, in their view.


===With more information===
==Explore further==
'''ICBC''' has information on the [https://www.icbc.com/driver-licensing/tickets/Pages/Driver-Penalty-Points.aspx driver penalty point premium] and the [https://www.icbc.com/driver-licensing/tickets/Pages/Driver-Risk-Premium.aspx driver risk premium].  
{{PLSTipsbox
:Call 1-800-663-3051 (toll-free)
| text = '''Deeper coverage of ICBC’s penalty points system'''<br>
:[https://www.icbc.com/ Visit website]
For more detail, see [https://www.peopleslawschool.ca/points-system-and-icbc/ the People's Law School's coverage of the points system and ICBC].
}}


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Latest revision as of 23:04, 7 March 2024

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by Krista Prockiw, ICBC in February 2024.

When you get a ticket for a driving offence in British Columbia, you’ll typically get penalty points on your driver’s record. The more points you get, the more you may have to pay in insurance premiums. Learn how penalty points work.

Common questions

What are driver penalty points?

Driver penalty points are like black marks on your driver’s record. You get them when you commit certain driving offences. The number of points varies depending on the type of offence. For example, speeding tickets earn you three points, while distracted driving earns you four. ICBC lists the number of penalty points for each type of driving offence.

If you get more than three points in a one-year period, you have to pay a driver penalty point premium. This is an extra amount that’s separate from any fine for the offence. It’s also over and above your regular Autoplan insurance premiums.

How does ICBC calculate driver penalty point premiums?

Every year, ICBC looks at the number of penalty points you collected in a 12-month period. (They call this your “assessment period.”) If four or more points have been added to your driver’s record since your last assessment, you’ll be billed a penalty point premium.

The more points you have, the higher the premium. For example, say ICBC looks at your record and sees you only have three penalty points for a speeding offence in the assessment period. This is below the four-point threshold, so you wouldn’t pay a premium. But say you got two speeding tickets in your assessment period. In this case, you’d have six penalty points, resulting in a penalty point premium of $367. See ICBC’s website for details.

How long do penalty points stay on my driving record?

Tickets and driver penalty points stay on your driver’s record for five years. But you only pay the penalty point premium once. You’ll get a bill just before your assessment date, which is usually your birthday.

What if I can’t (or don’t) pay the premium?

If you don’t pay the bill for a driver penalty point premium within 30 days, ICBC will charge you interest. ICBC can also refuse to renew your vehicle insurance until you pay. Also, you won’t be able to renew your driver’s licence if you don’t pay a driver premium bill.

If you give up your driver’s licence to an ICBC driver licensing office for the whole one-year billing period, you won’t have to pay the bill.

Or you can reduce a driver premium bill by giving up your licence for 30 days or more during the billing period. When you want your licence back, go to a driver licensing office and pay the reduced bill, plus any extra licence fees. But this works only if you do not have to take a driver re-examination and don’t have any outstanding driving prohibitions.

What if I’m not allowed to drive? Do I have to pay the driver penalty point premium?

ICBC will reduce a driver penalty point premium bill if you’ve been prohibited or legally banned from driving for 60 days or more in the billing period. It usually does this automatically, but you may have to ask it to do so and to prove your situation.

Also, you can apply to ICBC for a refund or reduction if, for at least 30 days in a row during the billing period, any of the following apply:

  • you lived in another province and legally held a driver’s licence there
  • you were not in Canada or the US
  • you were in jail
  • you had medical reasons for not driving

Again, you may have to prove your case to ICBC.

How many penalty points lead to a driving prohibition?

As a rule of thumb, those with a class five licence (the basic licence) get a driving prohibition if they get nine to 11 points. For those with a class seven licence (the new or learner’s licence), it’s four points. However, that’s not the whole picture. ICBC has the final say about whether to issue a prohibition.

In coming to a decision, ICBC will look at the circumstances behind why you got the points. For example, imagine a class five driver with six points on their record. The points came from three tickets for the same two-point offence — failing to yield to pedestrians. ICBC may decide to issue a driving prohibition even though they’re below the nine-point threshold. Because a dangerous pattern of conduct is on display here, in their view.

Explore further

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