What State Issues the Most Speeding Tickets?
The vast majority of the states punish drivers harshly for speeding, especially if the law includes a provision that allows officers to charge motorists with stunt driving or racing when speed exceeds maximum levels.
The level of enforcement also varies from state to state, with some of the territories employing more speed traps than others. Despite a recent reduction of traffic tickets written throughout the U.S., it’s a good idea to know which states issue the most speeding tickets.
States With the Most Speeding Tickets
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a variety of statistics about traffic citations, including the number of speeding tickets that each state issues. Surprisingly, Ohio ended up being the state that wrote the most speeding tickets, followed by Pennsylvania. Rounding out the top five were New York, California and Texas, all of which are states that most would expect to have issued the most speeding tickets.
Georgia issued the sixth largest number of speeding tickets, followed by Virginia, North Carolina, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Approximately 41 million citizens received speeding tickets, which works out to around one in five drivers. The average cost of a speeding ticket in the United States is $152, although fines and jail time vary greatly between the states.
The average revenue generated through speeding fines amounts to around $300,000 per police officer.
The Worst States to Get Caught
Although the cost for going over the limit by 1-15 mph is $35, after the added fees, California charges $158 for the traffic ticket. According to calculations performed by Nerd Wallet, “the true cost of a speeding ticket in California is 20.27 times the cost of the actual ticket,” after accounting for steep rises in insurance costs after a conviction, which increases by an average of 15.22% after an infraction.
New Jersey has the lowest threshold for racing infractions, which are considered any speeding that goes 10 mph over the limit, resulting in double fines in almost all the cases. This state also has the most speed traps in the U.S. with traps set up every 30 miles or so.
Some of the most stringent reckless driving limits are in Virginia, in which reckless driving is defined as going 20 mph over the speed limit, or more than 80 mph on any state road.
Statistics show that only 5 percent of all drivers fight their ticket in courts, which means that too many motorists aren’t getting their cases heard. Considering that Pennsylvania is second in terms of the volume of speeding tickets issued, Colgan & Associates have plenty of experience fighting speed infractions and other types of traffic violations.
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Good morning!
Can you provide a source for: "Ohio ended up being the state that wrote the most speeding tickets"
I'd like to look into more details.
Article link:
https://www.cmlaw1.com/what-state-issues-the-most-speeding-tickets/
I am an African American California resident and when driving my nephew's car, registered to him in the State of New Jersey, and driving through the State of Virginia to my North Carolina destination, I was pulled over by a State of Virginia highway patrolman, within ten 10 miles north of the North Carolina State Line. I had just entered onto U.S. I-77 heading south, after a brief rest stop at a roadside gas service and convenience store. I had just took over driving duty for my nephew after he had driven from New Jersey to the point of relief.
As I accelerating onto the freeway to gain a speed consistent with the flow of traffic and moved into the #1 lane. (closet to the center median) I did not immediately notice this Highway Patrolman, who was positioned on the median between the divided freeway, facing the south side direction of the freeway in which I was proceeding. I maintained a speed at between 65 and 70mph. Other vehicles were passing me, which obviously meant that other traffic was exceeding my speed.
My nephew who was now in the passenger seat, mentioned that a highway patrol was in the median. As I noticed him, I maintained my speed and moved over into the #2 lane. I gently applied my brakes because there was a Big Rig Truck in the #2 lane ahead of me proceeding at a slower speed. I had traveled approximately a quarter mile when I noticed through my driver's side rear view mirror, the highway patrolman exiting the median and entering the freeway. I traveled approximately another 2 quarters of a mile before the patrolman activated his flashing blue lights and pulled into the #2 lane behind me. I rhetorically asked my nephew, "Is he really going to pull me over?". "I guess he is", he replied.
I am an senior aged African American man and being pulled over by a highway patrolman in the Southern United States, seeming for an innocuous action, is always worthy of concern for any African American man. I pulled over and stopped at what appeared to be the safest place away from the flow of traffic and lowered my window. The patrolman proceeded to the passenger side of the car, so I immediately lowered the front passenger side window. The patrolman was cordial and identified himself and stated that I was speeding in excess of 18mph over the speed limit. I asked, what is the speed limit, because there was no posted speed limit sign between the time that I relieved my nephew from driving at the rest stop and the point where I was stopped by the patrolman. He stated that in Virginia the speed limit was 65mph, but in North Carolina it's 70mph. He informed me (us) that the North Carolina State Line was about 14 miles further south on U.S. I-77. I later found it to be about 3 miles less to the N.C. State Border than he had stated.
I informed him that I was from California and on my way to visit relatives in (Charlotte) North Carolina. I presented him with my California driver's license and my nephew presented his proper registration and insurance from the State of New Jersey. After about 10 minutes the patrolman returned with paperwork outlining the assertions of my alleged speeding violation, asked me to sign, without any admission of guilt. I signed the "ticket" and waited until it was safe to reenter the freeway and proceeded on my way. Meanwhile, this highway patrolman preceded me back onto the freeway and made a U-Turn back onto the median to await his next unsuspecting victim.
I vehemently contend that I was not traveling at the speed that this patrolman asserts and that it is my strong conviction that I was profiled on the basis of my African American-ish and because the car that I was driving bore an out-of-state license plate, ie, the State of New Jersey. This office had no way of knowing that I was a California resident; but he certainly could clearly recognize that the car was occupied by two African American men. (my nephew's 12 yr old daughter was also the back seat, unbeknown by the patrolman prior to the stop,) and that we were traveled in a non-licensed State of Virginia vehicle. It is well documented that African Americans are stopped and ticketed for speeding and other alleged traffic violations than are "white Americans" in the State of Virginia.
This, to my preception, was clearly an orchestrated, deliberately planned "speed trap" scheme, set up close to the North Carolina State Line, in order to take advantage of travellers passing through Virginia before they are beyond the jurisdiction of the State of Virginia. Based on the above argument, I am seeking the dismissal of this ticket and any subsequent claims that the State of Virginia might intend to pursue as a result of the issuance of the suspect ticket.
I am an African American California resident and when driving my nephew's car, registered to him in the State of New Jersey, and driving through the State of Virginia to my North Carolina destination, I was pulled over by a State of Virginia highway patrolman, within ten 10 miles north of the North Carolina State Line. I had just entered onto U.S. I-77 heading south, after a brief rest stop at a roadside gas service and convenience store. I had just taken over driving duty for my nephew after he had driven from New Jersey to the point of relief.
As I accelerated onto the freeway to gain a speed consistent with the flow of traffic and moved into the #1 lane. (closet to the center median) I did not immediately notice this Highway Patrolman, who was positioned on the median between the divided freeway, facing the south side direction of the freeway in which I was proceeding. I maintained a speed at between 65 and 70mph. Other vehicles were passing me, which obviously meant that other traffic was exceeding my speed.
My nephew who was now in the passenger seat, mentioned that a highway patrol was in the median. As I noticed him, I maintained my speed and moved over into the #2 lane. I gently applied my brakes because there was a Big Rig Truck in the #2 lane ahead of me proceeding at a slower speed. I had traveled approximately a quarter mile when I noticed through my driver's side rear view mirror, the highway patrolman exiting the median and entering the freeway. I traveled approximately another 2 quarters of a mile before the patrolman activated his flashing blue lights and pulled into the #2 lane behind me. I rhetorically asked my nephew, "Is he really going to pull me over?". "I guess he is", he replied.
I am an senior aged African American man and being pulled over by a highway patrolman in the Southern United States, seemingly for an innocuous action, is always worthy of concern for any African American man. I pulled over and stopped at what appeared to be the safest place away from the flow of traffic and lowered my window. The patrolman proceeded to the passenger side of the car, so I immediately lowered the front passenger side window. The patrolman was cordial and identified himself and stated that I was speeding in excess of 18mph over the speed limit. I asked, what is the speed limit, because there was no posted speed limit sign between the time that I relieved my nephew from driving at the rest stop and the point where I was stopped by the patrolman. He stated that in Virginia the speed limit was 65mph, but in North Carolina it's 70mph. He informed me (us) that the North Carolina State Line was about 14 miles further south on U.S. I-77. I later found it to be about 3 miles less to the N.C. State Border than he had stated.
I informed him that I was from California and on my way to visit relatives in (Charlotte) North Carolina. I presented him with my California driver's license and my nephew presented his proper registration and insurance from the State of New Jersey. After about 10 minutes the patrolman returned with paperwork outlining the assertions of my alleged speeding violation, asked me to sign, without any admission of guilt. I signed the "ticket" and waited until it was safe to reenter the freeway and proceeded on my way. Meanwhile, this highway patrolman preceded me back onto the freeway and made a U-Turn back onto the median to await his next unsuspecting victim.
I vehemently contend that I was not traveling at the speed that this patrolman asserts and that it is my strong conviction that I was profiled on the basis of my African American-ish and because the car that I was driving bore an out-of-state license plate, ie, the State of New Jersey. This officer had no way of knowing that I was a California resident; but he certainly could clearly recognize that the car was occupied by two African American men. (my nephew's 12 yr old daughter was also the back seat, unbeknown by the patrolman prior to the stop,) and that we were travelling in a non-registered
State of Virginia vehicle. It is well documented that African Americans are stopped and ticketed for speeding and other alleged traffic violations far greater than are "white Americans" in the State of Virginia.
This, to my preception, was clearly an orchestrated, deliberately planned "speed trap" scheme, set up close to the North Carolina State Line, in order to take advantage of travellers passing through Virginia before they are beyond the jurisdiction of the State of Virginia. Based on the above argument, I am seeking the dismissal of this ticket and any subsequent claims that the State of Virginia might intend to pursue as a result of the issuance of this suspect ticket.
Suspect ticket….stop speeding.
This list of "states that wrote the most speeding tickets" pretty much just looks like a list of states with the highest populations. It would be more useful to divide the number of tickets by miles traveled or by miles of state roadways or some similar statistic.