A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post advising why, from a car insurance perspective, you should take defensive driving if you are “awarded” a speeding ticket (see https://wiseinsurancegroup.com/speeding-tickets-defensive-driving-car-insurance/). I thought it might be fun to expand on that with a second reason; to avoid paying for the ticket in the first place.
Yahoo posted an article by BoldRide in late July ranking states and how bad their speeding tickets are. The results were compiled by WalletHub. Coming in first place, which means this state has the overall strictest ranking is Colorado, with Arizona, Delaware, and Illinois tied for 2nd place. Rounding out the top 10 are New Mexico, Virginia, Iowa, Massachusetts, Alabama, and the District of Columbia.
Some other interesting tidbits from the study are below:
- 75% of all states have an absolute speed limit which means you can be ticketed for driving 1 mile per hour over the posted limit if law enforcement is so inclined.
- The average maximum cost of a speeding ticket is $742.
- Washington State has the highest speeding ticket where you can incur charges of up to $5,000 for the first ticket.
- Kentucky, Mississippi, and New Mexico have the lowest maximum speeding ticket rates of $100.
- Illinois automatically considers speeding reckless driving and charges accordingly.
- In a separate post, BoldRide noted the average cost of a speeding ticket is $150, and 41 million are handed out on average each year.
Texans should rejoice as we were rated 51st strictest out of all states. In addition, we are ranked 45th and 50th on reckless penalties rank and speeding enforcement respectively. That doesn’t mean, however, we should drive as if we’re trying to qualify for a spot at Texas Motor Speedway. The Texas Department of Public Safety, as well as our men and women in Blue are quite capable of letting us know when we’re going faster than we should.
The best advice is to not speed in the first place! If you’re driving the posted limit you don’t have to worry about the cost of a speeding ticket in the first place nor what its impact will be on your car insurance for the next 5 years. The posted speed limit on our interstates is among the fastest in the nation at 75 miles per hour. Even the George Bush Turnpike and sections of LBJ have a speed limit of 70 which is fast enough given our traffic levels. Have a question, comment, or experience you’d like to share? Post them on my Google +, Facebook, and LinkedIn pages. I’d love to hear from you!
