How Much is That Speeding Ticket Really Worth?

How Much is That Speeding Ticket Really Worth?

Just about everyone speeds every once in a while–some of us more than others.  It really stings when a cop pulls you over and gives you a speeding ticket.  At an average of $150 each, that’s no chump change!

More than 100,000 people a day get a speeding ticket in the US.  With one in six drivers getting a speeding ticket in a year, about 41,000,000 speeding tickets are issued annually.  This can translate into $6 billion dollars in speeding tickets a year!

But in Europe, the damage can be much worse.  Some European countries, specifically France, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany, and Switzerland, are tying speeding fines to a person’s income in order to discourage rich people from ignoring fines.

What does that add up to?

In Germany, a maximum fine of $16 million can be levied.  In 2010 a fine of $290,000 was issued in for speeding in Switzerland, and in 2004 a fine of $190,000 was issued in Finland.

A speeding fine can also translate into higher insurance premiums.  The average insurance rate increase for a speeding ticket is $900 over three years.

It’s clear that a speeding fine can add up to a lot of cash, but who speeds more than whom?

Top Speeders

Men often speed more than women do, but women contest their tickets more often.  With the cost of a ticket being so high, perhaps more people should contest their tickets.  As it stands, only 5% of people who receive a ticket fight it in court.

The profession who gets the most speeding tickets?  Doctors.  Maybe they are all rushing to see their patients.

A Minor History Lesson

Speeding isn’t a new violation.  Back in 1879 two men in Seattle were fined for speeding . . . on horses!

In 1886, the first traffic light was used in London to control buggies as well as people.  This light was nothing more than a lantern with red and green lights.

One of the first speeding tickets on file was awarded to the Prime Minister of Canada’s wife in 1910.  She was fined for going over the 10 mile per hour speed limit.

Paradise Valley, Arizona became the first town to use photo radar in 1987, and since 1999 cameras in Washington DC have given a total of 2.4 million tickets–that’s $182 million in fines.

It’s clear, then, that speeding isn’t a cheap venture.  Go over the speed limit and you may be asking for several hundred (million, if you’re in Europe) dollars in fines.  Add that to the amount the insurance companies charge you in increased rates, and you may really have problems.

Do yourself a favor and slow down on the road.  You may not be able to afford it if you don’t.