Each year, motorists in the United States receive 41 million speeding tickets. That’s a lot of tickets. In fact, every second of every day someone is getting a speeding ticket. Remember that the next time you’re zooming down the highway.
But how much do speeding tickets really cost the average motorist? Not surprisingly, the answer to this question depends on several factors.
For instance, it might depend on the state in which you are driving. Simply put, some states levy heftier penalties for motorists than do others.
You don’t want to get caught speeding in Illinois, Nevada, New Hampshire or Vermont. Motorists in these states face a maximum fine of $1,000 even for a first violation. That’s a considerable chunk of change. Utah’s not much better: First-time offenders here face a maximum fine of $750. New York State is next on the list, charging a maximum of $600 for a first-time fine.
The fines start to drop a bit after that. The states of Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland and Oklahoma charge motorists a maximum fine of $500 for first-time offenses. In Alaska, Minnesota, Oregon and Wisconsin, this fine drops to $300. It drops another $50, to $250, in Arizona, Florida, Michigan and Washington State.
In the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Missouri, New Jersey, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia and New Mexico, the first-time offender maximum fine stands at $200.
Of course, this leaves unanswered the big question: In what state are the maximum fines for first-time speeding offenders the cheapest? It’s North Dakota, where police can only charge first-timers a maximum fee of $20 for a first-time speeding offense.
Most motorists, though, aren’t lucky enough to nab such a low fee when the police catch them speeding. The average speeding ticket stands at $150. For an idea of how much money that is, consider this: You could buy a nice Blu-Ray player for the same amount. It seems a shame to waste that money on a speeding ticket.
The initial fine, though, is just the beginning of the financial pain caused by a speeding ticket. There’s also the charge that motorists’ auto insurance providers levy.
The average increase to consumers’ insurance bills over three years following a speeding ticket is a significant $900. For that money, consumers could buy a 40-inch LCD TV.
Despite the financial ramifications, it’s clear that drivers won’t stop getting speeding tickets any time soon. One in six drivers, in fact, will receive a ticket in this year. And who is most likely to get one of these tickets? Doctors. Police officers ticket more doctors per capita than they do workers in any other profession. Maybe they’re rushing to deliver babies. Or maybe they have an appointment at the golf course.
It’d be wise, though, for motorists to slow down, and not just for financial reasons. According to a 2002 study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the act of receiving a ticket reduces a motorist’s chances of getting into a fatal traffic accident by 35 percent.
There’s some bad news that comes with that statistic, too, unfortunately: Turns out, that this after-effect of receiving a speeding ticket only lasts three to four months.
