There are many factors beyond your driving habits making you more or less likely to be written up for speeding. So, how likely are you to get a speeding ticket? With over 100,000 citations handed out every day in America, your odds of getting away with it repeatedly are slim. If you get pulled over, you’ll find that most officers aren’t compelled by your reasons for speeding, and you’ll get a citation anyways.
Gender, age, the color of your car, and where you live may affect the outcome when you get pulled over for exceeding the speed limit. It’s not enough to see the statistics, though. Once you understand why each factor affects your likelihood of being written up, that awareness can help you stay out of trouble.
Keep reading for everything you need to know about who gets the most traffic tickets. Then, learn some steps you can take to prevent yourself from being next.
Is Your State in the Top 10?
When you think of general reputations, you might assume that New York and California have the most traffic fines for speeding. You’d be wrong, though. They don’t even make the top 10 list for speeding tickets per capita.
According to data compiled from auto insurance applications, the states where you’re statistically most likely to get cited may surprise you. These statistics show the percentage of the population who’ve received a speeding ticket within the last seven years:
- Ohio. 14.95%
- Iowa. 14.87%
- North Dakota. 14.41%
- Wisconsin. 13.43%
- South Carolina. 13.35%
- Virginia. 12.65%
- Alaska. 12.40%
- Washington. 12.17%
- Colorado. 12.03%
- Wyoming. 12.01%
Some of these states have legal speed limits of 70 or 75 mph on urban freeways and so many drivers are still exceeding it. There are a handful of other interesting facts about this list, too.
In Washington, drivers are frequently cited for speeding, but they rank high for another traffic violation, as well. The occurrence of tickets for failing to yield is 19% higher than in any other state.
South Carolina is the most dangerous place to be speeding. The highest number of fatal collisions per mile traveled occur here.
It’s possible that the rules of the road in Alaska are part of the reason they made the list. The interstate speed limit there is 55 mph. Being impatient about the limit doesn’t make it okay to break the laws, though.
Similarly, they dish out more traffic fines in some cities than others. Driving in a city has a different set of challenges than driving in small towns and highways. It’s important to know how to navigate safely in big cities.
Is Your Car a Ticket Magnet?
You may have heard that driving a red car will make you more likely to get pulled over. The rumor is true… kind of.
Red is an attention-grabbing color. We use it on sales marketing, stop signs, warning labels, and emergency vehicles. Nature even uses it as a warning for some dangerous creatures.
People who are drawn to red cars may be looking for some positive attention. Unfortunately, they are more likely to end up with a traffic violation instead.
More than the color, what kind of car you drive may be a factor as well.
For example, driving enthusiasts who love the power and mechanics of cars like to push the performance boundaries of their vehicles. If you drive a manual transmission, you’re likely to test your ability to move through the gears quickly. That leads to testing the limits of each gear and exploring the capabilities of the top gear.
And that leads to getting noticed by patrol officers.
Factoring in Demographics
Demographics play into your chances of getting a speeding ticket. Have you ever wondered who gets the most traffic tickets by age? What about traffic tickets by gender?
Do More Men or Women Get More Tickets?
In surveys by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the majority of all people admitted to breaking the speed limits when they drive. However, men are 50% more likely to drive too fast and receive 13% more tickets than women do.
Do Younger or Older People Get More Tickets?
Young people may not like to admit it, but the truth is that they are more likely to engage in risky behaviors behind the wheel. This includes speeding, distractions, aggressiveness, mistakes, and generally showing off. And since they are less diligent, it makes sense that they get slapped with traffic fines more often.
Underneath it all, the statistics are more about the decisions that drivers in certain categories tend to make. The good news is that once you’re aware of the statistics and which categories you’re in, you do have some control over it.
Why is it Hard to Avoid a Speeding Ticket?
When you’re looking for ways to avoid getting a speeding ticket, the obvious answer is that you should just slow down. That’s easier said than done though, as shown by the millions of tickets passed out each year. So why is it so difficult to just slow down?
Outside of learning driving skills when we’re new drivers, we also develop driving habits. These habits, like other habits in our life, might be good, bad, or neutral. In this case, bad habits include not allowing ourselves enough time to get where we’re going or allowing things to distract us so that we’re not paying enough attention to the speedometer. This leads to frequently driving too fast.
When bad habits like these start impacting your ability to be a safe driver, it’s time to make changes. The most effective way to eliminate our bad habits is by replacing them with better habits.
What is the Solution?
Most of us need a little help breaking the bad habits we’ve developed or starting out with good ones. That’s where we come in. Whether you’re a new driver or you’ve been on the road for years, taking a defensive driving course is a smart idea.
When you complete an online traffic school, you’ll learn how to anticipate, identify, and avoid road dangers to prevent accidents before they happen. Being a safe driver can also save you money. Insurance providers often offer discounts for drivers who complete a defensive driving course. You could save up to 10% each year for three consecutive years just for passing a safe driver course and submitting your completion certificate to your insurance agent.
We can also help if you receive a traffic ticket. Many courts and state DMVs allow you to complete an online traffic school course to dismiss a ticket or avoid points on your driving record. Acceptance is often on a state-by-state and court-by-court basis, so find out if you are eligible to take an online safe driver program.
DriveSafe Online was named the best online defensive driving course by Investopedia. That means you’re in good hands with our course and you can trust our results. Completing our class can help you save money on your auto insurance, prevent accidents, and avoid getting a speeding ticket.
Join 500,000 drivers who use a DriveSafe Online defensive driving course to receive an auto insurance discount or to dismiss a traffic ticket. Select I’M READY to lock in your low price now. You can begin the course whenever your schedule allows.
Patrick M. is Editorial Director for the always expanding DriveSafe Online library of courses. With over two decades of experience developing award-winning training, he now focuses on innovating online driver safety training. Pulling from his background in journalism, he steers the wheel behind the creation of top-tier content that promotes a better journey—whether on the digital highway of learning or the real roads we travel every day.