States With the Most Speeding Tickets in 2022
Nothing quite matches the dread of seeing flashing police lights turn on as you drive by. But do some states crack down on speeding more than others? A study by Insurify looked at which states have the most speeding tickets — and some states found to have the worst drivers don’t also make the top of the speeding-ticket list. (Maybe that's why drivers there continue to drive so poorly.) To find out which states have the highest rate of speeding tickets, Insurify used data from 4.6 million car insurance applications, on which drivers must disclose if they’ve had a speeding ticket in the past seven years.
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In Wyoming, 12.01% of drivers have had a speeding ticket in the past seven years, according to Insurify. With a maximum highway speed in urban areas of 75 miles per hour, Wyoming drivers have to be going awfully fast to get nabbed.
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The thought of speeding along winding mountain roads might give you a thrill, but it might also just give you a hefty fine. Among Coloradans, 12.03% of drivers have a speeding ticket. Colorado drivers are also tied for 16th-worst in the country.
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There’s a maximum urban highway speed of 60 mph here, and a proven 12.17% of drivers who just can’t stay under. That gives the state an infraction rate 33% higher than the national average — and this is one time being above average is not a good thing.
Alaska is tied for the slowest urban highway speed limit in the country at only 55 mph. That makes it easier to get caught going faster, leading to 12.4% of Alaskans with a ticket. Alaska is also tied (with Arizona) for ninth place among the worst drivers in the country.
Virginia is one of only two East Coast states (with South Carolina) near the top of the charts for most speeding tickets. Here 12.65% of drivers have a ticket, which is 1.4 times the national average. The average urban interstate speed is also 70 mph, which means many Virginia drivers may have a need for speed.
Not only does South Carolina have a high rate of residents with speeding tickets at 13.35%, but it also ranks as the most dangerous state for drivers: In 2020, South Carolina had the highest number of traffic deaths per mile driven, so be careful when driving in this state.
Residents here have a speeding ticket rate of 13.43%, and Wisconsin takes the top spot for most drivers with a failure-to-yield violation on their record. For this infraction, Wisconsinites exceed the national average by 163%. Yikes.
With maximum interstate speeds of 75 mph, you have got to be cruising to get a ticket in many parts of the state. Still, 14.41% of North Dakota residents have one. On the bright side, the state has a below-average rate of failure-to-yield infractions.
With 14.87% of drivers facing speeding violations, Iowans have a speeding ticket rate 1.6 times higher than average. Urban interstate speeds are limited to 55 mph, which is tied with Alaska for the slowest highway speed.
When driving in Ohio, be aware that police seem to be out in full force. A whopping 14.95% of Ohio drivers report having a speeding ticket. At 75% above the national average, the rate of failure-to-yield infractions is also high here.
Despite being the state with the 13th-worst drivers, Louisiana doesn’t give out a lot of speeding tickets: Only 7.5% of drivers have one on their record. While you’re less likely to get pulled over here, traffic accident deaths are the fifth-highest in the nation, which should be reason enough to slow down.
Only 7.36% of Bay Staters report getting a speeding ticket, but Massachusetts is not among the top 10 states for best drivers. A single speeding ticket violation increases the driver’s insurance premium by 31% on average here, which may encourage drivers to follow the law.
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Maine is tied with Massachusetts for a speeding ticket rate of 7.36%. Speeding fines here are based on how much over the limit a driver travels and range from $114 to $278. According to Bankrate, a single violation increases insurance rates by 19% to 20% on average, which is bad but less than in Massachusetts.
In Rhode Island, 7.34% of drivers have a speeding violation. Maybe the rate is low because Rhode Island has strict laws regarding them: Drivers with four violations in an 18-month period can face penalties up to a $1,000 fine, license revocation or suspension, and 60 hours of community service and driver retraining courses.
There’s a 7.26% speeding-ticket rate for drivers in Pennsylvania, where violations go on record only for exceeding the maximum posted speed limit by 6 mph or more.
Kentucky drivers are considered the sixth-best in the country, according to Insurify, and only 7.24% of drivers have a speeding ticket. Drivers are also on average 6% less likely to be cited for traffic violations. But Kentucky residents have one of the worst DUI arrest rates, so it still pays to drive with caution.
With just 6.92% of drivers having a speeding ticket on record, it may seem like Florida is an ideal place to drive. Florida is notorious for having uninsured drivers, though. Those following the rules have the second-highest auto insurance premiums in the country.
There are speeding tickets on record for 6.46% of Nevada drivers. With a rural interstate highway maximum speed of 80 mph, one would hope drivers aren’t traveling faster than that; the urban interstate speed limit 65 mph. The more than 10% of drivers who are uninsured may consider themselves lucky to never get pulled over.
Stereotypes often paint New Jersey as a terrible place to drive, but Insurify says drivers here are the fifth-best in the nation in regard to traffic violations. Only 5.52% of drivers report a speeding ticket.
Residents of Connecticut can take pride in their low rate of speeding tickets. A mere 4.74% of drivers here have received one, even though auto insurance rates increase only an average of 4% after a single speeding violation here.
