The maximum speed limits within the United States vary from state-to-state. See map on left. The number of speeding tickets issued in each state also varies. Driverside.com, a car owner website, recently researched the worst states to speed. Specifically, they looked at the number of speeding tickets issued based on population. The results are below.
Surprisingly, New York is not on the list with many smaller population states making it instead.
- The number one speeding ticket states is actually not a state. The nation’s capital is the runaway traffic ticket champion with an 434,301 traffic tickets being issued to its 553,523 residents, meaning that a whopping 78.5% of the District of Columbia population received at least one traffic violation!
- Wyoming has a population of 506,529 people and issued 46,366 moving violations. That’s about 9.2% of its population.
- Similarly, Vermont has a population of only 631,394 residents but issued 52,269 traffic violations representing 8.4% of its population.
- North Dakota has a per capita ticket percentage of 7.2% (population 634,366 and 45,510 traffic tickets issued).
- Mississippi has 2,902,966 residents and its police force hands out 197,434 tickets for a 6.8% percent of the population.
- Maryland issued 6.3% of its population with 349,921 traffic tickets being issued in this state of 5,558,058.
- New Mexico’s 1,903,289 residents were issued 117,303 speeding violations (6.1%) despite its 75 mph highway speed limit.
- South Carolina has a population of 4,198,068 which were issued a total of 228,363 speeding tickets (5.4%).
- Delaware has the smallest population of the states on the list with a 5.36% figure. Its 830,364 residents received 44,551 tickets.
- The final state to make the list is the largest in population. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ 6,416,505 residents received 337,103 tickets last year (5.25%).
3 Comments. Leave new
I was caught on 51 mph on a 30mph road. The road was 55mph and suddenly became 30mph because of county limits and the cop was right after the 30mph sign like 200mts. He issued me the ticket and wrote 51mph on the Ticket. The Cop did not give any leniency on speed and mentioned the exact speed clocked on the machine. I live in Canada and got a ticket in ST LAWRENCE County. Please help how can I proceed If I plead not guilty Can I negotiate with the prosecutor on the same day If I return the not guilty form to the court?
Naveen,
A NY conviction will transfer as demerit points onto your Ontario license. We therefore recommending pleading not guilty. This is the only way to possibly obtain a more favorable outcome.
Matthew Weiss
I can’t speak for other states, as I’m a resident of NYC, but the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn, NYC is the worst place to speed, especially that straight stretch that links the Gowanus Expressway with the Belt in the area of Brooklyn known as Bay Ridge around the Verrazano Bridge and through the areas of Canarsie by exists 13 and so, as people tend to see a straight road and gun it there. To their surprise, the area is a popular speed trap for the NYPD highway patrol, with both marked and unmarked late model Dodge Charger Interceptors hiding out in the bushes along the shoulders clocking speeders using the latest instant on laser guns, so even a laser/radar detector will be too late when it beeps to detect ole Smokey when he clocks you. They usually (depending on the cop’s mood and quota requirements) won’t bother you for doing 60-65mph in a 50mph zone, but if you’re clocked at 70mph or above, you’re getting pulled over bigtime…no questions asked. And if you dispute it, you’ll most likely be sent to the Brooklyn South Traffic Court where the judges are all total pricks with an attitude and pro police and the biggest scumbags out there. People show up with traffic lawyers and still lose unless by some act of God you can convince the judge that the cop was a total incompetent moron who didn’t have proper training in the use of his laser gun, but that excuse works sometimes for Radar, but for the latest laser, there is really nothing to compensate or adjust on these units. Just turn them on, point, and use, which is why they’re so popular among highway patrol as there is no thinking involved here. I’m not condoning arguing with the cop if he/she pulls you over, but demand to see a printout of your speed from their gun because cops tend to falsely inflate your actual speed to generate more revenue for the city/state while increasing your insurance rate in the process. If it does end up in a traffic court trial, demand to see the officers notes and an official copy of the speed measuring equipment as factual evidence of your speed, unless the cop was actually pacing you before you’re pulled over. Just don’t speed in known speedtrap locations and if you see an empty straightaway, don’t be tempted to gun it because there’s a 50/50 chance that there’s an unmarked cruiser clocking speeders in the bushes out there. The NJ Turnpike is another place not to speed and with a speed limit of 65mph, which is higher than NY, why would anyone want to go any faster?