Chances are you’ve probably heard someone else complaining about how bad drivers from a particular state are, and chances are we have all been at least a little guilty of this type of stereotyping ourselves. However, the truth of the matter is though that every state has plenty of really bad drivers these days. So, of course, this leads to some very interesting driving citation statistics that range from surprising to just plain scary.
1. The #1 Way U.S. Residents Interact with Police
The most common way the average person in this country will interact with the police is in a traffic stop of some sort. Thus, it was estimated that 44% of all face-to-face contact between individuals and police officers was for a driving citation. In fact, about half of all those stops result in a traffic ticket. Today there are over 195 million licensed drivers on the roads (both unrestricted and commercial licenses). So, it’s safe to assume these numbers have only grown.
2. 41M People Get Speeding Citations
There are 195 million licensed drivers on the road, and on average every year 41 million of them receive driving citations. That means you have around a 20% chance of getting a citation yourself (we’re rounding off the numbers here, of course, but that’s close). In order to reach that number each year, though, law enforcement officers have to write out a significant number of tickets each and every day.
3. 112,000 Driving Citation a Day
Police officers issue about 112,000 driving citations a day on average. In fact, even if you don’t have far to drive, there are countless ways you could get caught speeding. Here are a few ways drivers are caught.
- Police speed traps.
- Caught on red-light cameras.
- Drive past a police car without paying attention.
4. Average Ticket Costs $152
Every state attaches different fines for its citations, but on average, you can expect to pay about $152 for an average ticket. However, do a little math on that, and these tickets will bring in $17,024,000 a day to police forces across the country. That is a pretty good chunk of change. While you think you may know how to avoid speeding tickets on your own, you still need to use Trapster for a little additional help while on the road.
5. Over $6 Billion in Annual Revenue
Hundreds of dollars for each ticket, tens of millions of dollars every day, and all of a sudden, the number of citations every year will bring in around $6 billion. A lot of this money goes to new road construction and other city improvements.
6. Only 5% Contested Speeding Tickets in Court
No matter how angry a speeding ticket might make us, there is actually only a small fraction of the 41 million people who ever contest a ticket. In fact, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, around 85% of the people pulled over felt the reason was legitimate.
7. The 10 States with the Highest Number of Tickets Issued
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- New York
- California
- Texas
- Georgia
- Virginia
- North Carolina
- Massachusetts
- Connecticut
Lastly, these driving citation statistics may not be all that surprising to some people, but hopefully, they serve as a good reminder that there are a lot of vigilant police officers out there, and with a little help from the criminal defense team at RHINO Lawyers, you can avoid contributing to next year’s stats.
