You’re more likely to get a speeding ticket if you live in this state

April 28, 2022

While most Americans are eager to forget the shelter-in-place orders that defined the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, many drivers haven’t forgotten many of the bad habits they picked up while the roads were empty. Traffic fatalities have risen dramatically over the past couple of years, due in most part to Americans driving faster — and more recklessly — than ever before. Elevated rates of dangerous driving behavior are likely not disappearing any time soon, so drivers today should be cautious and practice safe driving when out on the open road, especially in areas where motorists are more likely to disregard local speed limits.

Curious to see which states’ drivers have the greatest need for speed, data scientists at Insurify turned to their database of over 4.6 million car insurance applications to identify the ten states with the most speeding tickets in 2022.

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Insights

National averages. Across the U.S., 9.18% of drivers have a speeding ticket on record in 2022. That’s roughly as many people as the number of Americans who say basketball is their favorite sport. Meanwhile, 35.0 drivers per 10,000 have a failure to yield (to another driver or a pedestrian) violation on record. While less common, motorists with a failure to yield violation on record are still about as prevalent on the roads as those driving an electric vehicle. The median maximum posted speed limit for urban interstates in America is 65 mph.

Slow and steady in the Northeast. While drivers in the Northeast are not often thought of as the most easy going behind the wheel, Insurify’s 2022 data shows that they actually accrue speeding violations at below-average rates. Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, and New Jersey all rank among the ten states with the fewest speeding tickets. Connecticut even has the least speeding-prone drivers in the country, with only 4.74% of the state’s motorists reporting a prior speeding infraction on record.

Speeding and failure to yield violations are significantly correlated. Failure to yield infractions — either to another driver or to a pedestrian — are serious violations, and it turns out that their prevalence is related to that of speeding rates. Insurify data scientists found that, at the state level, citation rates for speeding and failure to yield infractions have a positive, statistically significant correlation (p-value < 0.05). This means that a state with a high share of drivers with a speeding ticket is also likely to have a high proportion of drivers reporting a failure to yield violation on record.

Here are the 10 States with the most speeding tickets:

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10. Wyoming

Percentage of drivers with a speeding ticket on record: 12.01%

Drivers per 10,000 with a failure to yield violation on record: 43.9

Maximum posted speed limit (urban interstates): 75 mph

It appears some Wyoming drivers have a need for speed. At 12.01%, the state’s speeding violation rate is the tenth-highest in the nation. To even get ticketed, Cowboy State motorists need to be driving fast, too: with a maximum posted speed limit of 75 mph, Wyoming allows urban interstate travelers to legally drive up to 10 mph above the national median.

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9. Colorado

Percentage of drivers with a speeding ticket on record: 12.03%

Drivers per 10,000 with a failure to yield violation on record: 41.7

Maximum posted speed limit (urban interstates): 65 mph

Another mountain state, another state with above-average rates of speeding. With 12.03% of Colorado drivers reporting a speeding fraction on record, the state’s speeding rate is 1.3 times higher than the national average.

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8. Washington

Percentage of drivers with a speeding ticket on record: 12.17%

Drivers per 10,000 with a failure to yield violation on record: 55.3

Maximum posted speed limit (urban interstates): 60 mph

The Evergreen State’s speeding infraction rate is 33% higher than the national average, and, at 12.17%, places the state eighth on the list of states with the most speeding tickets. Washington motorists are also cited for failing to yield to another driver or to a pedestrian 19% more often than average.

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7. Alaska

Percentage of drivers with a speeding ticket on record: 12.40%

Drivers per 10,000 with a failure to yield violation on record: 60.7

Maximum posted speed limit (urban interstates): 55 mph

With a speeding infraction rate of 12.40%, Alaska ranks seventh on the list of states with the most speeding tickets. As the least densely populated state in the nation, its drivers often have to travel long distances to reach their destination, yet the state’s maximum posted speed limit for urban interstates is 55 mph — tied for the slowest in the nation.

This combination of long commutes and slower speed limits might contribute to Alaska motorists bending the rules of the road at elevated rates.

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6. Virginia

Percentage of drivers with a speeding ticket on record: 12.65%

Drivers per 10,000 with a failure to yield violation on record: 75.4

Maximum posted speed limit (urban interstates): 70 mph

Virginia is notable among the ten states with the most speeding tickets for being one of the only two states on the East Coast. Its 12.65% speeding violation rate is 1.4 times higher than the national average. It appears that when it comes to racking up speeding infractions, Virginia drivers have more in common with motorists from the Mountain West and Midwest than they do with their fellow drivers along the Atlantic.

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5. South Carolina

Percentage of drivers with a speeding ticket on record: 13.35%

Drivers per 10,000 with a failure to yield violation on record: 39.0

Maximum posted speed limit (urban interstates): 70 mph

Palmetto State drivers significantly exceed posted speed limits 45% more often than the national average. 13.35% of South Carolina motorists have a prior speeding ticket on record, placing the state fifth on the list of states with the most speeding infractions.

Driving in South Carolina is also more dangerous than anywhere else in the country, as the state has the highest number of traffic deaths per mile driven.

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4. Wisconsin

Percentage of drivers with a speeding ticket on record: 13.43%

Drivers per 10,000 with a failure to yield violation on record: 91.9

Maximum posted speed limit (urban interstates): 70 mph

With 13.43% of Wisconsin drivers reporting a prior speeding ticket on record, the Badger State ranks fourth on the list of states with the most speeding violations in 2022. 91.9 per 10,000 Wisconsin motorists have a failure to yield infraction on record, which is the highest rate in the country, exceeding the national average by a whopping 163%.

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3. North Dakota

Percentage of drivers with a speeding ticket on record: 14.41%

Drivers per 10,000 with a failure to yield violation on record: 20.7

Maximum posted speed limit (urban interstates): 75 mph

Certain North Dakota drivers really know how to put the pedal to the metal. The state’s 14.41% speeding infraction rate is third-highest in the country, yet North Dakota’s maximum posted speed limit on urban interstates goes all the way up to 75 mph, tied for the highest maximum in the nation. North Dakota, however, is the only state on this list with a below-average share of drivers with a failure to yield violation on record.

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2. Iowa

Percentage of drivers with a speeding ticket on record: 14.87%

Drivers per 10,000 with a failure to yield violation on record: 49.5

Maximum posted speed limit (urban interstates): 55 mph

Fun fact: Iowa is the only state bordered by two navigable rivers (the Missouri and the Mississippi). Not very fun fact: 14.87% of Iowa drivers report a speeding ticket on their driving record. This share is 1.6 times greater than the national average, and it places the Hawkeye State second on the list of states with the most speeding tickets.

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1. Ohio

Percentage of drivers with a speeding ticket on record: 14.95%

Drivers per 10,000 with a failure to yield violation on record: 61.2

Maximum posted speed limit (urban interstates): 65 mph

Just like Hawkeye State drivers, many Buckeye motorists also don’t have much of an eye for posted speed limits, despite what both state nicknames might suggest. 14.95% of Ohio drivers have a prior speeding ticket on record, which is the most of any state in the country. Furthermore, the state’s failure to yield infraction rate of 61.2 per 10,000 drivers is 75% higher than the national average.

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Methodology

To identify the states with the most speeding tickets, the data science team at Insurify, a platform to compare car insurance quotes, turned to their database of over 4.6 million car insurance applications. When applying for auto insurance, applicants must disclose their state of residence and driving history, including any speeding tickets accrued in the past seven years. Analysts compared the number of drivers with speeding violations to the total number of drivers in each state to determine the state’s proportion of speedy drivers. Data on failure to yield violations (including failure to yield to another driver and failure to yield to a pedestrian) also came from Insurify’s database. The maximum posted speed limit in each state comes from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The findings in this article represent statistical trends found in Insurify’s database of over 4.6 million car insurance applications. The findings of this study are not meant to imply the direction nor necessarily the existence of a causal relationship. Rather, this is a presentation of statistical correlations of public interest.

This article originally appeared on Insurify.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.

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