I am sure that the latest government statistics came as no surprise to the hundreds of motorists who contact Richmond Virginia Traffic Lawyer Bob Battle to represent them on their Reckless Driving Speeding charge in Virgina. Virginia is the most expensive State in the country for Speeding tickets. If you plan on taking a road trip, go easy on the gas pedal, especially if you plan to travel up or down the East Coast.
According to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), five of the 10 U.S. states that carry the highest fines for speeding are on the I-95 corridor between the southeast and New England: Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Maryland, and New Hampshire. Speeders receive a maximum fine of $500 or more for the first offense. In North Carolina and Georgia, as well as 16 other states, also have the option to add a jail sentence.
The other states on the list are Illinois, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, and Kansas.
In Virginia, which is the only new addition to the list, a $1,050 surcharge to state residents in addition to the $300 speeding fine was instituted in July. The idea of the law is to raise money for state infrastructure projects without having to raise taxes. Virginia natives are the only ones the law applies to.
Virginia state legislator David Albo spearheaded the law. He noted that stats from the Joint Legislative Audit Review Commission of Virginia showed a decrease of 11 percent in arrests for reckless driving since the law was passed in addition to a slight drop in speeding tickets.
The NHTSA says that the national median for the top-end fine of a first time offender is $200. The national median for a first offender's top-end fine is $200, according to the NHTSA.
Several factors go into how much a speeding ticket can cost you, including how much you were exceeding the speed limit, whether or not you are a repeat offender, or if you were caught speeding in a school zone or construction area.
According to the NHTSA figures, young males are caught speeding more than anyone else. Last year 38 percent of men under 21 were caught speeding.
