07-04-2010, 11:57 PM
'Why yes, they are real. And they're spectacular.'
The National Motorists Association may not get the press of the National Rifle Association or Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, but the group has been fighting for years to promote rational traffic laws, eliminate speed traps and do away with camera based ticketing systems. Just in time for the summer holiday season, the group has released a ranking of states issuing the highest number of speeding tickets.
Compiling the data proved to be difficult, since most states and municipalities are reluctant to publish data on ticketing motorists. The NMA compiled the data and then compared it to actual experiences from NMA members, validating their rankings.
You can get the complete list here, but below are the ten states where you need to be less enthusiastic with your application of the fun pedal:
1. Florida
2. Georgia, Nevada (tie)
4. Texas
5. Alabama
6. Missouri
7. New York
8.) North Carolina
9. Washington D.C
10. New Jersey
It’s no coincidence that 6 out of the top 10 states are in the South. Get pulled over in Georgia or Florida, and your N.Y.P.D. Policeman’s Benevolent Association card isn’t going to do you any good. Florida seems to ticket drivers more intensively south of Daytona Beach (and in Orlando, of course), while drivers in Jacksonville seem to invent traffic laws without penalty.
In case you’ve got the urge to drop the hammer in your ZR1 Corvette, these states are the least likely to care about it:
42. New Mexico
43. Nebraska
44. Idaho
45. West Virginia
46. Maine
47, Alaska
48. South Dakota
49. North Dakota
50. Wyoming
51. Montana
Yes, I’m aware that we only have 50 states, not 51, but the NMA included the District of Columbia, hence the reason for 51 listings.