Speed-Trap States

New Rankings Shine a Light on “Policing for Profit” and Expose the Worst Offenders

Waunakee, WI – November 23, 2015: When it comes to embracing transparency, no government enterprise fails more miserably than traffic enforcement. Police departments and municipalities resist disclosing the number of tickets they issue for fear of branding their communities as speed traps. And local courts routinely reduce speeding charges to non-moving violations to avoid sharing ticket revenue with the state.

Left unchecked, so-called “Policing for Profit” can have disastrous consequences, as it did in Ferguson, Missouri, last year.

To develop the rankings, the NMA compiled the number of speed traps reported over the last five years—November 1, 2010 through October 31, 2015—by state. Those totals were then indexed to the number of road miles in each state. Normalizing the data this way accounts for differences between states and allows more meaningful comparisons from state to state.

The Results

Table 1 shows the top 20 Worst Speed Trap States based on total number of speed traps added over the last five years, with Texas, California, Florida, Ohio and Georgia taking the top spots. Table 2 shows the top 20 Worst Speed Trap States based on number of speed traps per 1,000 lane miles. Hawaii, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Maryland emerge as the top offenders. (Click here to see the rankings for all 50 states.)

“These results reveal which states are the habitual offenders when it comes to ‘Policing for Profit,’” said NMA President Gary Biller. “They point to a need to reform the traffic justice system for greater accountability with less emphasis on generating revenue and more on public safety.”

The NMA encourages everyone to drive safely this holiday weekend and that includes knowing what to expect when you hit the road. Visit www.speedtrap.org before you travel to see where you’re likely to find the most speed trap activity on your journey.

Reprinted from National Motorists Association.

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