If you ride a motorcycle, you’ve probably racked up a speeding ticket or two (and a hearty congratulations to you if you haven’t), but did getting a ticket make you change your ways?
Don’t feel bad if you said no. According to Saranath Lawpoolsri, Jingyi Li and Elisa R. Braver’s scintillating report, Do Speeding Tickets Reduce the Likelihood Of Receiving Subsequent Speeding Tickets? A Longitudinal Study of Speeding Violators
In Maryland, cited drivers were actually twice as likely to receive a second ticket in the same month as drivers who weren’t cited. Other interesting things they found include the finding that drivers younger than 21 had a lower risk of being repeat offenders than those over 21, drivers cited for DUI or DWI were more likely to speed, and that offenders who merely paid fines (without incurring penalty points on their licenses, referred to as “PBJ,” or “probation without judgment” in Maryland), were less likely to speed again than those who soaked up points.
What is effective? Lawpoolsri et al weren’t able to answer that question with their study, which compared 15,814 Maryland drivers who were cited in May 2002 with the 3.7 million drivers who weren’t. But they did review other studies, which pointed out the effectiveness of unpredictable enforcement, unmarked patrol vehicles, speed cameras and other automated devices, and swift, certain punishment; the threat of a citation is a greater deterrence than having been recently cited.
We probably speed because we feel we can do so safely . . . and get to our destination more quickly. A ticket doesn’t change this mindset, apparently. If speed cameras (widely in use in parts of Europe) can actually slow us down, expect this sort of enforcement to eventually become more common in the U.S. Most motorcyclists dread the day.
MD Readers Respond:
- For the first time in years, I recently arrived early at the Tam Junction gas station for the Sunday Morning Ride in Mill Valley CA. Instead of dozens of riders as in years past a sum total one other rider appeared. Years ago, via ticket enforcement, the CHP decided to abolish the SMR; appears they succeeded in spades. I’m interested to hear Gabe reply whether the ride still exists or not. (Hi Gabe!). jim
- My thought on this … “Speeding ticket’s don’t deter speeders its your insurance premium that does!” Michael
- Really enjoy the articles on Motorcycle Daily. Thanks for your hard work…Speed is a tough addiction for this adrenalin junkie to kick.. I ride sport bikes, jump thoroughbred horses, and fly airplanes..Yes I received a speeding ticket and it did slow me down for awhile Fortunately, the cop who stopped me was a motorcycle cop and he gave me a big break reducing my violation from 60 in a 40mph zone to 46 in a 40. The cop sympathized with me having a very capable sportbike on a nice road where the speed limit had recently been lowered at the request of the residents (rich gentleman farmer/rancher types). I am always very polite when I get stopped: Take off my helmet first so he knows I not going to bolt on him, listen carefully etc. I did reduce my speed for a time. I then bought a radar/laser detector which did pay for itself on the county roads until the county sheriff upgraded to new BMW bikes equipped with laser guns. My radar/laser detector became a ticket detector i.e. by the time the detector sounded an alarm it was too late. The State Patrol always had laser so no excessive speeding on interstates for me. Now I only speed on roads further out from Seattle and in the early morning hours. So far so good. It’s a tough addiction. Paul
- Is there a person alive who doesn’t believe that speeding tickets are primarily about revenue generation, and safety second. If there has ever been 2 countries that should have unlimited speed limits on some roads its the US, and Australia.
I originate from the midwest where we have 1 turn in 318 miles, horrible risk driving over 65 mph. Germanys’ drivers training costs a fortune but they will let you drive as fast as you want on the Autobahn, I say bring it on.The US approach is do you have a pulse, here’s your license. All of our policies are based on the lowest common denominator, we can’t be bothered to raise skills. Todd
- The article states “Longitudinal Study of Speeding Violators In Maryland, cited drivers were actually twice as likely to receive a second ticket in the same month as drivers who weren’t cited. Doesn’t that go without saying since you can’t get a second ticket if you weren’t cited a first time. Bill
- Oh, crap!! Just when I understand the game, some jerk does a study that’ll change the rules.
I NEVER speed to get there sooner, as the only way to get there sooner is to leave earlier. How many times have you sped past other traffic only to see them waiting close behind you at the next red light or stop sign? And how many times on long Interstate highway trips do you get passed repeatedly by the very same vehicles? Plenty if you watch or less if you are one of them and are the driver passing the same vehicles. The lesson for me is to plan reasonably for the time a trip will take, whether that trip is across town to work or across several states, then drive at the prevailing speed of traffic.
Now, speeding for the fun of it is different. But do so where conditions permit without annoying local residents or other traffic. There are lots of places you can do that, but if you REALLY have an urge to go fast, take it to a track day. Dan
- Speed cameras are here in Canada!!! Montreal has a few since
august. Fortunatly we also have red light cameras wich are great for
motorcyclists’ security. But the real reason why I speed less is the
rise of speeding tickets… 60 km/h above means a find of more than
1100 $ plus 14 points off out of 15… Plus, the more points you
loose, the higher your license cost you. I used to ride at 130 km/h
and peak sometimes at 170, on the highways that have 100 km/h…
Simply not worth the cost anymore. I wanted to change my V-Strom for
something more sport/touring. I’ll stay with something confortable
for back roads, away from cameras and radars. Nicolas - Good article…unfortunately I am one who writes those blessed tickets.
Can we put a BMW on the next cop article…my BMW 1200 gets to 100mph about 15 seconds faster than the old Harley and gets from 60-0mph in about 35 feet quicker than the Harley. Great website…keep the great information coming. Vince - Speed cameras are one of the most evil forms of big brother. Speeding
can increase the death rate from wrecks but shows little increase in the
NUMBER of wrecks. Stop light cameras, speed cameras, seat belt laws,
and helmet laws are all designed to protect people from themselves
and/or generate revenue. I’m all ATGATT kinda guy, but that doesn’t
mean I need to infringe on other peoples personal choices. Enforcement
is supposed to protect society from danger, not individuals from themselves. Brice - I am not sure about the deterrent value of speeding tickets (here in
Japan tickets are VERY expensive and points can be high too! and
there are no lawyers to help buy your way out of a ticket)… because
despite the high costs most drivers speed here in Japan too. On the
issue of cameras… people slow down when approaching the camera and
then speed back up… this interruption in the flow of traffic
probably does more harm than good I would think… as a motorcyclist I
prefer the cameras… because they only snap the FRONT of a vehicle
and thus bikes are largely immune as they have no number plate up front.As an example of costs… I paid 1300 dollars for a single speeding
ticket and lost my license for 3 months… and had to take special
classes every 2 years for the next 6 years… for going 30KPH over
the posted limit… (limit +18MPH)…Rich - What is effective? There’s a very simple way to reduce speeding – RAISE
THE DAMN SPEED LIMIT TO WHAT PEOPLE ACTUALLY DRIVE!
Oh – that’s not effective? I’m sorry I forgot that “effective” means
bringing in lots of revenue. Brent
