It is no exaggeration to state that there are millions of drivers in South Florida. In fact, with more than 14 million people over the age of 18 living in Broward County, you can say with certainly that there are millions of drivers in this county alone. When you consider this number in relation to the number of speeding tickets that are issued by the various law enforcement agencies in Broward, the amount of revenue these cops generate for their respective agencies is staggering. Disregard for a moment all of the other traffic tickets that cops issue and consider just speeding tickets which are the type of traffic ticket most often issued, and we are talking about a huge business for the different municipalities. Speeding tickets have very specific fines, depending upon how fast you are traveling over the speed limit when the cop clocks you and those fines fill the county coffers.

Considering these numbers, it is likely that nearly every Broward driver has either gotten a speeding ticket or is driving on borrowed time until they get one. Many times drivers who get pulled over know that they were speeding, but still feel like they were unfairly targeted to fulfill a police officer’s quota. Although this may be the case, in spite of the fact that law enforcement agencies deny having quotas, here are a few things that you should keep in mind before you speed, or finally get caught speeding.

With 100,000 people getting speeding tickets every day, Florida is one of the most prolific states when it comes to writing speeding tickets.

The penalty for a speeding ticket varies depending upon which county you are in when you are issued the ticket. You can be assessed 3 or 4 points against your license depending upon how much you exceeded the speed limit, and the fine can be anywhere from $150 to $650. Speeding in school zones is taken quite seriously and these are prime areas for cops to set up speed traps. If your speeding results in a traffic accident, you can be charged with a criminal violation and end up going to jail.

The total money amassed in the State of Florida through speeding ticket fines per year is approximately $6,150,000,000

As I mentioned earlier, the amount of money generated by speeding tickets is astronomical.  Every cog in the traffic ticket machine benefits from this mighty sum. The greasing of this machine start with the cop who has a profound interest in issuing traffic tickets. Writing traffic tickets is one way to demonstrate his initiative to his superiors with the anticipated outcome of being promoted. Then there is Broward County which gets a significant portion of these fines so it benefits the Clerk of Court’s office to work diligently to collect these funds. The Clerk’s budget hinges, in part, upon the number of tickets they process and the amount of money these traffic tickets bring about. Of course, we cannot forget the great State of Florida because they get their fair share of this money-making enterprise, too. The state budget factors in a portion of these funds when determining how much money to allocate to roads, bridges and, of course, more law enforcement to keep those traffic ticket cogs turning. Let’s not forget about the traffic ticket attorneys. We don’t get part of the money that is produced by the traffic fines, and we don’t write traffic tickets. We are the good guys who ride in to save the day by defending millions of people every year who get traffic tickets.

With one speeding ticket, the average cost of insurance for three years is $1,450.

This amounts to $43,500,000,000 for the insurance companies who insure drivers with speeding tickets on their driving record. In all my years of practice, I have never met anyone who likes paying for insurance any more than they like paying for a speeding ticket. Unfortunately, it is illegal to drive without it and it can be tremendously expensive. This is especially true for young drivers because due to their inexperience, they tend to have to pay a lot more than older, more experienced drivers. Even though paying for insurance is a common gripe among drivers, we still commit acts that raise our rates. Although insurance companies sometimes raise rates based upon other factors such as the economy, many times, we have the ability to avoid increased insurance rates even if we get a speeding ticket.

Some states allow you to attend driving school under certain circumstances. This avoids points being assessed against your driver’s license, which is one factor that insurance companies use when setting insurance rates for individuals. This may be an option for some; however, you need to be wary of choosing this option as there can be drawbacks to driving school. That is why we always suggest that you talk to a traffic ticket attorney before you choose this alternative.

Cops are allowed to set up speed traps.

I know it seems like a cheap shot, but it is legal for cops to set up speed traps in Broward County. It may like a rotten way to catch speeders, but one advantage that drivers have is that speed traps can often be found in the same places time after time. This works to your advantage if you have a bit of a lead foot because you can always slow down before you get to these areas which can be on highways, city streets, and of course, school zones.

Bear in mind that the police usually set up their speed traps within city limits during the day because they expect heavier traffic and people tend to be in a hurry. Most frequently, this is during morning and evening commutes such as from 7:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. and then from 4:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. School zone speed traps are usually set up between 7:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. and then again from about 2:30 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. It is an easy oversight to make, but it can be a costly mistake with fines ranging from $300 to $700 per violation.

There is a mobile application that you can download onto your cell phone at www.Trapster.com. This app is a navigation social network which allows drivers to report any speed traps, traffic light cameras, and so on that they may encounter to help other drivers to keep from getting stopped. I have been told by many clients that it works quite well.