We’ve found that excuses are a way to avoid a citation. You can also request a warning.
More than one-third (36%) of drivers said they’ve requested a warning. Nearly half of those drivers said they were successful asking for a warning — and didn’t offer an excuse.
Forty-eight percent said they requested a warning without giving an excuse and got out of a speeding ticket. That’s up from 41% in both 2019 and 2020 surveys.
That tack didn’t work for everyone though. Twenty-nine percent said they asked for a warning without an excuse and still got a ticket.
Also, 12% said they requested a warning, gave an excuse and got out of a ticket and 11% requested a warning, provided an excuse and still got a ticket.
Men are more likely than women to request a warning when pulled over for speeding. Fifty-two percent of men said they asked for a warning, compared to just 20% of women.
Men are also more likely to get a warning if they request one. More than half of men said they asked for a warning without an excuse and got out of a ticket. Only 36% of women were successful.
Women were also less successful than men if they gave an excuse and requested a warning. Twenty-one percent of women said they still got a ticket when they offered an excuse and requested a warning. Only 7% of men said the same.
How often are drivers pulled over for speeding?
About half of drivers say they’ve either never been pulled over for speeding or haven’t in about 10 years. Around one-third of drivers say they’ve been pulled over within the past year.
Fifty-five percent of drivers who’ve been pulled over in the past 10 years only got stopped once in that time. Thirty-four percent said two or three times.
Women are much more likely to say they’ve never been pulled over than men. Forty-two percent of women say they’ve never been stopped for speeding, compared to just 15% of men. Those are similar results to the 2020 survey.
How fast is too fast?
Though just about everyone speeds, most say they don’t drive that much over the limit.
Seventy-nine percent of drivers say they drive within 10 mph of the speed limit — though men were more apt to say they floor it at times.
- 5 to 10 mph over the limit — 52% (52% of both men and women)
- Under 5 mph over the limit — 27% (32% of women; 22% of men)
- 11 to 15 mph over the limit — 14% (13% of women; 15% of men)
- 16 to 29 over the limit — 4% (2% of women; 6% of men)
- 30 or more over the limit — 3% (2% of women; 5% of men)
Source: https://www.carinsurance.com/speeding-ticket-excuses/