I got caught speeding for the first time since passing my Driving Test over a year ago. In the UK that means if they plan on prosecuting you you will get 3 points on your driving license and a fine of around £40-50 (maybe £60) which is about $85.

I was wondering what kind of penaltys you get in the US for speeding.

For more information on the UK driving laws click here.

Well it depends on the speed over the limit you were going and where you were speeding. I received a ticket in the state of California about a year ago and for 10 mph over the limit, it was $370.00. In the state of Washington a 10 mph over ticket would cost about $150.00. So like I said it depends on where you are.

I never expected it to be that high.

It dosnt get as high as that here in the UK.

The biggest problem in my eyes with getting traffic tickets over here in the United States is that it stays on your record for 3 years I think (at least in WA state), and because of that for the next 3 years insurance premiums go way up... which would probably end up costing much more compared to the ticket itself.

Thats exactly the same here.

I am not sure this incident will effect my premiums for the next few years. As a young driver i am entitled to 12 points before i have a ban and have to re-do my tests. It is very easy to accumulate that points.

The problem with the situation i was in was, i was in the wrong place at the wrong time doing the wrong thing. In the UK you are allowed to drive within 10 miles over the limit before you can be fined or anything. The police are supposed to warn you and tell you not to do it again, i was travelling 42 on a 30 limit which was just over the warning speeds.

I think its about 4-5 years before young drivers licence wipe clean the points accumulated which is annoying.

Going by previous posts, the US isnt much different with this law then. You get bigger fines than you do here but its pretty much the same. So i believe.

Its amazing when you read previous posts you have made and realise how naive you are!

Or is that just me?

My knowledge on speeding fines wasnt that great. I ended up being fined £60 and got 3 points on my licence. 5 months later i was caught again

I got another 3 points and another fine of £60. Little did i realise that because i have gained 6 points in my first two years of driving i could have (and most likely would have) lost my driving licence and would have therefore had to re-take my tests. For some reason, they let me off

Anyway, i couldn't read this post and see how naive and ill informing i was without replying and putting the record straight.

Things sounds a bit different over there. I am not sure we have what you call "points" but eventually if you get enough tickets I am sure they would suspend your license here.

A few months ago I was caught speeding. The police officer clocked me at 68 in a 45. I called my insurance company to see how much my insurance would go up, and it would go up $50.00 USD a month for about three years. That is $1800.00 USD plus $180.00 USD for the ticket itself. It is very expensive to speed.

I took it to court and hired a lawyer and got the ticket waived as long as I get nothing in the next 12 months. If for some reason I get another ticket then that ticket will no longer be waived and I would have another ticket on my hands. I can only imagine the insurance would sky rocket even more if I had another. So as long as I do not get any traffic infractions I should have no worries about my insurance going up.

Usually I do not speed much anyway, but now I always make sure I set the cruise control so that there will be no chances for me to get anymore citations. It just is not worth it for the monetary penalties. I mean for all that money I could buy 42 inch plasma tv or something.

Do you mind me asking what you drive Bigwebmaster? Sounds like a nice enough vehicle if its got a pretty high insurance and Cruise control.

I can only dream (at the moment) for something with Cruise control.

Well with gas prices the way they are right now, cruise contol can only help to conserve. Of course we bought a new full size pickup right as the gas prices started going up. Which wasn't that smart, so we make sure and don't let it go any less than 1/4 tank empty, cause I don't want to have to fill a 30 gal fuel tank.

Of course I'm sure I'm just preaching to the choir as I'm sure the price of fuel in the UK is no laughing matter.

The fuel prices in the UK is definatly no laughing matter. I understand you do your prices by the gallon. In the UK its price per litre. At the moment its something like 95p per litre. Not long after the Hurricaine in New Orleans i believe your prices got as high as something in the region of 83p per litre. Its pretty darn expensive.

This whole country is expensive. Having said that, i had a conversation with my brothers wife last night (she is from Oklahoma) and she was talking about how cheap certain things are here in comparison to the USA.

My understanding is your Diesel prices are cheaper than Unleaded "gas". This is the opposite in the UK.

Yeah right now I am paying about $.73 per litre, and were paying as high as $.78 per litre at the peak. Diesel in our area is about $.78-.79 per litre, so it is definately higher than regular fuel. It didn't used to be that way, that is why so many switched to diesel vehicles in the past. It's no wonder that food and other parishables are costing more. I wouldn't want to be a truck driver with these prices.

i am sorry, but i would love to be paying $.73 on fuel

Pretty darn jealous of you now

Well my insurance rates are fairly low I think, I pay about $83.00 USD per month right now. If that one ticket went on my record it would have jumped to around $145.00 USD per month and would stay that high for about three years until my speeding ticket went off my record.

I drive a 2001 Acura TL 3.2

SB wrote:For some reason, they let me off

Or did they?

Just got a letter telling me that they have taken my licence away

Oh oh. That doesn't sound good.