WASHINGTON — A review of almost a quarter-million speeding tickets shows age, sex, and time of day are factors that make drivers more likely to speed and get written up for it.
Reporters at the Pioneer Press of St. Paul, Minnesota gathered data from all 224,915 traffic infractions issued in the state over the past three years.
The most common ticket was for driving 12 miles per hour over the speed limit. Only 3 percent of tickets were written for drivers going less than 10 miles per hour over the limit.
Youth makes a driver more likely to get a speeding ticket, with a 19-year-old male as the most likely offender.
Drivers between 16 and 25 years old received 33 percent of all the speeding tickets, even though they make up only 13 percent of Minnesota’s population. Drivers 40 years old or older also got a third of all tickets, but make up 49 percent of the population.
At every age, male drivers get at least 50 percent more tickets than female drivers.
The time of day was also a factor in the study — drivers in off-peak hours were more likely to get a ticket. The 10 a.m. hour, and between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. have the most tickets on weekdays.
Police said enforcement is trickier during rush hours. In nonpeak hours, with fewer cars on the road, drivers are more likely to have enough room to speed up, and it was easier for officers and troopers to safely get out in traffic to apprehend them.
