All across the US, people simply don’t realize how likely their chances are of an unwanted traffic stop by a police officer. It’s actually the #1 reason for interaction with an officer, so knowing the most common traffic violations could help prevent this from happening to you. And it goes without saying, a non-confrontational interaction is always best and may actually result in receiving an informal warning for your time rather than a citation.
Here’s a look at the Top 5 Traffic Tickets:
Speeding
Exceeding the posted limit or safe driving speed for road conditions. There are over 234mil licensed drivers in the US and an average of 41mil speeding tickets are issued each year – that’s an average of 1 per second. This violation can be avoided by better time management and just giving yourself that extra 15 minutes or so to account for possible traffic delays. This violation is also heavily linked to the running of red lights, another risky driving practice that could result in potentially fatal consequences. Try driving just under the posted speed the next time your tempted to exceed!
Driving Under The Influence
It’s pretty obvious how to avoid a DUI, don’t drink and drive! But let’s look at some of these utterly scary statistics:
- In the US alone, some 25% of all traffic-related deaths are due to alcohol impairment. (NHTSA)
- 30 people die each day in car crashes with an alcohol-impaired driver – that translates to 1 death per hour. (CDC)
Cell Phone Usage
Distracted driving is basically anything that can take your attention away from the act of driving and in the majority of the US that includes holding a cell phone – it must be hands-free. In 2019, over 3000 people were killed by distracted driving. (NHTSA)
Any non-driving activity has the potential of increasing your risk in becoming one of these statistics. Think on this fact: Taking your eyes off the road to text for 5 seconds while traveling at 55mph is equal to traveling the distance of a football field blindfolded.
Violating Rules of The Road
Driving is a privilege and it comes with responsibilities to ensure the safety of yourself and others. Stay aware of the posted road signs indicating set limits to speed and any upcoming road changes. Keep in mind that police officers write an average of 114,000 citations daily and being ignorant of the laws in your county/state is not a proper defense.
Car Registration/Driver’s License Requirement
It’s the driver’s responsibility to keep their license and car’s registration updated and so it is illegal to operate a vehicle with an expired license or registration. Only extenuating circumstances can possibly buy you the time needed to correct these requirements for the road.