You asked for a comparison of the fines for speeding for Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

The speeding laws and fine structures in the four states differ considerably. In Connecticut, there are three laws that specify penalties for driving too fast: (1) traveling unreasonably fast, (2) speeding, and (3) reckless speeding. Each has its own set of penalties. The lowest penalty structure applies for traveling unreasonably fast, which is when someone exceeds the posted speed limit, but does not drive more than 55 miles per hour (mph). This usually occurs on local and smaller state roads. These are classified as infractions. Connecticut's speeding law applies when someone exceeds 55 mph. This can be either an infraction or a violation, with different penalty schedules, depending on someone's actual speed. Under the speeding law, a higher penalty applies to trucks than to cars. If someone exceeds 85 mph, the reckless driving law applies. This is a criminal violation that can include both a fine and a period of incarceration.

Fines in Connecticut can be as low as $35 for the infraction of driving from one to nine mph above the posted limit to as much as $200 for trucks driving from 81 to 85 mph. However, the fine is only part of what a person must pay. Several additional surcharges, fees, and assessments apply for speeding offenses, as well as for other types of traffic offenses. Although, for example, the fine for going one to nine mph above the posted limit is only $35, the amount someone must actually pay because of all the additional charges is $103. It can be even higher if the violation occurs in a designated highway construction, utility work, or school zone.

New York law provides for a three-tier basic fine structure according to the amount a violator exceeds the speed limit. New York is also the only one of the four states that applies a higher possible fine if someone has prior speeding convictions within an 18-month period. New York also has enhanced penalties for violations that occur in highway construction and maintenance zones and an even higher fine structure if they occur in a school zone.

Pennsylvania has a relatively simple fine structure. A violator pays a base fine of $35 or $42.50, if the speed limit exceeded was 65 mph. A violator must also pay $2 for each mile above the posted limit after five. There are also several other fees and assessments a violator must pay. Fines double in designated highway construction or maintenance zones.

Virginia law specifies a basic speeding fine of up $250, up to $250 with a higher minimum fine if the violation occurs in school zone, and up to $500 if it occurs in a designated highway work zone. On a local road designated as a “residence district” by required signs, a minimum $200 fine is mandatory. If a road is designated as a “highway safety corridor”, the fine is twice what otherwise applies. The actual fine up to the maximum is determined by the court, but a uniform schedule applies if a violator decides not to appear in court and mails in the fine. This is typically $5 for each mile above the posted limit under normal circumstances and higher if it is in a special zone. Virginia also charges a fixed $51 fee for processing costs and other purposes.

It is considered to be reckless driving to (1) exceed the posted speed limit by 20 mph or more or (2) drive over 80 mph regardless of the speed limit. In these instances the fine can be up to $2,500 plus an additional “road abuser fee” assessment of $1,050. However, the higher charge and fine for violations of driving 20 or more miles per hour above the speed limit has not been consistently applied in Virginia.

The remainder of this report explains the laws in the four states in more detail and provides some examples of the fines that would likely apply for some hypothetical speeding violations.

Fines for speeding infractions and violations are only part of what an offender must pay. Several laws significantly add to the amount a person must actually pay. These either (1) add fees, surcharges, or costs for various purposes and uses or (2) multiply the amount of the base fine if the violation occurs in a designated highway construction zone, utility work zone, or school zone. These are summarized below. These apply to things other than speed-related offenses as well.

● A surcharge equal to 50% of the assessed fine. This extra amount goes to the Special Transportation Fund and is known as the “STF surcharge” (CGS § 13b-68).

● An additional fee of $1 for every $8 of fine, or any fraction thereof, for the purpose of providing funds for state and municipal police training (CGS § 51-56a(c)).

● A $15 cost must be imposed against anyone who pleads no contest to, or is convicted of, a speeding violation or speeding infraction (CGS § 54-143(a) (Note—This cost applies to violations of CGS § 14-219 but not to violations of CGS § 14-218a).

● A $20 surcharge must be imposed on anyone who pleads no contest to, or is convicted of, any infraction, or certain violations. However, if the infraction carries a fine of $35 or more, the amount that must be paid is $35 (CGS § 54-143a).

● Anyone convicted of speeding, reckless driving, or drunk driving must pay an additional $5 assessment, which is designated for use for traumatic brain injury prevention services. The assessment also applies to anyone who pleads no contest to a speeding charge and pays the fine by mail (CGS § 14-295a).

● An additional fee of $10, which is paid to the municipality in which the offense occurred (CGS § 51-56a(d)).

In addition to all of these special assessments, when certain offenses occur in a designated (1) state highway construction zone, (2) utility work zone, or (3) school zone, the violator must pay an additional amount equal to 100% of the assessed fine (CGS §§ 14-212a, 212b). Table 1 illustrates how these additional fees and fine multipliers work for a typical speeding violation.

Table 1: Total amount Due from Fine, Fees, Assessments, and Other Charges for Typical Speeding Violation

New York law prohibits someone from driving at a speed greater than what is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and having regard to the existing actual and potential hazards (Vehicle & Traffic Law, Sec. 1180). This is similar to Connecticut's prohibition on traveling

unreasonably fast for conditions (CGS § 14-218a). Unlike Connecticut, the fine for speed violations increases for repeat offenses that occur within a period of 18 months.

Fine ranges are set based on three categories according to how much faster than the speed limit the violator was driving (e.g., up to 10 miles per hour, 11 to 30 miles per hour, more than 30 miles per hour). In any case where a driver commits a second speeding offense (no matter what type) within an 18-month period, the law allows the court to add an additional $150 to the maximum fine. A third or subsequent speeding offense within the same 18-month period can result in the addition of $375 to the maximum fine.

Unlike Connecticut, New York law also provides for a possible term of imprisonment for speeding violations of more than 10 miles per hour above the posted limit.

Higher fine ranges apply if the violation occurs in (1) an established highway construction or maintenance zone or (2) a school speed zone. For construction zones, the minimum fine is twice as high but the maximum remains the same. For school zones, the fine range doubles. The enhanced fine for speeding in a school zone applies on a school day between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Table 3 below shows the penalties for various speeding situations specified in the New York law.

The court determines the actual fine assessed within these ranges.

The fine structure for speeding in Pennsylvania is relatively simple. For exceeding a posted 65 miles per hour speed limit, the base fine is $42.50 plus $2 for each mile per hour over the limit in excess of five. For exceeding any other posted speed limit, the base fine is $35 plus $2 for each mile per hour above the limit over five. Fines for offenses that occur in construction or maintenance zones are doubled. Like Connecticut, fines do not escalate for repeat offenses.

However, several additional fees and surcharges are assessed besides the fine for speeding violations. They are shown below.

● $28 fee for administrative processing of the speeding citation

● $10 assessment for the Emergency Medical Services Fund which provides funding for ambulance and volunteer firefighting organizations

● $1.50 assessment for upgrading the judicial computer system used by the courts to track cases

● $30-$50 surcharge for the Catastrophic Loss Trust Fund

The Catastrophic Loss Trust Fund was set up by the legislature in 1984 to provide funds to help people who were seriously hurt in traffic accidents defray their medical costs. The fund's authority was repealed in 1989, but about 750 people who were hurt before the repeal continue to receive benefits from the fund. The speeding ticket surcharge provides funding to help defray these costs. The size of the surcharge depends on the speed by which the violator exceeded the speed limit. The surcharge is $30 for those exceeding the posted limit by six to 15 miles per hour, $40 for those exceeding the limit by 16 to 25 miles per hour, and $50 for those exceeding the limit by 26 miles per hour or more.

In Virginia, speeding is considered a traffic infraction punishable by a fine of up to $250 (Va. Code § 46.2-113). If the violation occurs in a designated school crossing zone the maximum fine is also $250, but the fine assessed is usually more than under normal conditions (Va. Code § 46.2-873). If speeding occurs in a designated highway work zone or a designated highway safety corridor, the maximum fine is $500 (Va. Code § 46.2-878.1; 46.2-947).

Virginia law also provides for a special penalty for speeding that occurs in local areas designated by appropriate signing as residence districts. Speeding in a residence district results in a mandatory $200 fine, no portion of which can be suspended unless the court orders 20 hours of community service (Va. Code § 878.2). In addition to this fine, municipalities meeting certain criteria can assess a civil penalty of $100 for exceeding the speed limit in a designated residential area by more than a specified amount.

Someone driving (1) 20 miles per hour or more above any posted speed limit, or (2) over 80 miles per hour, regardless of the speed limit, can be charged with reckless driving under Virginia law rather speeding. Reckless driving is a misdemeanor with a penalty of up to $2,500, up to one year imprisonment, or both (Va. Code § 46.2-862).

If a violator chooses not to make a court appearance and mail in a speeding fine, Virginia law requires the Supreme Court to establish a uniform fine schedule that must apply. This is known as fine “prepayment.” Otherwise, the court determines the actual fine up to the maximum the law provides for the particular circumstances. For normal speeding infractions, the uniform schedule specifies a fine of $5 for each mile above the posted speed limit. For school crossing and highway work zones, this is $6 for each mile above the limit. For speeding in a residential district, the uniform fine is $7 per mile over the limit in addition to the mandatory $200 fine (Va. Code § 16.1-69.40:1 and 46.2-878.3 and Supreme Court Rule 3B:2). Certain higher hazard roads can be designated under Virginia law as “Highway Safety Corridors.” When speeding occurs in a designated highway safety corridor the fine must be twice what would otherwise apply under the uniform fine schedule for prepayment of fines (Va. Code § 46.2-947).

Virginia law also requires payment of a fixed fee of $51 for all traffic infractions tried in district court. Just over 75% of this fee goes to the state's general fund as a processing fee. The remainder is split according to a formula among five special funds. These funds are the Virginia Crime Victim-Witness Fund, the Regional Criminal Justice Training Academies Fund, the Courthouse Construction and Maintenance Fund, the Intensified Drug Enforcement Jurisdiction Fund, and the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Victim Fund (Code of Va., § 16.1-69.48.1). A separate law authorizes a county or city to assess a $10 fee for costs for a traffic case heard in its district or circuit court.

Beginning in July 2007, Virginia began to enforce a new law that establishes special “abusive driving” fees for violations of certain of its traffic laws. These fees apply only to Virginia –licensed drivers. Essentially, someone is charged an additional fee whenever he is convicted of a specified offense. The fee is paid in three annual installments with the first collected at the time of conviction. The abusive driving fee ranges from $750 for driving with a suspended license to as much as $3,000 for certain vehicle-related felonies. Reckless driving is subject to a $1,050 civil remedial fee, but speeding infractions are not subject to the fee. Thus, whether someone is charged

with a speeding infraction or a reckless driving misdemeanor for driving 20 miles per hour over the speed limit has a significant effect on the amount of the fine that must be paid.

The various speeding fines are summarized in the table below.

Table 4: Summary of Virginia Speeding Related Penalties

Virginia's Joint Commission on Transportation Accountability released an interim review of the state's abusive driver fees in Virginia. One of the commission's findings was that state law with respect to exceeding the speed limit by 20 miles per hour or more was being inconsistently applied. More people who engaged in this conduct were being convicted of speeding than reckless driving as the law specified. For the period from FY 2005 through FY 2007, the commission found that for people convicted of driving 20 or more miles per hour above the posted speed limit during this period, an annual average of 30,931 were convicted of reckless driving while an annual average of 51,946 were being convicted of speed instead.

The commission speculated that one of the reasons for the inconsistent application of the speed related reckless driving provisions was a belief by law enforcement that for conduct to constitute reckless driving it must endanger life or property. Other possibilities were that judges sometimes amended reckless driving charges to speeding and the lesser charge was sometimes used to reduce administrative costs given the fact that the misdemeanor charge was more likely to be contested than the infraction (Interim Review of the Results of Abusive Driver Fees in Virginia and Other States, Joint Commission on Transportation Accountability, December 5, 2007, pp. 7-9).

In order to understand how each state's law works, we have provided several examples of what the likely fines would be for speeding at certain speeds for certain speed limits in each of the four states. In Connecticut and Pennsylvania the fine is fairly easy to determine because the fines and other assessments are fixed according to a schedule. However, in New York and Virginia, the law specifies only a fine within a certain range, but the actual amount is set by the court. For example, going from 10 to 30 mph above the posted speed limit in New York falls within the range of $90 to $300. It would be reasonable to assume that someone going 10 mph above the limit would be more likely to be fined $90 than $300 and someone going 30 mph above the limit would be more likely to be fined $300 than $90, but we cannot be certain of this. If this rationale is accurate, someone going 15 mph above the limit would probably be fined around $145.

For purposes of comparison, Virginia fines have been estimated based on application of the Uniform Fine Schedule for prepayment of fines plus the automatic $51 additional fee. However, if fines are not prepaid and a court appearance is made, the judge may assess any fine up to the maximum specified by law as noted in Table 4. In this case, the fines would be higher than shown. Also, in instances involving speeds high enough to qualify as reckless driving under the Virginia law, these higher fines have been shown in the table even though, as noted above, they are not always applied in practice.

Table 5: Comparative Examples of Fines in the Four States for Certain Speeding Situations

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