The amount a speeding ticket will cost you in the State of California will depend on a few different factors. First, how fast you were going will impact the amount of the speeding ticket. In addition, if you were in a construction or school zone. If you are a repeat offender will also impact the amount of the fines. The amount of a speeding ticket may also depend on where you were caught speeding.
The base fee for a speeding ticket is usually within the range of $35-$200 and is dependent on how fast you were going. However, many other fees can also be added to the base rate including a surcharge and assessment fees. Assessment fees include court operations assessment fee, conviction assessment fee, state penalty assessment (base fine), night court assessment fee, county penalty assessment fee, and emergency medical services assessment fees. As a result, a speeding ticket with a $35 base fee can easily come to a total of $710 once everything is added.
California Vehicle Code Section 22348 states a person who drives a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than 100 miles per hour is guilty of an infraction punishable by of a fine of not to exceed 500 dollars if it is the individual’s first conviction of a violation of this subdivision. However, if an offense occurred within three years of a prior offense resulting in a conviction of an offense der this subdivision a fine of not to exceed 750 dollars will be imposed. Now if an offense that occurred within five years of two or more prior offenses resulting in convictions of offenses under this subdivision will result in a fine not to exceed 1000 dollars. In addition, the person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle will be suspended due to repeat offenses.
Another factor that will influence the punishment of a speeding ticket is if a person is in violation of California Vehicle Code section 23109. This section states a person shall not engage in a motor vehicle speed contest which means a motor vehicle race against another vehicle, a clock, or other timing device. A person conviction of this violation of this subdivision they can be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not less than 24 hours nor more than 90 days or by a fine of not less than $355 nor more than $1000 or by both that fine and imprisonment. They also will be required to perform 40 hours of community service and their privilege to operate a motor vehicle may be suspended for 90 days to six months.
California Vehicle Code section 42000.5 also takes into account if an individual was speeding while operating a bus, motor trick or truck tractor. It states every person conviction of an speeding infraction while operating a bus, motor truck, or truck tractor having three or more axles or any motor truck or truck tractor drawing any other vehicle shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $100 for a first conviction, except that if the person has exceeded the specified speed limit by 10 mph or more, the fine shall not exceed $200 for a first conviction, and not exceeding $300 for a second or subsequent conviction.
Another expense that a speeding ticket may cost you is the increase of your insurance premiums. A single speeding ticket can increase your insurance rates by 34% and multiple offenses will continue to increase your insurance rates. If you are convicted of a speeding ticket for going 15 mph over the limit you can easily find yourself paying an increase of $150 per year on average in increased insurance costs.
If you are convicted of exceeding the speed limit of more than 15 mph then you are likely to see your insurance costs to go even higher. In addition, since speeding tickets have the potential of adding points to your driving record among the other consequences discussed throughout this article, many people take advantage of the opportunity to take traffic school to avoid having the points added to their record. Traffic school isn’t an opportunity for everyone since you must be deemed eligible.
In general, those who hold a valid non-commercial California’s driver’s license, have been cited for a minor moving violation (not exceeding 25 MPH over the limit), and have not taken traffic school in the past 18 months will be deemed eligible for traffic school. However, traffic school is yet another cost that will be added to the financial burden you will bare after receiving a speeding ticket. Traffic school is another fee that has to be paid on top of the fee of the ticket itself. You must pay state-mandated, non-refundable administration fee of $52 to be eligible for traffic school and then pay the additional cost of the traffic school course itself.
Speeding tickets are a hefty cost and can cost you even more beyond the initial cost of the speeding ticket itself. As a result, if you think there is a question to the validity of a speeding ticket you received then you should consult with an attorney and get legal advice on challenging the ticket. By challenging a traffic ticket, you may be able to get the ticket dismissed along with any financial burdens that come along with it.
