Method and sources

Where the numbers come from, and what we refuse to estimate.

Rules we follow

1. Never guess a fine. If a court doesn't publish a schedule, the page says so and links to the court's lookup. We don't average nearby courts.
2. Every fact has a source: the statute, DMV page or court PDF, with its effective date where the source states one and the date we last checked it.
3. Primary sources first. Secondary sites are used only to find the primary one. Where only a secondary copy was readable, the source says so.
4. Unknown stays unknown, all the way through the calculators: they report what they couldn't count instead of filling it in.

Depth

California, Texas, Florida, New York and Georgia are covered in full: points tables, suspension thresholds, traffic school rules, zone rules, deadlines, surcharges and the largest courts' schedules. The other states have summary pages: point system, main suspension threshold, traffic school, compact membership and DMV link.

Calculators

• Real cost = court total (as printed, or the court's printed per-mph rule) + state fees you enter + traffic school fees + insurance. Insurance = annual premium × the state's average % increase after one speeding ticket × 3 years. The increase is held flat for three years. real insurers vary and some taper it.
• Points counts points dated within each window (ending today, starting N months earlier, start exclusive). States differ on whether the window uses the violation or conviction date.
• Deadlines are calendar days from the date the rule names. Weekend due dates are flagged, not moved.
• Fight or pay is an expected-value comparison with odds you supply. Courts don't publish dismissal rates.

Insurance figures

ValuePenguin State of Auto Insurance in 2026. Quadrant Information Services rate data (publicly sourced insurer filings), more than 29 million quotes from 56 insurers across all available ZIP codes in every state + DC, gathered Oct-Dec 2025. Profile: 30-year-old man, good credit, 2018 Honda Civic EX. Full coverage 50/100/50 BI/PD, 50/100 UM/UIM, $500 comp/collision deductibles, state-minimum PIP. Clean record unless a single violation is noted. Monthly averages. Comparative only, not quotes. Speeding severity (mph over) is not specified in the state table. ValuePenguin's Pennsylvania-only severity test found <5 to 21-25 mph over moved annual rates only $2,696-$2,733, so we do not split by mph band.

Corrections

Found a number that's wrong or out of date? Tell us. We re-check against the source and note the change date.