What Is the Punishment for Speeding in California?

By San Diego Attorney on July 20, 2017

Like every other state, if you are caught speeding in California, you will be fined. But what is different in the Golden State is just how expensive speeding tickets can be. So why the high cost? What makes speeding in California so much expensive than in any other state?

The Fines

The base fines for speeding in California have actually stayed relatively the same for the past two decades. Traveling between 1 and 15 miles over the posted speed limit will get drivers a fine of $35, and $70 when it occurs in a construction zone. Speeding between 16 and 25 miles per hour will result in a $70 fine, which increases to $105 in a construction zone. Going over 26 miles per hour or more will award drivers with a $100 fine, moved up to $135 in a construction zone; and anything over 100 miles per hour will result in a $200 fine.

We are not finished yet. Some of these ticket prices are kind of expensive; but it is not the base fines that actually drive up the price.

The culprit for that is all of the assessments that are applied to the total of the base ticket. The assessments that every driver will face are:

• $40 for a court operations assessment
• $35 for a conviction assessment
• A state penalty assessment which is 100% of the base fine, doubling it automatically
• $1 for a night court assessment

These prices, too, seem very high, but there are even more penalty assessments that can be added to the final price, making a California speeding ticket even more exorbitant. These additional assessments include:

• A county penalty assessment of $7 for every $10 of the base fine
• A DNA identification fund penalty assessment of $4 for every $10 of the base fine
• A state court construction penalty assessment of 50% of the base fine
• $4 for the emergency medical air transportation services fund penalty assessment
• A penalty assessment for emergency medical services of $2 for every $10 of the base fine

California Has Incentive to Ticket You

Taking these amounts into consideration, it is easy to see how quickly a speeding ticket in California can add up. In fact, for traveling between 1 and 15 miles per hour over the limit, the lowest speeding ticket in California that has a base fine of $35 can end up costing the driver a total of $234.

On top of these high costs, your insurance premiums are also likely to increase after getting a speeding ticket, which is another very good reason to avoid them altogether.

If you need to fight a speeding ticket that you believe was unwarranted, contact jD LAW at (760) 630-2000. We know that many people in California simply cannot afford these tickets, and we believe that you should not have to pay them when you did nothing to warrant the ticket in the first place.