MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin ranks tops when it comes to speeding tickets. It means an extra pinch in your wallet.
When you ask drivers what they think the biggest problem is on the roads the answer comes fast.
“Definitely speeding,” says driver Alana Fisher.
“Especially on certain streets you hear the vroom. People just kind of speeding,” said driver Aden Osman.
A new report fromInsurify supports what those drivers were saying. Wisconsin ranks number two in the country for speeding tickets.
“I wouldn’t be surprised because they drive like this on almost a daily basis,” said Mysha Grant, a Milwaukee driver.
In the last few years not only has there been more speeding tickets. But more of those tickets are for extremely high speeds. Wisconsin State Patrol issues 1,100 speeding tickets in 2022 for going more than 100 miles per hour. That’s up from 583 in 2019 according to Insurify.
The report says it why insurance is now up 56% for people with a ticket. The average Wisconsin driver was paying $131 for full coverage. It is now $204 a month. Rob Bhatt, an analyst say LendingTree says it comes down to safety.
“Speeding has been one of the leading causes leading contributing factors to traffic accidents. And so you know, when you have a lot of speeding. Then there's a chance that you're going to have. High accident rates as well,” said Bhatt.
Bhatt had predicted this jump in insurance rates would be coming when Milwaukee ranked number one in the country for the highest rate of speeding tickets compared to 70 of the other major cities in the country over the summer.
“Insurance rates are kind of a shared cost. It's you and the other people who are insured by the company you're paying to cover the costs of fixing cars and treating injuries of people who are hurt in an accident. And so in an area when insurance companies are spending more for those things. All the people who get insurance are gonna pay a little bit more,” said Bhatt.
His suggestion control what you can to avoid crashes, which means driving the speed limit and be a defensive driver.
“Be super aware. Be very much vigilant. Try to keep your reaction time in check,” said Osman.
Besides the ranking for speeding, LendingTree ranked Milwaukee and Madison as two of the top 20 cities with the worst drivers in America based on crash reports, speeding tickets, DUIs, and other citations.
