Excuses, excuses. American drivers have plenty of them when they get pulled over for speeding. Nearly half – 48% – said they’ve tried to use an excuse to avoid a ticket. And some of those excuses are rather creative.
In March, we surveyed 1,460 drivers 18 years and older about car insurance and driving habits. Among the questions we asked: If you’ve gotten pulled over for speeding and given an excuse, what was that excuse?
“I didn’t know what the speed limit was” is the most common answer, given by about 22% of respondents. This tracks with the results of a 2021 CarInsurance.com survey, when 26% of participants said they didn’t realize they were speeding.
Drivers aged 35 to 54 were the most likely to give this excuse, while those aged 65 and up were the least likely to give this excuse.
- About half of drivers we surveyed have been pulled over for speeding.
- The most common excuse was, “I didn’t know I was speeding.”
- A single speeding ticket can raise your premium by almost 80%, depending on your insurance company and other factors.
What are common excuses people use when they get pulled over for speeding?
Feigning ignorance wasn’t the only excuse that drivers have used. Other responses survey participants could choose from – and the percentage of replies each received – include:
- Sick family member: 4.9%
- Running late to pick up a kid: 4.9%
- Running late for a doctor’s appointment: 4.3%
- Late for a job interview: 1.6%
People age 18 to 34 were most likely to say they were running late because of a job interview or because of a doctor’s appointment, while older drivers (65 and older) were the least likely to use these excuses. Middle-aged adults (35-44) were most apt to say they were late because they were picking up a child, while older adults (65 and older) were least likely.
About 10% of respondents offered a different excuse than the options above. Many of these people said they were speeding because they had to use the restroom, while others said they were having a medical emergency or simply keeping up with the traffic flow. These were common excuses in our 2021 survey, too.
But some drivers got creative, offering excuses such as:
- Another driver pulled a gun on me
- I got bitten by a dog
- I rarely speed!
- It was my wedding day
- I was late for Thanksgiving at my mom’s
- My stupidity
- My wife was pregnant, and we were on our way to the hospital
- I’m a new driver
- I was late for work
A handful of people said they didn’t offer any excuse – they just apologized, took the ticket and went on their way.
Overall, drivers 65 or older were the least likely to say they’d been pulled over. About 16% of this cohort say they’ve never been pulled over. People aged 35 to 44 were the most likely to be pulled over; only about 8% of respondents say they’ve never been stopped for speeding.
How much do speeding tickets increase car insurance costs?
Getting a speeding ticket can be pricey. You pay the fine – and your car insurance rates also rise. Depending on the insurer, rates can rise anywhere from 20% with State Farm to as much as 79% with Geico after a speeding ticket.
Your insurance company factors how much speeding will increase your car insurance costs. Among the top insurers, we found the following rate increases after a speeding ticket for going 11-29 mph over the limit:
- Allstate: 25%
- Farmers: 37%
- Geico: 79%
- Nationwide: 40%
- Progressive: 33%
- State Farm: 20%
- Travelers: 55%
- USAA*: 22%
* USAA is only available to military community members and their families.
What to do if you get pulled over for speeding
Most drivers have been pulled over for speeding. It’s often how you react to getting stopped that’s vital to getting a warning or a hefty ticket, says Paul Patti, a retired police lieutenant and director at Police Career and Promotion Services in Florida.
1. Be polite and keep your hands in sight
When pulled over, Patti encourages drivers to remain positive, keep their hands in sight and not to make sudden movements – don’t move quickly to get your license and registration.
“Don’t forget – a little niceness and human-to-human courtesy goes both ways and is appreciated,” Patti says.
2. Don’t argue with the police officer
It’s easy to lose your cool when you’re pulled over for speeding. But remaining calm is your best course of action, says James M. Wirth, an attorney with Wirth Law Group, P.C., in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“To win an argument with a traffic officer, you have to be in court in front of a judge. So, if your goal is to avoid court, there is no upside to arguing and a definite downside,” he says. “Officers regularly give people breaks, but only with the hope that people will appreciate it for what it is, generosity on the officer’s part. If you demonstrate an attitude of entitlement, you negate the officer’s only incentive to cut you slack.”
3. Ask for a warning
Patti says there’s nothing wrong with requesting a warning if you’re only going five or 10 miles over the speed limit.
“Done politely, a sincere apology with a request for a warning can be helpful. Remember, however, that officers are often assigned to specific traffic hot spots by supervisors and expected to write citations,” Patti says.
4. Sign the ticket to appear in court
If asking for a warning doesn’t work and you get a ticket, Wirth recommends signing it promptly.
Signing the ticket doesn’t admit guilt. Instead, it’s a promise to pay the fine or appear in court. Failure to pay a ticket could result in an arrest to ensure that you appear in court.
“There is probably nothing more aggravating for an officer than trying to convince a skeptical driver that he/she really is acting in their best interest when trying to convince them to sign and that he/she isn’t being a jerk by saying that if you don’t promise to appear in court, I have to arrest you,” Wirth says.
Officers may hand out dozens of tickets in a month, but if you’re a problem, the officer will likely remember you — and make sure to attend your hearing.
“You don’t want to do anything to make your traffic stop more memorable or that would motivate the officer to make sure to show up for your traffic trial,” Wirth says. “Act like a jerk, and you can bet the officer will perfectly recollect the traffic stop and the date and time of your trial.”
Resources & Methodology
Methodology
CarInsurance.com commissioned research firm Dynata to conduct an online survey of 1,460 drivers about their speeding habits in March 2025. See our data methodology page for complete details and methodology.
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