Ease Up on the Lead Foot
"Professional driver on a closed course": me in my 1983 Porsche 911SC on the track in Lime Rock, Connecticut.
By Brook Wilkinson
If you're planning a road trip this summer, take note of a study recently released by George Mason University. Two of its findings:
* When pulled over, out-of-towners have a 51% chance of getting a ticket, compared to 30% for locals.
* The farther from home the driver is, the more likely he or she will be ticketed, and the higher the fine will be.
I believe it -- I'm living proof, in fact. If you've been following the WHERE'S BROOK? contest, you know that I recently drove across the country along I-80. What I didn't mention is that I got a ticket in Wyoming for doing 86 in a 75. It certainly didn't help when a cousin of mine, a Wyoming native, expressed surprise that a cop had pulled me over for what he considered a minor infraction. I'm pretty sure the state trooper simply saw my New York plates and knew I'd never be back to contest the ticket.
You see, cops are playing the odds that someone with out-of-state plates will simply give up and mail in a check rather than protest a ticket. Driving expert Stephan Wilkinson has riffed on this topic over at The Truth About Cars. (Full disclosure: He's my dad, and I was sitting in the back seat when he got pulled over in New Zealand.)
The George Mason University study did hit one hopeful note for travelers: Police officers are less likely to issue tickets in places that rely on tourism revenue. I guess they're just as happy to take your money for tacky tchochkes as for speeding tickets.
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