Study reveals the cost of speeding tickets around the world

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It’s a slap in the face at 150km/h. Get caught speeding in Australia, and you face a fine of up to $2,530 (USD 1,711.86). What could be more exhilarating?

Australia’s maximum penalty is the equivalent of a reliable second-hand Corolla. But it’s not the highest in the world. Several countries have a more imposing fixed rate, while the fine is equivalent to a given portion of the driver’s salary elsewhere. A fair solution for super-rich speed-hogs who think that a ‘speeding ticket’ is something you buy with your spare change when you want to go over the limit.

More than 1,000 people per day die in speeding-related crashes around the world. Many of these are pedestrians that did nothing wrong except step out onto the road at an unfortunate moment. Since that isn’t deterrent enough for some motorists, Budget Direct decided to highlight the maximum speeding fine in nearly every country (where the top fines are related to income, we used the average national income as a benchmark). And the Budget Direct’s team also identified the 20 highest speeding fines ever.

Methodology

To determine the maximum speeding fine in every country, the team reviewed government sites, press releases, and other sources to compile a list of the maximum speeding fine in every country where data is available.

For countries where speeding fines are based on income, the Budget Direct’s team calculated the potential speeding ticket value for a driver with the median income of that country. For countries in which the value of a speeding ticket is based on some unit of account tied to the median salary within the country, they calculated the maximum speeding fine using the most current values available.

Harsher penalties based on exceeding the speed limit multiple times within a year were excluded. The team logged the maximum listed fine for speeding and excluded fines listed for harsher crimes such as reckless driving or speed racing that can be associated with driving speed.

Data was collected in August 2021.

The cost of speeding around the world

In many countries speeding fines are based on the driver’s income; as a result, speeding tickets are generally higher in rich countries and lower in poorer countries. The costliest speeding ticket in Switzerland ($17,908) while in several African countries is less than $1.

North America

South America

Europe

Middle East and Central Asia

Africa

Rest of Asia, Australia and Oceania

The countries with the most expensive speeding fines ever

Key Findings

• The country with the highest speeding fine is Switzerland, where a motorist on an average salary faces a penalty up to $17,908 ($13,320 USD)
• Australia has the world’s 17th highest fine: $2,530 ($1,847 USD), for going 45 km/h over the limit in New South Wales.
• The lowest ‘top fine’ in our study is in Sudan: $0.09 ($0.07 USD).
• The highest speeding penalty ever was issued to the driver of a Mercedes SLS AMG who reached 290 km/h and was fined $1,031,192 ($767,000 USD)