How Much Does a Speeding Ticket Cost Throughout the World

Every driver gets carried away once in a while and before they know it, they find themselves over the speed limit. Even though sometimes they get away with this without a punishment, other times a speed camera or a policeman’s speed gun will temper their enthusiasm. In such cases, a speed ticket is issued. It is never pleasant, but sometimes it can get nasty, depending on the country or region, and rightfully so.

This is because speeding is one of the most aggravating factors for car accidents. It should be noted that more than 1,000 people die every day around the world in speeding-related crashes, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) study. Every government therefore must fight speeding, and this is why we have speeding fines and license suspensions.

Depending on the country, speeding fines are either fixed or based on the driver’s income. This is a clever way to ensure that wealthy drivers don’t get to view speeding tickets as mere inconveniences. This is also why the heaviest fines are issued in the countries with such a wealth-based system, most of them being in Europe. If you were curious, the world record is held by a Swiss driver who was fined 709,000 SFR ($767,000) in Switzerland after passing by a speed camera at 290 kph (180 mph).

Australian insurance company Budget Direct just happened to analyze the speeding tickets' costs around the world and this is how we found out that Sudan has the lowest maximum fine for speeding, at a fixed rating of $0,07. We assume nobody cares for speeding in that part of the world, but a fine is still a fine.

Going region by region it’s not unexpected to find out the U.S. has the most expensive fines in North America, going as high as $2,000 in Oregon. In Nebraska, on the other hand, going more than 21 mph over the speed limit will get you a bill for $200, according to the table at FindLaw. The lowest top fine on the continent is in Cuba, at 60 pesos ($2.50).

In South America, Argentina holds the title for the highest speeding fines, at $3,700. The neighboring country Paraguay, on the other hand, is a lot more gentle on driver’s wallets. Here, the biggest fines can get as high as $0,13. That’s right, 13 cents.

Going from highs to lows and back, we found ourselves in Europe, the continent with the highest speeding fines in the world. That’s because several top-earning countries here calculate their fines based on the driver’s income. It means Switzerland and Finland are the most expensive places to be caught speeding, even when you consider the average national income. No wonder the Top 20 highest fines in the world for speeding is populated with Finish and Swiss drivers mostly (14 and 4 positions respectively).

Going further to the East, the highest top speeding fine in the Middle East and Central Asia is in Lebanon ($1,985), while the lowest is in Syria, at $0,08. Australia, of course, is the most expensive country in the rest of Asia and the Oceania region, with speeding tickets costing as much as $1,700 in New South Wales. On the other hand, Thailand, Pakistan, and Nepal are the cheapest, at $15, $15, and $13 respectively.

Last on the list is Africa, although speeding fines are not that cheap here. Uganda, for instance, punishes speeding drivers with a $1,700 fine, according to Budget Direct. Of course, at the other end of the scale, we have Sudan, you know already.

No matter how small a speeding fine is or seems, you should always remember that the maximum penalty anywhere in the world is death. That’s right, remember the 1,000 a day figure from the beginning of this article.