Over speeding in Arizona or breaking the law can lead to several consequences. Also known as the basic speed rule, a person should not drive at a speed greater than the limit designated.
Arizona Speed Limits
- Rural freeways & interstate highways: 75 miles/hour.
- Urban freeways & interstate highways: 65 miles/hour.
- Business & residential districts : 25 miles/hour.
- Alleys & school zones : 15 miles/hour.
Exceeding the posted speed limit
Arizona’s “waste of finite resources” citation is unique in those speeding violations that happen to be in 55 miles/hour zone. This citation is issued if the driver is going under 10 miles/hour over the posted speed limit. A fine of $15 is issued and it is not reflected on the driver’s record. It’s not reported to the insurance too.
If a driver is traveling at 20 miles/hour or more over the speed limit, or speed is higher than 85 miles/hour, a much higher fine with possible jail time or suspension of driver’s license can be the penalty.
How much penalty for speeding in Arizona?
First-time violators may not be subjected to:
- Fine more than $250.
- License suspension for more than a year.
Penalty for criminal speeding :
First-time violators may be subjected to :
- Fine more than $500 over and 83% surcharge.
- Jail time up to 30 days.
- A year of probation.
Penalty for Reckless Driving :
First-time violators may not be subjected to:
- Fine more than $750.
- Jail time more than 120 days.
- More than 90 days license suspension.
The points system in Arizona
If a driver accumulates more than 8 points within a year on the license may have to face the following:
- Traffic education classes or a training course.
If a driver accumulates more than 24 points within 36 months on the license may have to face the following:
- One year suspension of driver’s license.
The following points are for speeding in Arizona
| Violation | Points |
| Extreme Driving under Influence | 8 |
| Driving under Influence | 8 |
| Aggressive Driving | 8 |
| Reckless Driving | 8 |
| Hit and Run | 6 |
| Failure to stop resulting in a fatal accident | 6 |
| Failure to stop resulting in a serious injury | 4 |
| Speeding | 3 |
| Driving or Parking in the Gore Area | 3 |
| All other moving violations | 2 |
Defenses in Over Speeding Cases:
Several defenses can be used for overspeeding in Arizona. These are the three most common defenses:
- Attacking how was your speed determined by the officer. For this, you need to discover the method by which the officer used to cite you and to learn how can to attack that particular method.
- Claiming that you exceeded the limit due to an emergency to prevent damage to yourself or someone else.
- Claiming that the officer mistook you for overspeeding for another car due to similar-looking cars and picked you wrongly in the end.
How to pay for the Speeding ticket in Arizona?
Contact the Municipal Court or Justice Court as indicated by your citation, check the modes of payment accepted. Courts generally accept personal checks, cash, money orders, VISA, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover as payment.
- You may appear and pay the civil penalty on your scheduled court date. The clerk will take the payment and issue a receipt.
- You may appear in court to admit the violation with an explanation to the judge. The court will decide the civil penalty considering the explanation.
- Some courts accept payments via Phone.
- Failure to appear or payment in full will result in a driver’s license be suspended and remain that way until the civil penalty is paid in full. Additional fees will be added to the due total.
Online Payment:
To pay the fine using the online method follow this link and directions given below:
- Enter the citation number. If you do not have it follow this link to obtain the citation number.
- Click the Continue button to find your cases and begin the payment process.
- Payments can be made only with Visa or Mastercard.
- You may print the confirmation page for your reference.
FAQs
When you are charged with a speeding ticket, you have few options:
1) Plead guilty as charged.
2) Represent yourself throughout the process.
3) Hire a lawman to represent you.
Regardless of choice, you can miss your first date at court. Two things to remember are (1) Court name, (2) Next court date.
If you are driving slow enough to cause other driving offenses. That is if your driving speed hinders other persons using the road, you are guilty of an offense. It is a subjective thing and can be decided in court depending on the evidence.
This can include:
1) The misleading signal due to the indicator left on for too long.
2) Passengers are injured when the bus driver is taking a fast corner.
No. Courses are not reflected on your driver’s license.
Only one speeding awareness course can be attended in 3 years. If caught speeding within these 3 years, a fixed penalty notice is issued.