Does Kansas City have a speeding problem? New data puts city near the worst in US
Kansas City drivers treat the highways like a race, according to a new national study.
Research collected by online loan marketplace LendingTree found that Kansas City has the second speediest drivers in the United States, and it often leads to tickets and crashes.
The study used insurance claim data from June 9, 2023, to June 9, 2024, to calculate the number of speeding-related incidents per 1,000 drivers in the 50 most populated U.S. cities. It found that Kansas City has 9.45 incidents per 1,000 drivers. Incidents are mostly tickets but can also be crashes.
Forbes said earlier this year that Kansas City had the fifth-worst drivers in the country. In their study, Forbes used data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found the city had the highest number of fatal car accidents involving speeding, totaling 7.07 per 100,000 residents and the fifth-highest total number of fatal car accidents.
Other data from LendingTree revealed that:
Younger Americans are more likely to speed. Drivers ages 18 to 26 have 11.87 speeding-related incidents per 1,000 drivers. It’s almost double compared to drivers ages 27 to 42, who have 6.73 speeding-related incidents per 1,000 drivers.
Subaru drivers speed more than drivers of other model, with users having 7.96 speeding-related incidents per 1,000 drivers
New York drivers speed the least, as they reported 1.80 speeding-related incidents per 1,000 drivers. Louisville, Kentucky, and Boston also speed less than most.
Portland, Oregon, had the most speeding-related incidents with 11.61 per 1,000 drivers. Jacksonville, Florida was No. 3 behind Kansas City with 9.01 speeding-related incidents per 1,000 drivers.
It’s always illegal to speed on Missouri roads. Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesperson Corporal Justin Ewing said to The Star in August 2023 that driving faster than the posted speed limits on signs is a violation, even if it’s just 1 mph over. That means if you get caught going 56 mph in a 55 mph zone, an officer can issue a citation.
