Dodging holiday weekend traffic ticket hot spots

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What locations are most likely to be giving traffic tickets during the upcoming Memorial Day weekend? The National Motorists Association, which has updated its data, thinks it knows.

The rankings below came from analyzing ticket-related search queries such as “speeding ticket” and “traffic tickets” using Google’s Insights for Search — a public tool that shows search trends. So it’s an indirect measurement, but worth noting.

NMA found that Nevada is the state most likely to issue you a traffic ticket, followed by Georgia and Alabama. In 2010 Florida took the top spot and Georgia and Nevada tied for second place.

The state where you’re least likely to get ticketed is Wyoming, followed closely by Montana.

This year the NMA expanded its rankings to include the top 10 metro areas for traffic tickets. Drivers will want to be especially vigilant in Atlanta, Los Angeles and Dallas-Fort Worth.

2012 Top 25 State Rankings (starting with most likely to ticket) and NMA score:

1) Nevada 79

2) Georgia 70

3) Alabama 69

4) Florida 67

5) Maryland 65

6) Louisiana 63

7) Texas 62

8) District of Columbia 61

9-tie)  California 59

9-tie)  North Carolina 59

9-tie)  Missouri 59

12) New York 56

13) Mississippi 55

14) South Carolina 54

15-tie) Indiana 51

15-tie) Washington 51

15-tie) Tennessee 51

18) Illinois 50

19-tie) Arizona 49

19-tie) Iowa 49

19-tie) Oklahoma 49

22 Virginia 48

23 New Jersey 47

24-tie) Ohio 45

24-tie) Kansas 45

2012 Top 10 Metro Area Rankings (starting with most likely to ticket) and NMA score:

1) Atlanta 74

2) Los Angeles 72

3) Dallas-Fort Worth 62

4) Miami 59

5) New York 57

6) Chicago 52

7) District of Columbia 50

8) Houston 47

9) Orlando 39

10) San Diego 34