Craig Fitzgerald of Yahoo! Autos/BoldRide has written an article about speeding tickets around the US. Being New England based, I found some of the results very interesting. The whole article can be read HERE, but if you'd like to cut to the chase, read excerpts below:
Most Expensive First Offense: (Tie) Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Nevada and New Hampshire
These five states all hold drivers liable for a fine of up to $1,000 for a first offense. The fine is up to a judge’s discretion and can be based on how many miles per hour you’re ticketed over the designated speed limit, or if you were caught speeding in a work or a school zone, both of which tend to double a fine. In addition to the fine, you can spend up to a year in jail. Granted, speeding in a work zone is bad for everyone concerned, but a few moments of inattention resulting in a $1,000 fine? What’s the first offense for a weapons violation in those states?
Most Expensive State to Fight a Ticket: Massachusetts
Back in 2005, Vincent Gillespie got a $15 parking ticket in Northampton, Massachusetts, a bucolic community in the Connecticut River Valley in Central Massachusetts. In order to fight the ticket, Gillespie had to pay $319.90 in filing fees with the Hampshire County Superior Court, which was non-refundable whether he won his case or not. His case went to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial court, where Gillespie’s lawyers argued that the fees effectively negated his constitutional right to due process. In its ruling, the SJC noted that the plaintiffs hadn’t met the burden of proof that the laws weren’t in keeping with the state constitution, and that the fee system serves the purpose of discouraging “the filing of nonmeritorious appeals,” thus conserving scarce judicial resources.
Sneakiest Speed Traps in America: Vermont
Mt. Tabor is a one-horse dot on Route 7a in western Vermont that doesn’t even have a traffic light. What it does have is a speed limit sign that drops to 40 mph, and you will get rung up by its zealous constable, a guy who drives a Camaro and gets paid by the number of tickets he writes. And he’s not alone. One constable in the village of Island Pond made national news by writing 1,100 tickets, with fines totaling $100,000 – a tenth of the entire revenue of the town that year.
Most Unmarked State Police Cars: Connecticut
In all my years driving in New England, I’ve never seen a fully marked Connecticut State Police car. That’s because only one is assigned to every troop. Apparently, they’re white with yellow and blue markings. Most Connecticut State Police cars are silver, with a pushbar up front and a low-profile lightbar on the roof, which carries the only “State Police” marking on the car. Connecticut’s also been notorious for using Camaros, Mustangs, Grand Nationals and other non-traditional cars as unmarked patrol cars on the state’s highways.
Vic has hit 140,000 miles. Average fuel mileage 22.4MPG. Snow tires went on 12/4. Fronts may be too old, thinking about swapping out with 2 more generic snows I got from Todd. Fenders still rusty. Hoping Santa will bring me a bag of money for Christmas...
It has been almost a month since I had Vic's transmission fluid changed in an effort to stop the chattering. SO FAR, it has worked. (insert sigh of relief HERE) 
Recently I decided to order something off Ebay. What was it? An N scale Crown Vic!
This time, I decided to go with a heavy duty pad by Wagner. I learned something, too. I was wondering what the groove in the new pads were for. Apparently, they are like the wear bars on tires. When the groove is gone, you need pads. Supposedly it also helps dissipate water.
May 10th saw Vic's snow tires come off, and alloys with Goodyear RS-A's go on. The spring ritual resulted in the revelation that I now need front brake pads. Those got ordered today. The day also included starting up Todd's '04 Mustang after it's winter slumber, getting an inspection sticker for it, and the mass murder of a huge flock of what looked like winged ants that had infested his garage. As of this second, Vic is outside with a car-cover on, due to trees dumping "propellers" and general shmoo all over the place. 
Vic is home and feeling a little better. Taxi Guy replaced the rear brake pads and fuel filter, but didn't repair the emergency brake, as it would be a $400 job (rear axles have to come out to do the shoes). So he didn't do the e-brakes, but did fix the exhaust leak. 
As for Todd's '06, it had been acting strange. Todd kept having to turn back during his morning commute because the car would barely run. But when we took it out on weekends, on longer drives, it was fine. Finally, it got so bad one day the engine light went on, so now there was a code to read. The problem? The throttle position sensor. 
(1/30/12) As you may have heard, Ford has ended production of the venerable Crown 
