NC issued half a million speeding tickets in 2017. These counties led the state.

North Carolina issued more than half a million speeding tickets in 2017.

Wake County by far led the state in speeding tickets last year – 34,029 of the total 527,747 cases statewide, according to state court records.

Guilford County had the next-most tickets, with 29,611, followed by Mecklenburg, Forsyth, Cabarrus, Cumberland, Onslow, Orange, Randolph and Buncombe rounding out the top 10.

But Wake is getting better, at least compared to the previous 14 years, which peaked at 60,838 cases in 2007.

In the 14 years of data, Wake saw its fewest speeding tickets last year.

The counties with the fewest speeding tickets, in order, were: Chowan, Graham, Hyde, Ashe and Alleghany.

Counties with higher populations, such as Wake and Mecklenburg, are naturally more likely to accrue more tickets. Counties along major interstates and highways, such as I-95, also are more likely to issue more tickets.

In 2017, nearly 516,000 people were charged with speeding statewide.

NC traffic violation penalties are uniform throughout the state, meaning they do not vary by county.

An illegal passing ticket will cost four points on your driving record regardless if it occurs in Raleigh or Asheville, according to the DMV. What does vary are the types of penalties. Depending on your offense, these may include the suspension or revocation of driving privileges, points added to your driving record or driving restrictions. Your license type also factors into the degree of the penalties.

This story was originally published February 22, 2018 at 3:53 PM with the headline "NC issued half a million speeding tickets in 2017. These counties led the state.."