High-frequency location data show that race affects citations and fines for speeding

Prior research finds that in encounters with law enforcement minorities
are punished more severely than white civilians. Less is known about the
effect of race on encounters and its implications for research on racial
profiling. Using high-frequency location data of rideshare Lyft drivers in
Florida (N=222,838), we estimate the effect of driver race on citations
and fines for speeding across 19,356,683 location pings. Compared to a
white driver traveling the same speed, we find that racial/ethnic minority
drivers are 24 to 33 percent more likely to be cited for speeding and pay
23 to 34 percent more money in fines. We find no evidence that accident
and re-offense rates can explain these estimates, suggesting that
underlying our results is an animus against minorities.