Speed Traps

[Rider of Theli]

SPEED TRAPS - NO JOKE...CHECK IT OUT

When you get to the website, click on the state you want to check and then the next window is a listing of all the cities/counties in that state. Click on your city or county and there are the speed traps listed.

http://www.speedtrap.org/speedtraps/stetlist.asp

It's up to date because it lists a speed trap they set up near my workplace almost daily here in Cobb County, GA.

So if you're traveling through unfamiliar territory this spring/summer, it might be good to spend a few minutes researching possible speed traps.

 

[RagePSV]

I guess I'm lazy, I just don't speed. More time to listen to music in the car

 

[See You In Hell]

Very interesting indeed. Some of the traps I'm aware of were also listed. It's good that drivers share this kind of information with others. Let's face it, this whole notion of speeding / tickets / defensive driving / blah blah is tantamount to legalized extortion. Anything we can do to stem that tide is great.

Nothing "protects and serve" quite like a traffic cop with the ol' radar gun at the ready. Now that's fighting crime, folks!

 

[OrbWeaver]

It's not as useful as I thought it would be. They need more speed traps listed along interstates, instead of individual towns/cities.

@SeeYouInHell: Most cops don't like being traffic cops. In fact, they hate it. The hours usuall suck, and it's often long, boring work. It's also one of the more dangerous things cops have to do, so it's extremely high stress. It behooves you not to piss them off.



Some general tips for everyone if you get pulled over:
- give simple answers like "yes" or "no." Cops are looking for you to say anything incriminating in regards to your traffic violation. When asked a question, be as noncommittal as possible. "Do you know why you've been pulled over?" "No."
- don't speak until they speak to you. Again, they're looking for signs of guilt.
- be polite - as stated above, being a traffic cop is a dangerous, stressful job.
- at night, turn on your dome light as soon as you pull over. It helps to make the officer feel safer. Keep your hands on the steering wheel where they can be seen.
- do NOT dig around for your liscense, registration, proof of insurance, etc...they don't know for certain that you aren't going for a gun or a knife. Only look for those after they ask to see them.

These tips do not guarantee that you won't be written a ticket when you're pulled over, but sometimes they help. Cops deal with ALOT of shit. Especially traffic cops. It pays to be polite and make the officer feel safe, but also not to incriminate yourself.

Just some (hopefully) helpful hints from your resident police daughter.

 

[Thorn23TX]

What's even better are the cops who sit under bridges in the u-turn lane checking for seat belts. My buddy got nicked for a "click it or ticket" violation just this week. Ummmm... isn't there some murderer/rapist/drug dealer you could be getting off the street or something?

 

[Rycher]

What's even better are the cops who sit under bridges in the u-turn lane checking for seat belts. My buddy got nicked for a "click it or ticket" violation just this week. Ummmm... isn't there some murderer/rapist/drug dealer you could be getting off the street or something?

Tickets provide revenue for the municipality.

 

[freakchylde]

One of the suggestions I got, from a former CIA/substitute teacher, was when they ask if you know how fast you were going, tell them, even if it incriminates you for speeding. They expect you to argue it, so they're already on the defensive before you even answer. Being able to give an accurate answer defuses them. So far, it worked for me the 3 times I've been pulled over for speeding. But always be polite, if you act like you're in a hurry, they'll detain you longer. So it's in your best interest to be as helpful as possible.

And Cobb Co. traffic guys are dicks. End of story. I have yet to meet a nice one, even off-duty. But DeKalb and Woostock rocks my socks.

 

[OrbWeaver]

@Freakchylde: Not too far from where I grew up, there's a town called Rochester, IL. The cops there are bored, small town cops. They will pull people over for going 1 mile over the speed limit. Usually near the end of the month when their quota is due.

My experience? The smaller the town, the bigger the jerk the cops are. Though oddly, the town I grew up in had a nice cop. He would rather sit and chat with people than pull people over and write tickets.


I've also noticed that it helps to be female. Cops tend to go easier on women. Unless of course, the cop in question is a female cop. Then you're out of luck.

 

[See You In Hell]

Tickets provide revenue for the municipality.

That's about all they do. And they provide a lot of revenue too. One has to just look at the exhorbitant fines for even minor violations (in TX, although not commonplace, a driver can be dinged in some municipalities in excess of $150 just for going 1 mph over the speed limit!).

Here's an example from the city of Carrollton, TX which is one of Dallas' suburbs near me:

Speeding 1-12 mph over the limit: $150
Improper turn: $155
Expired license plate registration: $140
Expired inspection sticket: $140

Good grief! Talk about gouging! Traffic enforcement turns into a profit center, big business...

Look, I don't question the fact that most traffic cops hate being that. I don't question that they place themselves in danger because you never know when someone is reaching for a drivers license or a gun. I don't question that the cops need to be treated with respect. I get all that. And I do respect them.

What I don't respect is the system. I mean look at these fines. And there and fines even higher.

I would agree that cops should be on the look-out for DUIs, reckless driving, street racing, etc. But to nail someone going 35 in a 30? Give me a break! Municipalities are getting fat off of this stuff! The cycle is sickening to me. You get a ticket. You take defensive driving so the ticket won't go on your driving record. You still pay court costs. What court costs, by the way? You pay the defensive driving. The cycle repeats. Make it easy for a cop to give you a ticket. Make it easy for a municipality to get a hefty payment. Make it procedurally easy (but costly) for the driver to expunge his/her record. Make it easy for the whole lousy process to repeat.

Yeah, there's that whole "if you can't do the time don't do the crime" argument but that is hogwash. We're talking traffic tickets not bank heists. Are the cops really told to go raise money for these municipalities as their primary function?? I pray this isn't the case. Yet every day I see the police cars or motorcycles on the side of the road with the laser guns out, ticket pads at the ready. Meanwhile in some neighborhood I can imagine a family gone for the day and a break-in about to occur. Where's the focus? Sure cops can't be everywhere. But they can be on patrol rather than fishing for tickets at even the most benign traffic offense.

It must seem like I hate cops. Nothing could be farther from the truth. What I hate is municipal governments deciding to use the police as money-making resources at the expense of fighting crime. No wonder so many police hate traffic cop duty. It's a waste of their valuable time and our tax dollars.

Well, I think I've officially hijacked this thread. Might as well fly it on down to Cuba....

 

[OrbWeaver]

MOST cops don't pull you over for going 5 mph over the speed limit. It's a waste of your time, and theirs. Believe me, cops don't want to be out there writing traffic tickets. Well, most state cops won't pull you over for over 5mph, anyway. At least in IL.

Also, the fines for speeding aren't quite that high here in IL: 10 mph over the speed limit is about $75.


Also, you have to bear in mind that cops can only enforce the laws, and even then, their hands are still tied by all that stupid yellow tape BS. Have you ever talked to someone who has been a cop for many years? They're often bitter and jaded at the whole system. People go into police work with altruistic intentions, but get worn down over time when they learn their altruism only goes so far. They see criminals they've arrested get off scott-free because that criminal had a better lawyer. They see people destroyed by illicit drug use, knowing full well that throwing them in a prison cell doesn't stop the problem. They get attacked by the abused woman for hauling her abuser away to jail because she "still loves him!" So when they're doing something "Better than writing traffic tickets" they still get no thanks.

Don't like the traffic laws? Then write to your state government about it. Petition to get things changed. Because sitting around on a forum bemoaning "don't cops have BETTER things to do than write me a speeding ticket???" isn't going to change what you don't like.

 

[See You In Hell]

Don't like the traffic laws? Then write to your state government about it. Petition to get things changed. Because sitting around on a forum bemoaning "don't cops have BETTER things to do than write me a speeding ticket???" isn't going to change what you don't like.

Agreed......and over the past year or 18 months I've actually written to the city of Dallas as well as four or five surrounding municipalities. Didn't really expect anything at that level, not even an acknowledgment, and those governments chose to remain mute. I've also had some contact with the good people in Austin who at least have acknowledged my concerns but basically said "take it up with the municipalities". Still, I think it's about time for me to fan the governmental flames once again....

 

[wildfyr]

On several occasions I've seen multiple squad car speed traps while making the drive south on I-55 through St. Louis, MO - going north on the way back, too. I sort of expect to see the officer convention when I go through there now.

Driving the interstates on long hauls is usually a pleasant experience until reaching a large city where several interstates merge. There can be up to a dozen lanes of traffic whizzing along at 45-55+ MPH for awhile until they split off. I witnessed some crazy shit on last year's return trip. A big swarm of squads off to the right, vehicles zooming by in several lanes to my left and to my right. A couple of vehicles making pretty good time in the left lanes, so out comes one of the officers from the swarm cutting across several lanes of traffic on the right to commence high-speed pursuit of (I presumed) the vehicle in the lead up there in the left lane...but no! He nabs the dude who wasn't going as fast as the other.

You have to wonder how accurate their radars are when there's so much traffic.

Anyway, a few miles on up the road past St. Louie and I hear a morning deejay on KSHE talking to a listener who said, 'there's a speed trap on I-55 north'.

 

[freakchylde]

@Freakchylde: Not too far from where I grew up, there's a town called Rochester, IL. The cops there are bored, small town cops. They will pull people over for going 1 mile over the speed limit. Usually near the end of the month when their quota is due.

My experience? The smaller the town, the bigger the jerk the cops are. Though oddly, the town I grew up in had a nice cop. He would rather sit and chat with people than pull people over and write tickets.


I've also noticed that it helps to be female. Cops tend to go easier on women. Unless of course, the cop in question is a female cop. Then you're out of luck.

Yeah. I went to college in Bloomington-Normal, played for the school hockey team. One of the recent pull-overs was just outside of Pekin, on the way
home from practice. Got off because I was the first female hockey player they pulled over (they were used to pulling over my teammates). Yeah, some of the female cops have issues. I understand why, since I'm used to having to prove myself in a "man's world", but sometimes, it just goes over the top.

 

[freakchylde]

Here's an example from the city of Carrollton, TX which is one of Dallas' suburbs near me:

Speeding 1-12 mph over the limit: $150
Improper turn: $155
Expired license plate registration: $140
Expired inspection sticket: $140

That's Carrollton, 'nuf said. The city just north of Irving, before you hit Grapevine, is just as bad (don't remember the name).

 

[Diamond45]

Reminds me of a ticket i got in Lewisville, AR back in 2000. Little town, got caught in a speed trap. They wanted $155 in cash. No checks. Had to go to an ATM that night and pay the next morning. Not fun.

 

[OrbWeaver]

Yeah. I went to college in Bloomington-Normal, played for the school hockey team. One of the recent pull-overs was just outside of Pekin, on the way
home from practice. Got off because I was the first female hockey player they pulled over (they were used to pulling over my teammates). Yeah, some of the female cops have issues. I understand why, since I'm used to having to prove myself in a "man's world", but sometimes, it just goes over the top.

I went to undergrad in Peoria. I have nothing good to say about Pekin AT ALL. Nothing.



@SeeYouInHell: If I wore a hat, I'd tip it to you. Not many people seem to realize that politics is what runs the police force.

@Wildfyr: radar guns are only so accurate. If you and another car are moving at a similar speed, the radar gun will pick up on the larger vehicle.

 

[Pellaz]

Tickets provide revenue for the municipality.

Yep, and tickets provide most of the revenue, I suspect, for my small town of Auburn, Georgia. There are no bars in town, so there isn't much else for the Auburn Police to do. Their motto: "To patronize and annoy."

So far, I've been pulled over for:

• pulling into a right-turn lane and stopping fairly suddenly. I had slowed down to 45mph (the legal limit) and some yahoo in a big pickup truck behind me was bright-lighting me for daring to go the limit. I got tired of it and just pulled over. The cop, naturally, stopped me instead. I wasn't ticketed, but was given a verbal warning. For what, I'm not sure..... Stopping?
• Driving past the police department twice in one night. (I was actually scoping out train movements, being a railroad buff, but nevermind.) The officer's excuse was that some lady in a black car and Dekalb Co. plates like mine had freaked out the nighttime dispatcher lady at the police department the night before, yadda yadda yadda. He was polite after he realized that my longish hair didn't automatically mean I was a lady.
• Not wearing my seatbelt. I had just pulled onto the main road from my side-street and my seatbelt warning buzzer had just sounded for the first time. I was actually reaching back to put the belt on when I saw the cruiser on the side of the road, and decided to put both hands on the wheel instead. I explained this to him...and he let me go with a verbal warning.

MOST cops don't pull you over for going 5 mph over the speed limit. It's a waste of your time, and theirs. Believe me, cops don't want to be out there writing traffic tickets. Well, most state cops won't pull you over for over 5mph, anyway. At least in IL.

In Georgia, it is illegal under state law. By law, municipal and county cops can't ticket you when using radar if you are exceeding the speed limit by less than 10mph. Exceptions: school zones and work zones. And Georgia State Patrol officers are not bound by the restriction.

For the curious, this was a result of the famous Ludowici, GA speed-trap and 'rigged' traffic light, mentioned (among other places) in Weird Georgia.

There is also a prohibition on speeding citations on any downhill grade over a certain percentage.

 

[J0ST0PH0LEES]

heh, I've actually sat at some listed in my county. There are so many more places I'd sit that arent listed.