Waldo Florida Spped Trap

This Chief of Police just resigned this week.....

I have driven the 301 corridor 4 times in the last year. Waldo and Starke are no big deals. Just obey the posted signs. If Waldo goes one speed through the whole town, no big deal. The town is the length of my arm. I'll survive.

My position is that if you want to drive 90 in a 55, that's fine, provided you do not mind paying one (A fine that is) and do not hit anyone.

The downside is what happens when something happens... I rally hated sitting there at the teletype keyboard typing:

Reference Fatal Accident ##-####-YR

That was no fun at all. And I typed far too many of those messages.

(At least it was a Dataspeed 40 and not a 28ASR I was typing on)

Of course you do not have to speed to die on the freeway.. But it makes it faster.

spoon059 wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:
Speed signs are suggestions not absolutes.

I think he was just making a humorous observation that is somewhat true...

Thank you. I was beginning to think that no one would get it.

fj12ryder wrote:
Speed signs are suggestions not absolutes.

I think he was just making a humorous observation that is somewhat true.

I'm a police officer, I occasionally grab our shift's laser unit and enforce speed. I work in a downtown area now where the speed limit is 35mph. I issue warnings at about 12 mph over and tickets at about 16 mpg over... That means you get a free pass at 46 or slower, written warning at 47-50 and a ticket for doing 51 in a 35. If I stopped every single vehicle that was going even 5 mph over, I would stop EVERYONE. If I wrote tickets for everyone doing 12 mph over, I would be issuing tickets as fast as I could write them.

In that sense, speed limit signs are not absolute.

In regards to Waldo, there are numerous towns like that in upper Florida along 301. I've driven through there multiple times and never been stopped. If you obey the speed limits (whether or not you agree with them), then its awful hard to get a ticket for speeding. Its a pain in the neck sometimes and my gas mileage suffers with all the slowing and speeding up, but its easy to do if you pay attention. If the community is upset with the speed limits and wants to change them, the correct way is through legislation... not constantly getting tickets and complaining about it.

It sounds like Florida Dept of Transportation is going to make the entire city one single speed limit. I would guess that the entire stretch will now all be 35 mph. I would also guess that Waldo will be able to issue a LOT more speeding tickets once the entire stretch is 35 mph, because I would guess a lot more people will get frustrated by the extended lower speed limit and will go faster.

It is reprehensible that the chief sets quota's for his officers. Forcing officers to write a certain amount of tickets for a certain offense is poor management. Its one thing to "encourage" officers to write an average of 12 tickets per shift... its another thing to force it. It sure sounds like the city depends upon these funds for revenue and puts pressure on the chief, who puts pressure on the officers, who put pressure on the drivers.

If that is the truth, then the whole town needs some fundamental changes. If things are screwed up at the top of the town government, it will trickle down to the street level.

But... at the end of the day, if you don't speed you won't get a speeding ticket. Its that simple.

I love the righteous indignation that some people exhibit when this topic comes up. "YOU MUST OBEY the speed limit of you will by punished and shunned by others in the RVing community". LOL. Give me a break. There isn't one person here that doesn't exceed the speed limit or break a dozen other rules on a daily basis. If your sense of justice forces you to live to an exacting standard, hooray! That's your selection. Just don't try to force your view on others.

wa8yxm wrote:

Tom N wrote:
What is perceived as a problem is easily solved by observing the speed limits. An excellent idea, anywhere, for all RV'ers And, makes the 301 corridor safer for all pedestrians and drivers.

Not always as easy as it sounds.. There are several ways a city can "Trick" you into a speeding ticket,, One is by failing to put up "Lower speed ahead" type signs.. Another is by getting a RADAR unit to upgrade your speed a bit. And of course improper training of the officers.

This is why it is not legal to tell officers You got to write so many tickets per shift. (Quotas)

Of course the issue is easy to avoid

Bypass the town.

Not to mention the increased risk to all when drivers have to keep reading road signs and nearly constantly watch their speedometer or adjust their cruise control instead of watching the road.

There's so much more to "safer" than just travel speed.

Tom N wrote:
What is perceived as a problem is easily solved by observing the speed limits. An excellent idea, anywhere, for all RV'ers And, makes the 301 corridor safer for all pedestrians and drivers.

Not always as easy as it sounds.. There are several ways a city can "Trick" you into a speeding ticket,, One is by failing to put up "Lower speed ahead" type signs.. Another is by getting a RADAR unit to upgrade your speed a bit. And of course improper training of the officers.

This is why it is not legal to tell officers You got to write so many tickets per shift. (Quotas)

Of course the issue is easy to avoid

Bypass the town.

DutchmenSport wrote:
Just because it appears YOU or ME can drive it comfortably in bright sunny summer days, does not mean an 18 wheeler loaded with a million tons on hazardous material can speed effectively through that same spot in the fall when leaves start falling on the road, or it rains and gets slippery. Speeding then, would be disasterous.
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So the sign is put there based upon the worst case conditions. (And do I blow through that stop sign in winter when I'm the only one on the road and CAN see for 1/2 a mile all directions .... Yup! I SURE do!) Still ... am I wrong. Yes! technically, I should arrest myself! But, I'm not a policeman, so I just let myself off with a warning! Accident waiting to happen? perhaps someday! Yes.

The reasons you described above are exactly why most police officers use discretion about stopping or writing tickets. What's a safety issue for one vehicle, weather condition or time of day is not an issue for another. Speed limits set for "safety reasons" by their very nature cannot be one size fits all but must be for practical reasons: there's only room for one number on the sign.

What makes places like Waldo a "speed trap" is when all of that discretion is removed and tickets are written to anything/everything travelling over the "limit" without regard for any other factors.

Atlanta is kind of the same way. Posted 55mph, I know I've been clocked at 70. But they are waiting for the guy doing 80, and weaving from lane to lane. And they never seem to lack customers. When Georgia passed the "Super Speeder" law, the effect was the enforcement point went up 5 mph. 11 over would get you pulled over, now they wait for the guy doing 15 over. Less than 10 over wont get a second look.