Another speed trap shut down

[down_home]

Arlington Heights, Hamilton county, Ohio, disbanned its whole police force, after 2 City Clerks were caught taking over 260,000.00 from the proceeds of the speed trap, they operated, on one mile stretch, of I75.
A number, of Rvers had been caught in a few years.
93% of court cases were speeding on I75.
I can't post a link.

[monkey44]

BCSnob wrote:
To me a speed trap is when the posted speed decreases with the sign obscured from the view of motorists and tickets are written for exceeding the lower speed limit. When has it become entrapment to enforce the clearly posted speed limits (unless enforcement is near or at the accuracy of the speed measurement devices)? I don't buy the argument that enforcing laws (speeding, running red lights, passing stopped school buses, etc) is wrong because it generates revenue.

Yes, exactly that happens in New York -- a rural community in the southern tier, and the winding road comes down off the foothills, and the posted speed is 40 mph. As you round the last curve into a straightaway, the sign suddenly appears at 20 mph, and no way to slow that fast. AND, you guessed it, sheriff sitting right beside the tree next to the 20 mph sign. Got me for a $100 ticket (mail-in) and they know it cost more to return to that town from home than just pay it and blow it off. Betcha locals don't get caught there, only travelers - a true "revenue generator" ... I did write the local judge a 'nice' letter when I sent in the "fine/revenue"...

[WyoTraveler]

navegator wrote:
The island of Coronado in San Diego, California is known to all the locals, the cops will issue a speed ticket for going 26 mph on a 25 mph street, small island lots of Navy kids going and coming to and from base, specially on the strand they have 25, 35, 45 and 65 mph limits drive on Orange Blvd you better pay attention.

Small town bored Cops.

navegator

Bored? I suspect you never lost a child hit by a vehicle or pulled dead kids out of vehicles, or had to cover up dead kids laying on the road struck by vehicles. Boring? At times. But after seeing bloody accidents almost every day 1 mile over is breaking the law. 1 mile over hitting a child the bored officer may have saved you from a manslaughter charge and prison time. I know, I know, only broke the law a little bit.

[colliehauler]

Georgew48 wrote:
I got a speeding ticket in Louisiana one time for 1 mph over the limit on the interstate. The ticket even showed that I was only 1 mph over. It was a state highway patrolman. The funny thing is it was a deserted stretch of highway early in the morning. I saw him sitting on the side of the road so I moved over to the left lane to pass him. I had the cruise control set for the speed limit but must have been off a little. After he pulled me over we had a nice talk about life in general and after about 10 minuets he said I guess we need to get going. I thought he was just letting me go but then he said sorry but I have to give you this ticket. He was a real nice guy bit still gave me the ticket. At first I thought he was joking. The best thing that happened is my step father was the college room mate of the district attorney for that parish and he sent me a nice letter that said if I promised not to speed in that Parrish again he would drop the ticket. I have great appreciation for law enforcement officers and hold no grudge against him.

I remember on the program Dateline had a story about people who were pulled over and given a ticket for speeding when they were not in Louisiana on I-10. They had a whole gymnasium full of people this happened to. They even set up a bait car with a certified speedometer with a camera pointing at it and sure enough they were pulled over doing the speed limit. The dept was using the money for parties and ski trips to Colorado. They went after out of state residents. It was not about safety but out in out robbery with a badge.

[WyoTraveler]

I'm a retired LEO. We reviewed the briefing board before watch. We wrote cites in the area where most accidents occurred. Yes it does generates revenue but writing traffic cites also solves problems because accident rates go down in those areas. Like a bump in a rug, push it down in one area and it pops up in another area. The whiners are usually the constant violators. Just spend some time on the road. How many people do you see driving like they should't even have a license? Unfortunately the officers are so busy they can't catch all the wacko drivers

[RandACampin]

Years after the widening of I-75 in Tifton GA was finished, the 70 to 55 speed was kept. One local officer on the back side of the overpass where the speed reduced and half a dozen others on the entrance ramp waiting to write tickets... I'd call that a speed trap.

Nope I'd call that slow down to 55 or suffer the ticket, no trap about it.

[navegator]

The island of Coronado in San Diego, California is known to all the locals, the cops will issue a speed ticket for going 26 mph on a 25 mph street, small island lots of Navy kids going and coming to and from base, specially on the strand they have 25, 35, 45 and 65 mph limits drive on Orange Blvd you better pay attention.

Small town bored Cops.

navegator

[Ivylog]

Years after the widening of I-75 in Tifton GA was finished, the 70 to 55 speed was kept. One local officer on the back side of the overpass where the speed reduced and half a dozen others on the entrance ramp waiting to write tickets... I'd call that a speed trap.

[darsben]

1) It is not a speed trap if the speed limit is posted and you are caught exceeding it. It is called enforcement.
2) Increased enforcement is a byproduct of the war on drugs. You stop lots of people and write tickets. Then when you care to stop a suspicious vehicle to check out the occupants for drugs the numbers will prove you did not stop the person because you were suspicious of them running drugs in the car as they went by (which is an illegal search usually unless the officer has more than a suspicion ) BUT you can stop them for a traffic infraction (real or made up) and if you gather further evidence during the stop then an arrest may be made.

The above has been the subject of numerous news stories on I10 in Louisiana and Texas

Again there is a distinction between a speed trap and strict enforcement.

[coolbreeze01]

Every aspect of the town should be audited, including the new contract with the SO.

[JIMNLIN]

Lets see now a motorist on a major highway (not a interstate) speeds through a school zone in a small town but because the small town is ahead in ticket revenue the speeder can't be fined ???

That tells me to go ahead and speed as there is no real penalty for doing so.

I made a living on the road moving equipment and materials from point to point in a multi state area. I had and still have no issues with a jurisdiction enforcing state/county/city speeding laws.

Those that think they can break the law need to pay..... JMO

[gbopp]

Georgew48 wrote:
I got a speeding ticket in Louisiana one time for 1 mph over the limit on the interstate.

But, didn't you sleep better that night knowing you were safer because because the speed laws were being enforced? 🙂

[spoon059]

BCSnob wrote:
No matter the motivation for enforcement, the outcome is improved public safety which was the goal of the speed limit (traffic laws). I'd prefer improved public safety even if the motivation for enforcement was purely financial.

I'm currently a police officer, though no longer in a patrol function. I agree and disagree with your statement. If officers are clearly sitting on the side of the road enforcing speed, then it has the effect of slowing traffic and keeping safe. Drivers see police on the side of the road and slow down. Its a cause and effect situation.

On the other hand, my jurisdiction has speed cameras. My agency likes to place the cameras behind telephone poles, behind utility boxes, etc. They hide the cameras. It doesn't serve as a preventative deterrent if people don't know the camera is there. It isn't until 2 weeks later that they get the ticket that they have any clue there was enforcement.

I will agree that it shouldn't matter WHY you are doing speed enforcement... but the problems arise in situations often encountered in small towns. The politicians use the police as tax collectors essentially. The police are forced to make X number of citations or Y amount of fines each month. Police stop using discretion and common sense and instead stop EVERYBODY.

The fact of the matter is that I can stop almost any vehicle on the road for one reason or another. A handicap parking placard in the window, a sticker on the rear mirror, a tag lite out, misaimed headlights, doing 46 in a 45 mph zone, etc etc. Common sense and discretion allow a normal officer to look the other way if the offense isn't egregious. Heck, when I did speed enforcement I didn't even stop you until 15 over the limit! If I worked in a small town that demanded more tickets, I would have to stop people for as low as 5 mph over. Sorry... that doesn't seem right to me.

There are multiple schools of thought on this matter, so I am not trying to say that I am right and other people are wrong. I know that I don't follow the speed limit exactly... I find it hypocritical to speed 10 to 15 mph over the limit and pull people over for going 5 over. I won't do it. That is the beauty of officer discretion... without government officials demanding certain quotas from me, I am free to police how I see fit.

Now that I have said all of that... this article appears to discuss city employees that were literally stealing money from the city coffers. That really has nothing to do with proper or improper policing... that is outright THEFT by a government employee.

[Georgew48]

I got a speeding ticket in Louisiana one time for 1 mph over the limit on the interstate. The ticket even showed that I was only 1 mph over. It was a state highway patrolman. The funny thing is it was a deserted stretch of highway early in the morning. I saw him sitting on the side of the road so I moved over to the left lane to pass him. I had the cruise control set for the speed limit but must have been off a little. After he pulled me over we had a nice talk about life in general and after about 10 minuets he said I guess we need to get going. I thought he was just letting me go but then he said sorry but I have to give you this ticket. He was a real nice guy bit still gave me the ticket. At first I thought he was joking. The best thing that happened is my step father was the college room mate of the district attorney for that parish and he sent me a nice letter that said if I promised not to speed in that Parrish again he would drop the ticket. I have great appreciation for law enforcement officers and hold no grudge against him.

[downtheroad]

The police are not my enemies. I like having them around.
Personally, I don't feel targeted by law enforcement.

Sure, I see them hiding behind buildings or trees and using their radar gun... That's not speed trapping. it's their job. It's what I pay them for and expect them to be doing.

[BCSnob]

The way to adjust the financials of these municipalities is to not break the laws they are using to generate revenue. If no one speeds, they would go broke.


The argument sounds like:
"you should not enforce these speed limits (laws) because your motivation for the enforcement is not morally acceptable"


No matter the motivation for enforcement, the outcome is improved public safety which was the goal of the speed limit (traffic laws). I'd prefer improved public safety even if the motivation for enforcement was purely financial.