Rural Speed Traps

[tombottcat]

well said thankyou,may the sun be in your face and the wind at your back my friend

[EV2]

Originally Posted by Texbeachbum

At one time I was one ticket away from getting my lic suspended in Texas and Okla. I deserved every one of them. I got one last year for doing 75 in a 55. I deserved it too. I missed the sign that dropped the speed limit. In Texas you have to be at the posted speed limit when you get to the sign. Not after or before. You don't get to pick which laws you want to obey. Speeding one mile over the posted speed limit is against the law.

Wow, what does the DW say about the dishes when you drop 20 MPH in one foot? Not to mention all of the flat spots on the tires!

[charliez]

Jones Creek, Tx on 36 close to Freeport. 36 speed limit is 65, there is a small spot, about 100 or 200 yards long that it changes to 45. One foot past the sign they will nail you and there is very little information on the ticket to get it cleared up. Any phone number to call them about it is also not easily found. There was just one address. Send $$$ to......

The cop that will stop you will look at every inch of your rig, including getting into the bed and inspecting the hitch. He will find something to write you up on and he will treat you like an Americas 10 most wanted.

[Starbreaker]

JOhnny Law is always on the look out on US 24 between Limon and Colorado springs. Especially at Simla and Matheson here in Colorado.

[charliez]

This is an interesting topic. I'll read it all at a later time. This caught my eye "And cops wonder why they get a bad rap"

I don't get stopped alot. Maybe once every 5 or more years. One particular time, I got stopped for no front license plate. I had and have always had a front license plate on every vehicle I have ever owned. Texas requires them. No matter what I said, it didn't matter. He did finally agree that I did have a front plate but said he HAD to write me a warning anyway. I discussed refusing to sign it and insisting that another officer be dispatched to be involved on this two person undocumented conversation, but it was probably best to just sign the warning and go on. I did take a picture with the warning showing my plate and his car in case I wanted to or needed to deal with it any further.

I've been stopped in Houston on I45 by an unmarked car that looked like a car just left on the side of the freeway by someone. He said I was supposed to slow down and move over as far as possible when in the presence of a police vehicle. I discussed with him that his car had no markings and looked just like a car left on the side of the road AND there was no possibility of moving over due to traffic. He didn't give me any tickets or warning but I could tell he was a guy that would handcuff you if you gave him half the chance so I did what I had to do to shut up and move on.

I won't even get into the ordeal about having a truck stolen and the investigator on that case took it to the point that I had to contact the district atourneys office about him harreassing me, which was a good idea because soon after that, he was arrested for almost beating a potential car thief while interviewing him in jail, half to death. Almost killed him trying to get him to confess to a theft. He kept insisting that we go for a ride to discuss things. Something just didn't feel right with that idea. Last I heard he got alot of jail time. It was all on video. Wonder if he has ever run into someone that returned the treatment that he gave them.

Unfortunately, there are examples out there in every profession that are bad apples leaving a bad taste in the public eyes for all.

[BobMontgomer]

Originally Posted by Sheriffbubba

I've been a "cop" for 22 years... Now granted, I have not worked anywhere in the South but I just want to remind people that police officers and sheriff deputies have a very difficult and dangerous job to do. There have been thousands of law enforcement officers killed on so called "routine" traffic stops. When an officer pulls you over, he or she is doing their job.... They are not out to "make a fast buck" or in any way, "racially profile" you as you pass through the town the they work in.
Most likely, that officer is trying to slow down traffic because the residents of that town are demanding that something be done about the vehicles "racing" through their town and making it unsafe to cross that street.... Etc,etc,etc.
Please remember that any law enforcement officer must have probable cause to make a traffic stop on any vehicle... If you don't have unsafe and defective equipment and you obey all traffic laws, including using your turn signals when you change lanes, you will no be pulled over... It's really as simple as that.
Also, I understand the frustration about "speed traps". Just remember that you will not be pulled over if you are not speeding. It is amazing to me how many people blame law enforcement because they don't think they should be held accountable when they break the law...
Believe me, I'm really not a bad guy because I'm a cop... Neither are the vast majority of my brothers and sisters in blue. We are out here risking our lives to make sure that people can live their lives without being victimized by the truly bad people that are out there.
I love rv'ing and I really like meeting fellow rv'ers... I usually don't admit that I'm a cop because I never know how that person may react. Unfortunately some people actually believe the mainstream media and think that cops are crooked and racist and are just out there to hurt and kill people and put them in jail for no reason. I also know that there are some bad people that are cops... As there are bad people in every other profession.
I truly hope that I have not offended anyone, that was not my intention... I hope to meet up with all of you and share a campfire someday...

Thank you for your time, Brian.




Sent from my iPad using iRV2 - RV Forum

Yea, but you never drove through Byron, WY .... there is almost ALWAYS a cop waiting to give you a ticket. Locals say it their main source of revenue. Don't believe me? The speed limit is 30 - go 31 through town and see what happens. Myself, I seldom exceed 20mph ... if I get a ticket it will be for going too slow.

[BobMontgomer]

Originally Posted by RogerRoll

It's still amazing to me that drivers have to be reminded of this.

As to the OP, most speed trap locations are where they are as a result of frequent disregard of posted limits, but as for 50 feet? Or 1mph??? Come on! I call 'BS'!!



2010 Winnebago Aspect 28B

Drive 31mph through Byron WY. Don't flash your badge when you get pulled over. Lets see what happens.

[Solask]

Originally Posted by charliez

This is an interesting topic. I'll read it all at a later time. This caught my eye "And cops wonder why they get a bad rap"

I don't get stopped alot. Maybe once every 5 or more years. One particular time, I got stopped for no front license plate. I had and have always had a front license plate on every vehicle I have ever owned. Texas requires them. No matter what I said, it didn't matter. He did finally agree that I did have a front plate but said he HAD to write me a warning anyway. I discussed refusing to sign it and insisting that another officer be dispatched to be involved on this two person undocumented conversation, but it was probably best to just sign the warning and go on. I did take a picture with the warning showing my plate and his car in case I wanted to or needed to deal with it any further.

I've been stopped in Houston on I45 by an unmarked car that looked like a car just left on the side of the freeway by someone. He said I was supposed to slow down and move over as far as possible when in the presence of a police vehicle. I discussed with him that his car had no markings and looked just like a car left on the side of the road AND there was no possibility of moving over due to traffic. He didn't give me any tickets or warning but I could tell he was a guy that would handcuff you if you gave him half the chance so I did what I had to do to shut up and move on.

I won't even get into the ordeal about having a truck stolen and the investigator on that case took it to the point that I had to contact the district atourneys office about him harreassing me, which was a good idea because soon after that, he was arrested for almost beating a potential car thief while interviewing him in jail, half to death. Almost killed him trying to get him to confess to a theft. He kept insisting that we go for a ride to discuss things. Something just didn't feel right with that idea. Last I heard he got alot of jail time. It was all on video. Wonder if he has ever run into someone that returned the treatment that he gave them.

Unfortunately, there are examples out there in every profession that are bad apples leaving a bad taste in the public eyes for all.

Wow, so you had a cop pull you over for not having a front plate, and even after showing him you had one, he wanted to pretend it wasn't there.
Then, a cop, knowing he has a car that looks like a heap, and I assume was not using flashers, believes you should have known he was a cop and changed out of the right lane.
I couldn't follow the third story, but I saw something like it on Law and Order once..
Talk about bad luck...

[Mike and Cha]

Originally Posted by sharonlb

There are thousands of police departments, so maybe you're one of the upstanding model departments that have a conscience. I heard it directly from a cousin's cop mouth, and at least 3 other's in the force directly, so please don't assume you have a clue about my experience. Yes, I suppose they are supposed to "Produce" results when they're out on the roadways waiting to catch speeders, a point we both made. Bottom line is, they're expected to produce tickets.
Little sleepy towns get less travel, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that a few get more than a little bit of variety in their life by handing out a lot of tickets.
I also explained that dishing out tickets for less than 5 MPH, is ridiculous, and I stand by that with clear conscience. Maintaining the proper speed is doable, but trying to stay exact.on.the.dot whatever is missed by every single driver represented in this forum, so we don't have to stand on our soap box and infer that we never vary from the letter of the law. NO, I don't blame judges for anything. Yes, I drive the speed limit, but in any given day, someone, somewhere, can catch me with my eyes on the road rather than if I'm a needle mark or 3, over.
And cops that routinely try to enforce the letter rather than catch ricky racer with no regard for anyone's safety? They're within their rights but it doesn't MAKE it right.

I don't know where you are coming from that I assumed anything to do with your experience so I don't know where you get that. You seem a little over the top in your reply, but what I am speaking from is real life experience and not what I heard from someone else. I don't care big town/small town the issue is the same. By writing a ticket, the revenue collected by the City does not cover the cost of the Officers labor, equipment, overtime ect. involved. I've written/contributed to many of our budgets over the years, several with traffic under my command, and the amount collected is minimal compared to the actual cost. It's not a conspiracy, you can't keep writing tickets just to make money when it's a losing proposition. I could do all the math for you but it's not worth it, as you will still have this belief. By the way we live in the same County so I'm sure you don't see that here.

You can read everyone's comments, and take them for what they are worth. I've been hearing the "Bad Cop" story for my entire career. Even from family and Friends. The story is always the same , "I didn't do anything wrong, they got the wrong guy, what about all the other speeders, they did this or that to me", on and on. I along with the majority of my colleagues have never written a speeding ticket for only 5 MPH over the posted speed limit, so I'm always skeptical when those stories come up. Most Cops will give you 10-15 MPH over before they issue a citation, unless it is in a location where there have been frequent accidents due to speed or complaints. For what it's worth I'll tell you right now I have never seen or heard of a Judge fining someone for 5 MPH over the speed limit, unless there were other issues related to the ticket being issued. So there's always two sides to the story

The bottom line again, is if you are not speeding you have no worries. Calm down though, we all do it from time to time, it just happens, not paying attention, going with the flow of traffic, in a hurry to get somewhere, whatever the reason. But all of us when we do, me included, run the risk of getting pulled over and getting a ticket. It's not the Cop's fault it's ours, they are doing their job.

[BobMontgomer]

Originally Posted by Mike and Cha

X2....Sherrifbubba has been right on the point in his posts...I was staying out of this one, being a Retired Police Captain, and having 31 years LEO experience. The bottom line is all of you who think the Police are out to get you, who are you going to call when the Crooks are victimizing you and your family. You're going to call the Police, as that is what Civilized, honest, ethical, hard working people do. And no matter who you are the Police will come running to help you.

I've worked it all, including 4 years in Internal Affairs, and yes some do get through the cracks, and through the hiring process that shouldn't, just like any job. But we discipline them, retrain them, or fire them as quickly as we can. I know one bad apple really makes us all look bad and it shouldn't happen, but it does in every profession, yours included. I too have trained, mentored and supervised hundreds of Police officers, and the two most important rules I had for them were- 1) do your job the best way possible as your were trained to do, treat people with dignity and respect and as you would want your family to be treated by Law Enforcement, and 2) take care of each other and come in safe at the end of your shift. I would say 99% of Officers nationwide work this way.

I highly doubt anyone here has received a speeding ticket for 1 mile per hour over the posted speed. Any judge would throw that out of court as they don't expect that automobile speedometers are that accurate, nor would they see that as a danger. Now you could have received a ticket for 1 mile per hour over the posted speed limit if the speed was unsafe for the conditions at that time. You see the posted speed limit is for ideal conditions, there are a variety of reasons the safe speed may be slower than posted at the given time(ie rain, fog, wind, traffic congestion ect). Think of it this way, anytime a person rear ends another vehicle, they have violated the basic speed laws, no matter what their speed was, and are subject to a citation.

Bottom line is don't speed, and you won't get ticket. I think the OP or one of the posters said they were "only" going about 10-15 MPH over the speed limit when they passed the sign, Oh well sounds like you deserved a ticket. Most Officers are way too busy to worry about traffic issues, unless that is their specific assignment, or they are dispatched to a call for service related to it. Sure the Cities do get revenue from citations issued to cover some of the costs related to traffic enforcement, and traffic accident investigations, but the amount received is nowhere near what the actual cost of enforcement is.

Space Norman, do you really think the City where you work purposely made it so that there wouldn't be enough parking just so they could write parking tickets for revenue. No, because the revenue doesn't even cover the costs for the guys writing the tickets. I've written many budgets for services in our City, so I know the costs, and you don't cover those expenses by writing tickets. Do you think that maybe businesses like yours built around the existing parking available, or grew too big, and now there are no parking spots for others with downtown business. Don't you think some of the retail businesses want parking available for customers, not just the workers. They have to do something to keep it fair. In most Cities parking availability is a major issue, and building a parking structure is not always a viable option.

The bottom line is the "Police" are your friends and they are only doing their job when enforcing the law. Sure they can always use their discretion but most of the time how much discretion they use is directly related to how you interact with them.

Partly true, partly BS

[SpaceNorman]

Originally Posted by Mike and Cha

...The bottom line is all of you who think the Police are out to get you, who are you going to call when the Crooks are victimizing you and your family. You're going to call the Police, as that is what Civilized, honest, ethical, hard working people do. And no matter who you are the Police will come running to help you.

Clearly our experience in this regard is quite different. I don't think police are "out to get me" - that would be paranoid. As far as who am I going to call? Of course, I'll be phoning the police - but not because I have any expectation that they're going to do anything to prevent me or my family from being victimized. I call 'em so that I have a report on file - which is what's necessary to file a claim with my insurance company. Like I said ... in my town - they're great at revenue producing activities ... catching criminals / preventing crime ... not so much.

Originally Posted by Mike and Cha

Space Norman, do you really think the City where you work purposely made it so that there wouldn't be enough parking just so they could write parking tickets for revenue. No, because the revenue doesn't even cover the costs for the guys writing the tickets. I've written many budgets for services in our City, so I know the costs, and you don't cover those expenses by writing tickets. Do you think that maybe businesses like yours built around the existing parking available, or grew too big, and now there are no parking spots for others with downtown business. Don't you think some of the retail businesses want parking available for customers, not just the workers. They have to do something to keep it fair. In most Cities parking availability is a major issue, and building a parking structure is not always a viable option.

The revenue doesn't cover the costs of the guys writing the tickets eh? You're trying to pump sunshine up my ass. At $45 a pop and a very leisurely pace of 4 tickets an hour - that's $180 an hour in incremental revue. We've got 6 Segway mounted parking enforcement officers ... riding throughout the day from one "alarming" parking meter to the next (they've installed meters that flash - easily visible for some distance when time is up). 4 tickets per hour is an easy target. The $25 "processing fee" is mostly incremental revenue as well. Parking enforcement nets BIG $$$$ in my town. If it didn't - they wouldn't pursue it as relentlessly as they do.

[Mike and Cha]

Originally Posted by SpaceNorman

Clearly our experience in this regard is quite different. I don't think police are "out to get me" - that would be paranoid. As far as who am I going to call? Of course, I'll be phoning the police - but not because I have any expectation that they're going to do anything to prevent me or my family from being victimized. I call 'em so that I have a report on file - which is what's necessary to file a claim with my insurance company. Like I said ... in my town - they're great at revenue producing activities ... catching criminals / preventing crime ... not so much.



The revenue doesn't cover the costs of the guys writing the tickets eh? You're trying to pump sunshine up my ass. At $45 a pop and a very leisurely pace of 4 tickets an hour - that's $180 an hour in incremental revue. We've got 6 Segway mounted parking enforcement officers ... riding throughout the day from one "alarming" parking meter to the next (they've installed meters that flash - easily visible for some distance when time is up). 4 tickets per hour is an easy target. The $25 "processing fee" is mostly incremental revenue as well. Parking enforcement nets BIG $$$$ in my town. If it didn't - they wouldn't pursue it as relentlessly as they do.

You are putting a lot of assumptions into your reply. First of all you don't know how many tickets they write, you are assuming they are writing 4 per hour, and maybe they are. They write them because someone is violating the rules. There's a reason those meters are flashing, the people parking there have stayed beyond their allotted time. They can't write them if people are following the rules. Shame on those "bad Cops" for doing their job.

And then what actual proof do you have that they don't catch the criminals that commit crimes in your town. Not all people call the Police for "just a report", I have personally responded to hundreds of crimes in progress during my career where had we not responded people would have been more severely victimized had we not. Those people were always very thankful and that one experience changed their views of law Enforcement. I hope you never have to experience that to understand what I am trying to say. Do you know how many of those calls your local PD responds to on a daily basis. Do you personally follow up on every crime report made to insure the Cops are doing their job, I doubt it. Like most people you are probably relying on what you heard, or what some victim may have told you which often times is not true. I often time hear those same stories from Family and Friends. If what you say is true then why would you continue to live there if it is so bad. I have been involved in investigations where the media reported what they gained from "witnesses" who weren't even there, and prints a story which is inaccurate. But Law Enforcement has to sit by quietly as they can't share the real story as it will jeopardize the case.

The biggest assumption is that the City gets all the money received from traffic/parking related fines. Yes they get some, but not enough to cover the costs. We are a fairly large Department. Just for the Cops assigned to traffic alone the budget is about 3 million dollars, for salary and training. This does not include Burden which is benefits, equipment, vacation/sick time ect. And then with writing Citations comes the overtime to go to court, as it is not always on their normal workday. So with all that and not even including the support staff Salary ect, because when paperwork is generated someone has to process it, the City gets back about $200,000 in Citation revenue for the budget year(depending on how many cites written/convictions). I don't know of any business that could stay in business with that kind of loss, so they aren't doing this for profit. So I'm not trying to pump anything anywhere, just putting the info out there that is based on known experience rather than guesswork and conjecture.

Again it's really pretty simple, do your best to follow the law, and you will have no issues. All of us from time to time may violate traffic laws either on purpose, or accidentally. The bottom line is sometimes you get caught sometimes you don't it's the chance you take. But it's not the Cops/City's fault its ours.

[BobMontgomer]

Me thinkus he protestus too much...

[SarahW]

Originally Posted by Mike and Cha

You are putting a lot of assumptions into your reply. First of all you don't know how many tickets they write, you are assuming they are writing 4 per hour, and maybe they are. They write them because someone is violating the rules. There's a reason those meters are flashing, the people parking there have stayed beyond their allotted time. They can't write them if people are following the rules. Shame on those "bad Cops" for doing their job.

And then what actual proof do you have that they don't catch the criminals that commit crimes in your town. Not all people call the Police for "just a report", I have personally responded to hundreds of crimes in progress during my career where had we not responded people would have been more severely victimized had we not. Those people were always very thankful and that one experience changed their views of law Enforcement. I hope you never have to experience that to understand what I am trying to say. Do you know how many of those calls your local PD responds to on a daily basis. Do you personally follow up on every crime report made to insure the Cops are doing their job, I doubt it. Like most people you are probably relying on what you heard, or what some victim may have told you which often times is not true. I often time hear those same stories from Family and Friends. If what you say is true then why would you continue to live there if it is so bad. I have been involved in investigations where the media reported what they gained from "witnesses" who weren't even there, and prints a story which is inaccurate. But Law Enforcement has to sit by quietly as they can't share the real story as it will jeopardize the case.

The biggest assumption is that the City gets all the money received from traffic/parking related fines. Yes they get some, but not enough to cover the costs. We are a fairly large Department. Just for the Cops assigned to traffic alone the budget is about 3 million dollars, for salary and training. This does not include Burden which is benefits, equipment, vacation/sick time ect. And then with writing Citations comes the overtime to go to court, as it is not always on their normal workday. So with all that and not even including the support staff Salary ect, because when paperwork is generated someone has to process it, the City gets back about $200,000 in Citation revenue for the budget year(depending on how many cites written/convictions). I don't know of any business that could stay in business with that kind of loss, so they aren't doing this for profit. So I'm not trying to pump anything anywhere, just putting the info out there that is based on known experience rather than guesswork and conjecture.

Again it's really pretty simple, do your best to follow the law, and you will have no issues. All of us from time to time may violate traffic laws either on purpose, or accidentally. The bottom line is sometimes you get caught sometimes you don't it's the chance you take. But it's not the Cops/City's fault its ours.

Some people will never get it, and I hope they never NEED a policeman.