&heellip; &heellip;

I recently a speeding ticket in Lot, Texas. It was the ONLY city between Waco and Corpus Christi that did not have a “Reduced Speed Ahead” warning. Has anyone else been ticketed in this area in the past?
James

when fines jump from an average of $2k a day to over twenty thousand dollars per day, in no time flat, something is very screwed up. Also, how come the department needed less than $450k over the course of 8 years, and suddenly $125k isn’t good enough for one year? This is competely disgusting.

There should be a huge public campaign to avoid breaking the law in any way shape or form in that town. Post signs on the incoming roadways for through traffic even. Let’s see what a police department that says they need more criminals does when there are fewer.

If this type of thing happens along major traffic routes, AAA will sometimes get involved. Down in Florida three years ago there were two municipalities doing the same type of thing. AAA bought billboards warning motorists in advance of the upcoming speeding traps.

Rob- Wasn’t there a small town off of I-94 by Medora doing this same thing about 15 years ago? I’ve heard that legislation was passed restricting the amount of revenue by percentage that a city could take in from traffic offenses.

amy, you don’t see it as a big deal because you see them everywhere? then it’s an even bigger deal…and it’s already cost you what, about a hundred bucks? For basically being a typical safe driver. It’s criminal, and it’s outright sleazy to disguise the motives as being for safety’s sake.

I guess this is something that I am used to – knowing the limits based on the city I am in, and if I don’t know how far I can push it, then it is probably wise to keep my speed down and not find out. Like out here in Highland Park (small municipality within Dallas – high dollar area) – if your car was made before the year 2000 plan on getting stopped for some reason. Just the way it is there, and they are jerks about it too. That ticket in Ferris was a few years ago, but I have learned my lesson about that section of I-45. You are pissed when it happens but you get over it. I have a lead foot but I also know most of the places that the fuzz out here like to hide. There is a real good one that I pass every day going to and from work – they hide behind an electrical box of some sort, and if you are going south you have to know to look for them, and they will usually be barely sticking out from behind it. One day I even saw the cop trying to do the radar through a tree that is right there as well – kind of hanging out the car window, getting the radar gun through the branches. I didn’t know whether to laugh or be pissed off.

FWIW, I got stopped twice in Oklahoma. The first time I was speeding on purpose and wasn’t payng attention so I never saw the cop. I was coming from Missouri and was in the middle of the nine hour drive back to Texas. He told me to slow down and let me go with a warning. The second time I was going the speed that the first cop told me to keep it down to and never saw the drop. Let this cop know that I had no idea it had dropped again and got a second warning (I had shoved the first one between the seat and the console).

This is the type of stuff that will actually alter my mood in real time…I looked up Coopertown, TN…population roughly 3,000?!? Howzabout this: if the city isn’t experiencing enough crime to support the $150k/year police dept., scale back the police not the fine limits.

Does it matter? The whole reason for having a speed limit is safety, not revenue generation. The town has explicitly admitted to manipulating the speed limits and their enforcement to raise money. That’s not right.

I agree with this. It is for safety but where I am it seems like many of the roads limited to 35mph are hot beds for high revenue speed traps. It may not be right, but that is how it is.

Like I pointed out in the post, if the town legitmately needs more money for its police department then yes, raising property taxes or sales taxes is a more efficient way of going about it. The way they’re going about it now is only going to create more work for police officers, clerks, the court system and fine collectors. Which means more expense. Just raising taxes could raise the same money without the additional expense.

I don’t know about where you are but the property taxes in Dallas are high enough as it is. I think most people here would agree with me on seeing more tickets handed out, as well as the arrest of people with outstanding tickets and warrants so that those fines may be collected, rather than see the property taxes go up even more.

Though one has to wonder about the neccessity of additional funding for a police department that must have work created for it to do.

If they were handing out and average of two tickets a month then they weren’t doing their job to begin with… or maybe the revenue wasn’t there for them to do their jobs. I don’t think it has to do with creating work – I think the lowering of speed limits helped up their work, and since they are stopping people for speeding, they are also probably checking for insurance and also checking tags. If people aren’t speeding they have nothing to worry about.

You’re missing the point. Speed limits and law enforcement in general is for public safety, not revenue generation. Period. Fines exist to deter you from breaking the law in question. Laws shouldn’t be enforced with an aime toward getting into your wallet.

Yes, speed limits and law enforcement are for public safety. Like I said, speed traps are for revenue generation. Yes, fines exist to detour. Then you have people like me – we learn our lesson to pay closer attention, and once we are past the danger zone, we pick up the pace. Unfortunately, the aim of the speed traps is to get into your wallet – it is like a real, live video game where you have get through the level without being caught by the fuzz.

And as for speed traps, where I live its ridiculous. You’ll be going 65 down the highway and see a speed zone sign. 100 feet later there’s a sign to have you slow down nearly 40 mph. In order to actually slow down enough to meet this drastic reduction in speed you must slam on the breaks and very nearly put your car into a skid. I’m not kidding.

Hehehe… reminds me of another trip. On the way back from Boerne, Texas, got stopped some where east of Dallas… no idea where we were. It was me, my dad and four elderly relatives that I was chaufering down there and back. I forget how fast I was going, but told the cop about being on our way back from Boerne, and the car was a rental (Yukon), and we were just trying to get home. Showed him the rental agreement, and I think he felt sorry for me – hauling the old folks around. He let me go with a warning. A little while later, we were still driving and talking about it… my aunt pipes up, talking about the police officer, saying “Well, was he cute Amy?” I laughed… I guess he was since he let me go.

I would like to know what the speed limit was and what it is now.

Does it matter? The whole reason for having a speed limit is safety, not revenue generation. The town has explicitly admitted to manipulating the speed limits and their enforcement to raise money. That’s not right.

Next, this is a small town. How many of these tickets are going to people who live there vs. people who are passing through? Would you rather pay more property and/or sales tax to support the police department, or would you rather have them be self sustaining by handing out tickets to speeders and such?

Like I pointed out in the post, if the town legitmately needs more money for its police department then yes, raising property taxes or sales taxes is a more efficient way of going about it. The way they’re going about it now is only going to create more work for police officers, clerks, the court system and fine collectors. Which means more expense. Just raising taxes could raise the same money without the additional expense.

Though one has to wonder about the neccessity of additional funding for a police department that must have work created for it to do.

It is simple – just don’t speed through Cooperstown, make sure you have your tags up to date and you should be fine. Maybe I am just used to the thought of speed traps equaling nothing but a money-makin’ deal.

You’re missing the point. Speed limits and law enforcement in general is for public safety, not revenue generation. Period. Fines exist to deter you from breaking the law in question. Laws shouldn’t be enforced with an aime toward getting into your wallet.

And as for speed traps, where I live its ridiculous. You’ll be going 65 down the highway and see a speed zone sign. 100 feet later there’s a sign to have you slow down nearly 40 mph. In order to actually slow down enough to meet this drastic reduction in speed you must slam on the breaks and very nearly put your car into a skid. I’m not kidding.