Speed Trap

[Pappy]

I have seen APD set up this system at the same place on my way to work but never had time to get pics. This morning I had an appointment at the VA and they were still working when I was heading home. I exited and turned around to get some pics.

I love the way they set this up......

One parks safely in the center of the interstate to operate the radar.



The chase crew waits a short distance down the road for him to radio ID and info on speeders.


They don't sit very long at a time. It took waiting about 15 minutes to catch more than 2 of the 6 chase bikes there at the same time. This takes place on the northbound side of I-35 going into Austin, less than a mile south of the Harley dealership. (BTW, I talked to one of the chase riders and got permission to take the pics.)

[cabinetman]

They do that here too. They also have a section of I-95 with an entrance ramp that the cops line up their cars. They are hidden by the down ramp. There is a plane in the air timing cars between two points, and just call the cop on the ground.

I got a ticket with that system. I kept postponing the court date. By the time I went to court, the case got dismissed. Seems that they try to docket the citations by both the cop in the air and the one that wrote the ticket. They both have to appear in court. They had to dismiss all those cases as one of the cops didn't appear.

.

[sparkeyjames]

I have seen this sort of thing here too. One large Avenue here has a large median populated by many trees both large and small. They get two cops to hide behind a small evergreen tree with binoculars and a radar gun. Who then radio their buddies up the street who are lined up in a strip mall. They get both speeders and people not wearing seat belts (a fineable offense here in Michigan).

It's all about the cash. There is no thought of public safety involved here (though it's what they would like you to think).

Not to mention the one police force locally here who likes to have their officers tailgate people to get them
to speed up then bust them. Yes I got caught on that one a few years ago.

[dbhost]

A lot of Police depts use tail gating to nudge people into speeding. Locking up your brakes to avoid that kitty in the road ends that fast...

[jackellis]

I like to go fast as much as anyone. Speeding tickets would probably be cheaper than owning an airplane, but I can go a lot faster in the air than on the ground.

My wife has a very heavy foot, which she blames on her all-wheel drive Volvo wagon. Yeah, right!

I've seen a lot more enforcement on Highway 89 between Tahoe City and Truckee, where the posted limit is 55 and lots of folks go as fast as 70 (guilty). The road is fairly straight, but speeding doesn't make the road safer for bicycling, which I also do on occasion.

[herb fellows]

I assume you took those photos without them seeing you? Most of the cops I've run into would at least take away your camera if not arrest you for something.
With all the problems they've had with cameras these past 10 years or so, they're more than a little camera shy.
I got a ticket for driving through an intersection while a pedestrian was crossing.
Problem is, I was making a right turn, and the pedestrian was crossing the street I was going into behind me, absolutely impossible to see.
It's just another desperate money making scheme, but they are desperate for money now, so be careful out there!

[sweensdv]

I wish more Police Departments would do this type of speed enforcement. People who like to drive faster than the law allows are plain and simple menaces to the rest of us. Most times, driving that extra 10-20 MPH doesn't get you where your going all that much quicker either but it sure does put innocent lives in danger. Those who complain about getting tickets are part of the problem and not the solution. Slow your butts down and you won't get a ticket.......simple isn't it?

[atgcpaul]

It was 1980 or 1981 and we'd been in the country for 1 or 2 years and I was
5 or 6yo. We were in NY state on our way to Niagara Falls. As my dad tells
the story, I asked him why the cars in the opposing lane were flashing their
lights at us. My dad didn't know. Well, we crested the hill and my dad (and
about 3 or 4 other cars) found out. Welcome to America! Your first speed
trap!

I don't know how long after that trip but it wasn't a family vacation unless my
dad had his trusty radar detector with him.

[JimD]

For me, I need cruise control a lot more than a radar detector. I set the cruise between 5 and 10 mph over the limit and just let it work. If traffic permits, I will cruise right past a visible officer at 7 mph over. I've never been stopped doing this. I am convinced I make better time at a constant 5-7 mph over than the people racing to the top of the hill, slowing down as they go over and then racing through the valley again. And I sometimes see them over at the side of the road being written up.

I kind of don't care about speed traps except that it bunches up traffic. Anybody driving the speed limit is a hazard - at least they are around here.

Jim

[dbhost]

Aside from the traffic snarls that speed traps cause around these parts. I usually don't care. It's the entrapment tactics some cops use to get you to speed up so they can ticket you, like was mentioned above. I have had it happen to me more than once. A police officer appears out of nowhere on a dark road behind you, and gets on your rear bumper with their high beams on.

Pasadena Texas is really bad about this one, especially on Red Bluff... At least they used to be...

That specific tactic is...
#1. Illegal. It's entrapment.
#2. DANGEROUS. It blinds the driver that is being tail gated.
#3. Irresponsible. It pits everyday citizens against their police departments.

[JimD]

I agree with you, dbhost, but my basic tempermant makes the police tactics you describe a challenge for them. When somebody is on my bumper, my first instinct is to light up the brake lights while watching to see how they react. If it's a multi-lane I'll move over. I know they probably want me to speed up but I am annoyed at that point so I am not going to speed up. It is wrong for anybody to risk injury and property damage by tailgating. Police doing it is doubly wrong. At night I might not see it's a police car and hit the brakes hard enough to annoy the officer and get a ticket for that. I have a higher risk of messing with the officer enough to get a ticket than I do for speeding up. If I got a ticket, I would waste my time and go to court. I know in traffic court the judge almost invariably sides with the officer but I also don't think the officers like going to court and I particularly don't think they'd like questions about their tailgating. They can lie and avoid penalty but that at least should bother them.

Jim

[leehljp]

When I was in college and the "typical college kid is always in the wrong" mentality dominated the college town police departments - I got away with running a 4-way stop!

The police department knew of a 4 way stop on the edge of town in which the grass and a bush had grown up and masked the sign up unto one was almost even with it. Very dangerous also! I ran it and noticed it as I was even with it at about 40 MPH. When I saw it was a "stop sign" it scared me to death and it was too late to stop for the intersection. As soon as I passed the intersection, I slammed on the brakes and pulled over. Almost immediately, the cops pulled out from the side street with lights on and went speeding by me accelerating. About a 100 yds down the road they stopped, turned around and came back. They stopped and asked me if I had just run the stop sign. I said "Yes".

"Well then, why did you stop here?"

Me: "The sign is grown over by a bush and it is very dangerous. Somebody could get killed by the sign being hidden like that! It scared the you know what out of me, so I had to stop!"

Them grinning: "Yes it is dangerous!"

So why didn't they do something to remedy the danger rather than try to get people from running it?

They told me to go on! No ticket!