Speed traps are places commonly known to people where law enforcement writes more traffic tickets on average than other places. These are something all fifty states have in common.
Its usually relatively easy to catch drivers breaking the speed limit in these areas. These can be areas of fluctuating speed limits, stretches of road where the speed limit signs can be difficult to see, or around bends or curves in the road. These can and more can all be considered speed traps.
Speed traps are also found in small towns and cities, usually near a major highway where travelers are unlikely to return to challenge a speeding ticket. Another way that police manipulate the roads to catch unsuspecting drivers in speed traps are on long stretches of highway. They’ll take two distinct markers on the road and measure the distance between them.
With the use of a stop watch, an officer will calculate how long it takes for a vehicle to cross from one marker to the next. Once the officer has this time on his stop watch, he’ll then use a mathematical formula to calculate your speed. If your speed was above the speed limit, another officer will be radioed further down the road and you (the driver) will be pulled over.
Whether this is legal or not has been debated for many years. Increasing the numbers of drivers ticketed has always been supported by law enforcement and politicians alike. Their argument has always been that it is done in the name of safety. Even though everyone knows its to increase revenue.
The truth is, using deceptive means such as speed traps is unethical. Not to mention illegal. But law enforcement gets away with it all the time. Deceptive practices of writing traffic violations is quite literally worth billions of dollars yearly in America.
Next time you go on a long trip, do a little research ahead of time to find out where likely speed traps might be along your route. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth many hundreds of dollars in cure by avoiding speeding tickets.
If you want to find out more about speed traps, then visit Steven Swihart’s site for the best information on how to beat your traffic tickets and other traffic court defenses.
Tags: auto insurance, automotive, family, law, legal, speed traps, speeding tickets, traffic law