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.
Small municipalities like to set up speed traps near an interstate or major highway, where they know it is unlikely that a ticketed driver will return to fight it in court. Law enforcement realize that many drivers will use radar detectors in their attempt to evade a speeding ticket. They will render this method useless by setting up a speed trap where they will time you between two preset points with a stopwatch.
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.
Protect yourself from speed traps the next time you’re in your car. If you are planning a long (or even short) road trip soon, it’s advised that you know what you may be going up against.
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.