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Speed traps should be a crime. To be clear, we’re not talking about pulling people over for going 20 miles over the limit on the highway here. These are simply legalized extortion. These officers and municipalities should be ashamed of themselves. And shame on you fools who say “they are protecting our community.” Are you really being protected by having your officers sitting all day on the side of the road in a new air conditioned patrol car, waiting to pull over someone for going five miles over the speed limit? And this on a stretch of a major road where the speed limit strangely dips by 10MPH for a short stretch? Rock Hill’s “finest” got me once and I’ve refused to do business in the area since. How is THAT helping your community?

I don’t condone reckless driving. Everyone should drive at a “reasonable and prudent speed” - which WAS the law in Harry Truman’s Missouri. This means driving at the speed of traffic - not significantly above OR below it.

And my advice to anyone who gets caught in an obvious speed trap is to fight it! Going to court may or may not reduce your fine, but it will force the officer who wasted your time to waste HIS time in court. Once municipalities realize that these speed traps are COSTING them money rather than making money, they may rethink this sort of thievery.

Kudos to Brian Williams and the Post for doing this story! It’s time that we all stop putting up with this extortion from police departments. Police work really IS a noble job and most people go into it because they want to help people - not to extort money from them. What a shame that some communities see speeding tickets as a source of easy money. And what a waste of resources that could be used to help victims of far more serious crimes. The number one cause of accidents is not speeding, it’s inattentive drivers.

If you get caught in a speed trap - don’t just hire a lawyer to get it reduced to a non-moving violation. Radar and laser technology is not infallible. Do some research. Radar in particular picks up EVERYTHING in the area it’s pointing and registers the largest object - this includes trucks and SUVs moving in the opposite direction. Neither radar or laser can tell the officer that the reading he just got was from your blue Ford. Fight it and maybe municipalities will eventually stop stealing money. In the mean time, simply avoid doing business in these areas and let the business owners know why!

Points to ponder:
1. Research consistently shows ticketing a speeder saves lives. In one study, drivers with one speeding citation in a three-year period had a crash rate 50% higher, on average, than those with no infractions — and the crash rate more than doubled for those who had two or more tickets, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute, industry-sponsored research groups.
2. How many traffic stops for speeding end up catching drunk drivers? Drug dealers? Suspended license? Stolen car? Outstanding warrants?
3. Reducing speed limits saves lives. Often, it isn’t worth “going with the flow.” On a 60 minute long car trip, driving 75 mph will only get you to your destination 15 minutes sooner, but nearly triples your chance of being involved in a fatal accident.
4. What if you killed your spouse or your child because you wanted to arrive 5 minutes sooner and got in a crash? What if another driver was at fault, and they were speeding? Would it change your viewpoint?
5. If you think ticketing speeders is a waste of police officer’s time, would you support camera traps?
6. Transportation engineers use many methods to determine appropriate speed limits: density of traffic, number of exits/intersections, hills or turns, etc. The posted speed limit is typically for optimum conditions (no ice, clear day, low wind speed). The claim that states use speed limits well under the recommendation of engineers is not substantiated.
7. Many motor vehicle crashes are not as much accidents - they are predictable and can be prevented. Referring to motor vehicle crashes as “accidents” contributes to the perception that they cannot be prevented; when, in fact, very few crashes occur because of uncontrollable circumstances.
8. Motor vehicle crashes are one of the leading causes of death and disability in the US. The number one contributing factor to most crashes is……drum roll please….SPEEDING.

Grow up and don’t speed. It’s the law and any civilized person respects the law. Stop worry about your pocket book when you get caught and think of the children that might be killed because of some self important jerk speeding with little regard for the law or some kid.

I think that a fairer picture could be drawn if, instead of population, you would look at traffic. Some of those smaller areas sit astride major highways that they police. Are there any statistics based on traffic figures.

While this article makes for good copy, lets talk about the “real” problem. Drivers that running in excess of 79 mph on a highways that are narrow and falling apart (Highway 70). Then lets look at the incompatibility of the various court systems that let repeat offenders get off for a non-moving violation, such as a loud muffler.
Why should the majority of honest safe drivers pay for the few inconsiderate ones. Not to mention the more gas and pollution these people are putting out and the fact that if they cause an accident they will be more apt to come out ok due to the “laws of physics”.
No the is article is mis-directed and blames “Speed Traps” as the problem. Hard to blame a city for getting a little revenue. If people are going to dis-respect the law, then let these cities shot fish in a barrel.
Every year 40,000 people die on America’s highways due to many causes and countless more or injured. Drunk driving, cell phones, texting, and the old fashion; driving too fast for conditions.
Just something to think about. Would you want your son or daughter killed because someone is in a hurry. I say better to get a ticket, than a call from an officer saying your loved one has been killed.

I got an idea. Why don’t we pass a law that requires everyone to have a GPS in their car. Then the data can be sent straight to the police station for the area you were speeding in. It would be great. If you did 1 MPH over the speed limit, the GPS could deduct the money straight from your checking account and put it right in the governments pocket. What if you don’t have a checking account? Then no drivers license, you have to show proof of checking account now too when you get your license. This will be a win/win situation. The police can get their money and all the people who are “afraid” can feel safe because all the big bad speeders will be under wraps. That’s what you want isn’t it? A way to make sure absolutly no one ever speeds, right?

Who in the mob is affiliated with Bella Villa?

I’m surprised that Arnold wasn’t in the top 2. They usually have the majority of their patrol cars sitting on the side of I-55 or on the overpasses running radar. I guess the money that they receive from the red-light cameras aren’t enough!