Small towns big on speed ticketing

[kalvado]

All of these posts again prove the wisdom of having a good radar detector. I've found mine to be of far more benefit in areas off the freeway.

And to quote LM117 earlier in this thread:

Virginia

I don't get how they can constitutionally get away with having a law banning radar detectors.

What does the constitution say about radar detectors?

I may be wrong... but I believe there was a supreme court case in WWII days, where ability to receive radio transmission was upheld as freedom of speech. If someone else transmits, then you can use a receiver, and government may not prohibit that. Transmission is heavily regulated, though. As such, non-transmitting receiver - aka radar detector - must be fully legal.
In case someone would challenge that, an old soviet practice of muting "Voice of America" transmissions may be brought up as an example of how totalitarian governments deal with that.
Now there are some fine print details about using mobile receivers, using receivers for illegal activities (monitoring of police frequency is OK, monitoring police frequency as part of bank robbery is not) and so on...

[LM117]

Such a thread needs to have a mention of  Hopewell, Virginia and its speed trap on I-295.

Those assholes are proud of it too.

http://www.progress-index.com/news/20161001/another-chance-for-hopewells-million-dollar-mile

HOPEWELL – The storied "Million-Dollar Mile"  of Interstate 295 may once again become a path to prosperity for Hopewell.

For a decade, the 3.3 miles of I-295 below the Appomattox River that wind erratically between the city of Hopewell and Prince George County have sat at the center of a statewide controversy over the extent to which localities should be allowed to profit from patrolling state and federally funded roads. In 2012, the General Assembly attempted to resolve the issue by instituting a new policy that would siphon off a gradually increasing percentage of the traffic fines localities collected each year. The more local governments collected from traffic tickets, the more they were likely to lose to the state.

Drivers eager to avoid fines were delighted by the change. Local governments, particularly those traversed by interstates or heavily trafficked state roads, were less happy, arguing that the move was yet another instance of the state pulling badly needed funds out of communities still reeling from the recession.

This past spring, local governments won the latest battle over the state's major roads when the General Assembly abruptly reversed its course, returning to its former stance that localities are entitled to keep the fines and fees they collect for violations of local ordinances.

"We've sent a message loud and clear that this is a local issue, that we're not infringing on the State Police in any form,"  said Del. Riley Ingram, the Republican representative for Hopewell in the House of Delegates and one of the sponsors of the 2016 bill that axed the practice of remitting local fines and fees to the state.

"Local governments have got to have money,"  he said simply. "There's no question about it."

Fuck Ingram.

[Brandon]

^^ Illinois solved that issue years ago.  All traffic ticket fines go to the state first, then part of it is disbursed to the municipality or county.

[ixnay]

A previous thread discussed abusive speed limit enforcement generally and small-town speed traps in particular, including Hopewell.

Thank you. 

ixnay

[Sctvhound]

Waldo, FL is legendary.

Waldo PD has been disbanded. Alachua County Sheriffs Department covers law enforcement. So the speed trap there is no more.

About 20 miles north on 301 Lawtey still has strict enforcement. Starke will soon be bypassed by a freeway portion of 301. So the trio of speedtraps eill be reduced to 1

LGMS428

That's good to hear. Me and my dad used to go through there every spring while going to Tampa to watch spring training baseball. Starke still has all those fast food places along 301.

[jwolfer]

Waldo, FL is legendary.

Waldo PD has been disbanded. Alachua County Sheriffs Department covers law enforcement. So the speed trap there is no more.

About 20 miles north on 301 Lawtey still has strict enforcement. Starke will soon be bypassed by a freeway portion of 301. So the trio of speedtraps eill be reduced to 1

LGMS428

That's good to hear. Me and my dad used to go through there every spring while going to Tampa to watch spring training baseball. Starke still has all those fast food places along 301.

My parents live about 20 miles from Starke.. People there are worried about missing out on all the tourist/through traffic. Florida towns back in the 1950s wanted the us highways built thru town.. I wish they built bypasses like otjer states

I hope 301 doesnt become a suburban blvd like 27 near Clermont

LGMS428

[hbelkins]

Does Virginia allow localities to set speed limits on state highways?

I know that state and US routes inside independent cities are locally-maintained (hence some of the unusual signage that can be found) but it was my understanding that the commonwealth maintains all interstate mileage. I also know that states do things differently, but in Kentucky, the state alone sets speed limits on state-maintained roads (there may be exceptions for Fayette and Jefferson counties). We will work with localities if a city council or fiscal court asks a speed limit be lowered, but in the end, it's KYTC's decision.

[LM117]

Does Virginia allow localities to set speed limits on state highways?

I've always wondered about that as well. I know localities have a hell of a lot of leeway when it comes to traffic enforcement. Localities are allowed to adopt sections of the Code of Virginia into their own local codes, which means localities keep most of the money from tickets, including those written for Reckless Driving. Greensville County has been doing that and I'm sure others are as well.

Virginia really screwed up when they raised the maximum speed limit on interstates to 70 a few years ago without raising the Reckless Driving threshold above 80. Because of that, towns along interstates like Hopewell and Emporia are making a killing off of RD charges, as well as the lawyers since their services are almost always required to get RD charges reduced to speeding charges. That's why they successfully fought like hell against numerous attempts to raise the RD limit. They flat out admitted that, to use their term, "fiscal impact" was a major concern with raising the RD limit. Thanks to our gutless General Assembly, the greedy bastards win every time.

Virginia should never have raised the speed limit to 70 without including a provision that raised the RD limit, IMO.

[hbelkins]

At least you know that anytime an agency talks about the fiscal impact, they are abandoning all pretense that speed enforcement is done for safety reasons.

[Avalanchez71]

Cornersville TN lost their ability to enforce traffic violations on I-65.  There was a law written such a way that it only applies to Cornersville but not by name.  There was on the books for Coopertown but they disbanded their police department if I can recall.

The funny thing about that is that any elected Constable can run radar on the interstate and collect a fee.  The fee they collect goes to pay themselves.   Then you have a municipal "professional" full time police department that cannot do the very same thing sans collect a fee to pay themselves directly.

[Darkchylde]

I don't know if they're still doing it, but back when I still lived a few towns away, Sun, Louisiana was one of the most notorious speed traps in southeastern Louisiana. Everybody knew if you were traveling along LA 21, that the moment you saw the city limit sign, you slowed down because they would ticket for ANYTHING above the speed limit. Even so little as 1 MPH over. I'd personally drop it to 40 while passing through.

It's a perfect storm for it, too. LA 21 is 65 mph on either side of town, but drops to 45 within the town limits. It's also a major route between St. Tammany Parish and Bogalusa, in Washington Parish to the north, with no good alternatives.

[jeffandnicole]

This fellow doesn't seem happy with what a Delaware town did to him...

http://delawarestatenews.net/news/irked-motorist-calls-town-kenton-ticket-mill/

If there's already a thread on this topic, the mods can feel free to move this post there.

ixnay

All they really need to do is go back several years to when the town was doing a lot better financially before the large taxpayers left.   If the town shows that they are still collecting the same amount in ticket revenue as before, then they're just doing what they've always been doing.  But if suddenly ticket revenue jumps 100% or more, then there's a legit grip here.  The roads surely can't be more dangerous now even though presumably fewer people travelling on said roads (due to the businesses closing down).

[roadman]

^^ Illinois solved that issue years ago.  All traffic ticket fines go to the state first, then part of it is disbursed to the municipality or county.

Massachusetts has a similar system regarding local traffic citations, whereby a percentage of the fines go to the state.  The upside is that it minimizes the incidence of communities implementing random taxation methods.  The downside is that it discourages many communities with limited police forces - and some with adequate police forces (cough - Boston - cough) from actively pursuing effective traffic enforcement.

[LM117]

At least you know that anytime an agency talks about the fiscal impact, they are abandoning all pretense that speed enforcement is done for safety reasons.

Yep. They spent many years spewing their "safety" BS until they finally realized that nobody was buying what they were selling, so they decided to admit what we knew from the get-go. Now that VA raised the max speed limit to 70, the Reckless Driving limit will never be raised because they're too busy shooting fish in a barrel.

I remember driving through one of the small one-horse towns on US-58 on my way to Norfolk a couple of years ago (I forget which town) and as soon as I got in town limits, I was greeted by a bunch of "Speed checked by radar", "Speed enforced by aircraft", "Speed checked by Lidar & Vascar" signs. I thought to myself "that's a hell of a way to welcome someone to town!".

Little ol' Chatham a few miles north of me greets you in similar fashion coming into town on US-29 Business.

[ColossalBlocks]

Any city in Jefferson County Missouri. You know what, how about the entire county in general?

[US 89]

Mantua, UT is notorious for this. The 60mph speed limit on the 89/91 expressway drops to 55, and there are tons of cops there.

There was a bill a couple years ago in the UT legislature that would limit speeding tickets to 25% or less of the city's revenue, but I don't think it passed.

[rte66man]

Oklahoma passed a law a while back that mandated speed limit drops to no more than 10 mph every 1000 or so.  At least you now get fair warning when on US81 approaching Rush Springs.  The city cop would sit in the median and catch you coming over the hill where it used to drop from 70 to 45 with no warning.

[dvferyance]

One of the most legendary was the now-defunct New Rome, Ohio.

But now it's Brice OH.

[Scott5114]

Oklahoma passed a law a while back that mandated speed limit drops to no more than 10 mph every 1000 or so.  At least you now get fair warning when on US81 approaching Rush Springs.  The city cop would sit in the median and catch you coming over the hill where it used to drop from 70 to 45 with no warning.

Interesting. I always knew the gradual speed-limit drops were unique to Oklahoma, but I didn't realize we had a law requiring them.

[Flint1979]

I don't know if they still do it but Lennon, Michigan just north of I-69 along M-13 the speed limit goes from 55 down to 35 and there is usually a cop there. I haven't ever seen a cop going into Bay City, Michigan but the speed limit on M-25 drops from 70 to 45.