Virginia

[jeffandnicole]

If you passed by a van stopped by cops on the shoulder of I-81 near Staunton, VA, would you assume speeding?  Maybe going over 80?

This is why you shouldn't assume every stop is for reckless driving...

https://www.nj.com/news/2019/05/nj-man-busted-in-virginia-with-more-than-1500-cartons-of-contraband-cigarettes-worth-200k-cops-say.html

[Beltway]

If you passed by a van stopped by cops on the shoulder of I-81 near Staunton, VA, would you assume speeding?  Maybe going over 80?
This is why you shouldn't assume every stop is for reckless driving...
https://www.nj.com/news/2019/05/nj-man-busted-in-virginia-with-more-than-1500-cartons-of-contraband-cigarettes-worth-200k-cops-say.html

At least it wasn't 1,555 cartons of reefers! 

Some folks would be incensed at the idea that he would be stopped for that.

[Beltway]

Kentucky most likely will not sign the new route as US 460 until some connection is made to US 460 in Virginia. The currently opened segment is signed KY 3174. Even if it's completed to KY 80 near Elkhorn City, it will probably be signed as a state route. US 460 traffic will continue to run on the existing route, which is concurrent with KY 80 from Shelbiana (US 23/119) to Belcher. From there, US 460 follows a more recent routing that was built when Fishtrap Lake inundated the old route to KY 1499 at Mouthcard, then along the river and on into Virginia. There will be no through US 460 traffic from Kentucky into Virginia using the four-lane that will come to an abrupt stop anywhere.

Maybe I should have mentioned that, but it went without saying that US-460 wouldn't be routed that way until the 10 miles of VA US-460 Connector and US-460/US-121 expressway are open to traffic, which is projected for 2023 and 2024 respectively.

In a broader sense, the completed highway will carry low volumes of traffic.  The current US-460 border crossing carries about 3,000 AADT and 5% large truck percentage.  Costs about $500 million in KY and $300 million in VA between Pikesville and Grundy.

The section will chiefly benefit motorists located within about 50 miles of the border crossing, and I don't think that the corridor is positioned to divert traffic from any Interstate highways.  But it will be nice to get it finished, will have been almost 60 years from when it was first authorized.

[hbelkins]

It will certainly make it easier to access Breaks Interstate Park from the Kentucky side. The new connector road to VA 80 comes out very close to the main entrance to the park.

[jakeroot]

Thanks for the update, HB.

I'm going to hold off commenting on US-460 any further until someone can point me to either some photos of the construction, or maybe some visuals (if VDOT or KYTC threw any together) of either the final product, or some stage prior.

I typically rely on satellite imagery for quick rundowns on construction. This is acceptable in the PNW, as our satellite imagery is updated every year, but I understand that isn't the case everywhere.

[Beltway]

Google Maps Satellite View is way behind, no construction shown in Virginia other than the 3 miles of coal reclamation project (heavy grading) about midway on US-460/US-121.

[sprjus4]

To those who love to claim Emporia isn't a speed trap, and it's all baloney...

You can read the article if you have time, it's a long but interesting read, and there certainly is character and more to Emporia than just the speed traps, but here's the excerpts relating to the speed trapping aspect, for those who claim is fake. Even locals agree.

Emporia - is there more to it than its reputation as a speed trap?

Emporia is best known for two things: race cars and speeding tickets.

But for pretty much everyone else, Emporia is one place in Virginia you never want to drive fast.

Located at U.S. 58 and I-95, Emporia is widely considered the most notorious speed trap in Virginia. Despite being our state's second least-populous independent city, its reputation has traveled with drivers from as far away as Las Vegas and rural South Carolina. Perhaps even around the world, if you take the word of some residents who've traveled abroad.

But there's also a good chance those drivers don't know much more about Emporia than the address of its courthouse.

"It's terrible. Go anywhere and mention you're from Emporia and they know about the tickets,"  said Don White, second-generation owner of White's Shoes just off U.S. 58.

As summer travel season heats up, The Virginian-Pilot's features team ventured into the city to get the answer to I-95/U.S. 58 travelers' burning question: Is there more to Emporia than its reputation as a speed trap?

What to expect in traffic court, should you land there

In "traffic court"  the Hon. H. Lee Townsend III keeps things moving at a brisk pace.

He's a general district judge in Virginia's 6th Judicial District, and the people coming before him were representing themselves.

They almost all came with speeding tickets.

A name was called and a man stood before the judge.

Townsend said: "Tell me about your speed."  After the man described what happened, the judge said "Make it defective equipment"  and told him what the fine would be, adding the important word "no points."

Because that's the point. A man from Richmond who had just been through the process explained it as he sat on a bench in front of the Main Street court house. He is a lawyer, working in civil law, who got a speeding ticket on Interstate 95. By coming before the judge, rather than paying the ticket through the mail, the transgressors can get a moving violation, like speeding, turned into a non-moving violation, "defective equipment,"  and avoid having points added to their driving record. Too many points, and your auto insurance rates go up, plus your license could be suspended or revoked.

That's why most of the 30 holders of the unlucky tickets had come to court for the 11 a.m. Thursday session.

Townsend was courteous, offering advice here and there to people about their insurance or the process, and joking occasionally. Most cases were dispensed in less than a minute.

One man worked as a civilian for the Navy. Before court, his girlfriend had said they got a ticket in town as they drove from Wake Forest, N.C., to Norfolk.

"I told him to watch his speed,"  she said, "But he didn't listen."  It was his second ticket. "Make it defective"  was the ruling, with a $114 fine, no points.

One woman said afterward that she had driven five hours to get to court from Florence, S.C. She also had gotten a ticket for speeding on Interstate 95. "I'm never going to come to Emporia again. Not even Virginia!"

Thursdays are showtime at Logan's Diner, a block south on Main Street from the courthouse. Breakfast ends at 10:30 a.m. sharp, and then it's time to set the stage.

Thursday is traffic day. And traffic day, said Rosie at the counter, is hectic.

"I get a lot of business on traffic court day,"  Allen said.

"Not traffic day,"  said Page, gently. "Court day."

Page is known by everyone at the diner, but his main law office is in Suffolk. Still, his firm keeps an office a few doors down and he does a lot of business here on Thursdays. He said Emporia's reputation for zealous enforcement is a bit overstated.

"It's really not that much different here than anywhere else. It just gets publicized more,"  Page said. "This is a place where a lot of out-of-state drivers come through. So because of that, you know, people assume that since that's the main interaction they have here Emporia, that's what Emporia is all about. But Emporia is about, obviously, much more than that."

Three seats down, Christian Quackenbush disagreed.

He was fresh off a two-hour drive from Yorktown and a $150 fine. He was cited for going 13 miles over the limit, but got his charge reduced to defective equipment.

Quackenbush figured the police didn't care that he was speeding: He's just an ATM.

"It's not about what actually happened,"  Quackenbush said. "It's just about, "˜Give us some money and get out of here.' "

As for Page, he said the judges in Emporia are more lenient than most – and he'd happily transport a couple of them out to Suffolk if he could.

"If (people) come out here they'll find good people. Good food. Good, you know, country atmosphere."

I will admit, it's a nice plus that the judges are willing to change tickets from moving violations to non-moving violations to avoid points being added to your record, but nonetheless, they're still collecting money from all those tickets. If they cared about you speeding, they wouldn't wave every moving violation and make it non-moving. It's literally about the money, that's all. When I was pulled 6 years ago, I wasn't given that benefit sadly, though it didn't hurt my record significantly nor insurance rates.

[hbelkins]

It's been awhile since I have been up that way, so I have no recent photos of the construction in either state.

[Beltway]

To those who love to claim Emporia isn't a speed trap, and it's all baloney...

Basically, that it what it is.  Why don't these internet warriors ever admit to going 15+ over the limit?  Well, that would quash the idea that they were being "trapped".  Funny how the article doesn't mention the name of the PDs that issued the tickets; there are 4 possible given the city and the two counties (CL just east of town) and the state.  The courts are a -state- function, they do not answer to municipal governments, why do they allegedly keep letting this happen in one place but not all over the place, all they have to do is throw the tickets out en masse.

You still haven't answered these questions --

How come speeders like Sprjus4 always claim to getting stopped for going a few miles over the limit but never admit getting stopped for 15 or 20 or more over?

How many times have you been "pulled" by cops for 15+ over and what were the speeds?

[sprjus4]

How come speeders like Sprjus4 always claim to getting stopped for going a few miles over the limit but never admit getting stopped for 15 or 20 or more over?

How many times have you been "pulled" by cops for 15+ over and what were the speeds?

Just gonna keep asking aren't you? I rarely go 15 or 20 over, though I've gotten pulled doing 76 mph in a 60 mph before on I-664. If I'm on an arterial roadway entering in a town, I'm generally very cautious about slowing way down from whatever the rural speed is (55 - 75 mph) down to the town speed limit (25 - 45 mph), so I've never had any instances where I'm flying 65 mph into town on a road that just dropped to 35 mph. If I see the speed is dropping significantly, I'll let off the gas, and if I see the speed limit sign and am not slowed enough, I'll brake until my speed is right around the posted speed. This is frequent, especially rural driving in Texas where speeds quickly can go from 75 mph down to 35 mph in a 1/4 to 1/2 mile stretch when approaching a town. I also will never speed through a town, as that's the most likely place you'll find a police trap, and honestly, I treat rural 60 mph US-58 near Greensville County and Emporia like driving through a town, I will refuse to push beyond 60 mph, though I'll easily get up to 65 mph east of there, maybe 70 mph if everybody else is doing that, though usually no faster than that. A lot of police presence on that stretch, I still don't understand why you can't see that. Hundreds, likely thousands of drivers have known about Emporia's bad reputation for speed trapping for decades, and many have been caught in it themselves.

But I suppose those hundreds, likely thousands of drivers are all just internet-warriors going 15+ over the speed limit and it's all baloney. You said it, so.

[Beltway]

I treat rural 60 mph US-58 near Greensville County and Emporia like driving through a town, I will refuse to push beyond 60 mph, though I'll easily get up to 65 mph east of there, maybe 70 mph if everybody else is doing that, though usually no faster than that. A lot of police presence on that stretch, I still don't understand why you can't see that. Hundreds, likely thousands of drivers have known about Emporia's bad reputation for speed trapping for decades, and many have been caught in it themselves.

For "decades", huh?  That claim reeks of baloney, given that personnel turnover occurs every year as people retire and new people enter (state city and county PDs, elected officials at the local and state level, judges).  No way that a non-imaginary system would stay in place for "decades".

I would estimate that out of the last 100 trips thru there (US-58, I-95) I have seen police presence (as in stopped on a shoulder) about 10 times, and usually just one car, and most of the times on I-95 during the Meherrin River bridges replacement.  Remember, many people in this hobby drive roads for the fun of it, so don't come back with this "you don't need to use US-58 there because you live in Richmond".

The two RPD sergeants that I mentioned have professional knowledge and opinion about Emporia.  While there is some police presence there (many places have none and speeders like that) there is nothing excessive and they disagree with the idea that people are being "trapped" as in being stopped for a few miles over the limit.  At 15+ over they are "speeding".

[sprjus4]

For "decades", huh?  That claim reeks of baloney, given that personnel turnover occurs every year as people retire and new people enter (state city and county PDs, elected officials at the local and state level, judges).  No way that a non-imaginary system would stay in place for "decades".

I've seen online discussions, forums, etc. that have mentioned Emporia as a "police trap" dating back to the early 2000s. I can certainly say in the decade I've been here, I've seen police on US-58 near Emporia & Greensville County since Day 1. Quite literally, the first time visiting Hampton Roads and taking US-58 for the first time coming off I-95, I was given a nice warm Virginia welcome with 3 police units on US-58 going up and over a hill running radar. Thankfully, I was not speeding, though if I was, I would've certainly been pulled.

Look, we both have a difference of opinion on Emporia, and other locations such as Hopewell, and our experiences have shown different results, with mine seeing more police presence (a lot more), and yours clearly showing a lot less. Can we just agree to disagree on this issue? And quite frankly, the umpteen other issues we have differing opinions on such as I-87, HO/T lanes, etc?

[Beltway]

For "decades", huh?  That claim reeks of baloney, given that personnel turnover occurs every year as people retire and new people enter (state city and county PDs, elected officials at the local and state level, judges).  No way that a non-imaginary system would stay in place for "decades".

I've seen online discussions, forums, etc. that have mentioned Emporia as a "police trap" dating back to the early 2000s. I can certainly say in the decade I've been here, I've seen police on US-58 near Emporia & Greensville County since Day 1. Quite literally, the first time visiting Hampton Roads and taking US-58 for the first time coming off I-95, I was given a nice warm Virginia welcome with 3 police units on US-58 going up and over a hill running radar. Thankfully, I was not speeding, though if I was, I would've certainly been pulled.

I recently saw one Emporia PD car on US-58 doing what looked like speed enforcement, and he was still in that area when I came back thru there about 30 minutes later.  It had been at least 10 times thru there since last time I saw a PD car doing what looked like speed enforcement on US-58 (and that is going at least 5 miles on either side of I-95).

Now some people would be outraged by any one occurrence of city PD doing speed enforcement on a high-speed bypass, like what stake do they have in that?  Well the bypass does go thru city limits, and small city though it is, it is the regional 'hub' for emergency services, so in the case of crashes it would draw on their police, fire, EMS, hospital and wrecker services.  So I can see the logic in them having some city PD presence to at least discourage people from blowing thru there at 90+ mph.  Hopewell is in a very similar situation with I-295 in the city, they are -it-, and not Petersburg or Colonial Heights as they are not close to I-295 and they have segments of I-95 and I-85.

During the I-95 Meherrin River bridges project it was common to see one PD car in the project area, and given the restrictions of the maintenance of traffic there, I am in favor of having that kind of presence.

Look, we both have a difference of opinion on Emporia, and other locations such as Hopewell, and our experiences have shown different results, with mine seeing more police presence (a lot more), and yours clearly showing a lot less. Can we just agree to disagree on this issue? And quite frankly, the umpteen other issues we have differing opinions on such as VI-87, HO/T lanes, etc?

Not when you in effect are accusing a cross-section of public employees and elected officials of running 'decades' of money-generating corruption, and when you said that "by policy" they arrest for as low as a couple miles over the limit.  "Speeding" as defined by PDs (inside info I know) is defined in a practical sense as 15+ mph over the limit if there are no other driving issues, and at that speed you are not being "trapped".

[sprjus4]

I recently saw one Emporia PD car on US-58 doing what looked like speed enforcement, and he was still in that area when I came back thru there about 30 minutes later.  It had been at least 10 times thru there since last time I saw a PD car doing what looked like speed enforcement on US-58 (and that is going at least 5 miles on either side of I-95).

Now some people would be outraged by any one occurrence of city PD doing speed enforcement on a high-speed bypass, like what stake do they have in that?  Well the bypass does go thru city limits, and small city though it is, it is the regional 'hub' for emergency services, so in the case of crashes it would draw on their police, fire, EMS, hospital and wrecker services.  So I can see the logic in them having some city PD presence to at least discourage people from blowing thru there at 90+ mph.  [/quote]
I can agree with what you're saying, but my issue is there's times where it's not simply that. Last November, I was driving through at about 58 mph (seeing the police reports on Waze, I naturally slowed to 2 mph under the speed limit to stay in the safe zone) heading westbound, and a car went past me in the left lane at I'd say about 64 - 69 mph, and when entering the bypass, we were greeted at the top of the hill by three police units in the median, one sitting in his car positioned to take off, one standing with LIDAR aimed at traffic (where I was coming from) up the hill, and another idle unit. As soon as we went up the hill, he waved at his buddy in the other unit, he took off, nearly running me off the road, then went over the overpass, and pulled the guy over going about 64 - 69 mph. You could argue there could've been other reasons than speeding, but this was in the course of about 4 seconds, LIDAR locked in, and waving at his buddy to go initiate a traffic stop.

I've seen this operation a few times, though not often. But usually there's at least 1 or 2 cars on the shoulder. But nonetheless, this still doesn't change the fact that Emporia has a reputation among many I-95 and Virginia travelers due to the fact there's been -a lot- of tickets issued in this city for speeding, and it's usually not just 15+ mph as you continuously claim, from what I've heard. But I suppose they're all lying.

Hopewell is in a very similar situation with I-295 in the city, they are -it-, and not Petersburg or Colonial Heights as they are not close to I-295 and they have segments of I-95 and I-85.

I'd have to disagree. Interstate 295 barely slices the edge of the city limits, and there's no real safety issues with that stretch of highways. It was a well designed interstate highway with gentle curves, full left and right shoulders, 6-lanes, 70 mph, etc.

This was an interesting excerpt from Hopewell's Wikipedia page.

Hopewell has come to the attention of AAA because some of its members have complained that Hopewell is a speed trap for its practice of citing drivers for speeding along a 1.7 mile stretch of Interstate 295, nicknamed the "Million Dollar Mile" by disgruntled drivers. AAA, claimed in a press release that Hopewell employs 11 sheriff's deputies working in 14-hour shifts to patrol less than two miles of the highway that lie within the city limits of Hopewell. However, this statistic has been denied by the sheriff of Hopewell, who was baffled as to where that information was generated as he said the deputies working on I-295 only work eight-hour shifts. This practice, which it has been claimed, annually generated $1.8 million in revenue from speeding tickets, of which 75% were issued to out of state drivers, triggered a court clash between the Commonwealth's Attorney and the city prosecutor, and elicited an official ruling from the Attorney General of Virginia. Sheriff Luther Sodat said that the almost two-mile stretch of highway "is a safety issue for Hopewell." Virginia's urban interstates have a fatality rate about one-third the Statewide rate for all roads combined.

They claim I-295 is a "safety issue", and that it's an "urban interstate" which makes it more dangerous. That's a lie. It's a rural interstate highway with a 70 mph speed limit, and has a very safe design, and low crash rate. Also, they've generated almost $2 million annually on speeding tickets, and 75% to out of state drivers. That's absurd. That's a speed trap, and it's mostly targeted at out-of-state. I'd have differing thoughts if all those tickets were 85+ mph, though I'll say in my experience driving through there, most traffic is around 76 - 82 mph, and I've seen people pulled for those speeds. If that's indeed the case, it's a speed trap. You can't dispute that, unless of course all their tickets are 85+ mph, which I find unlikely.

[LM117]

The state tried to put an end to speed traps...

https://www.fredericksburg.com/news/transportation/virginia-general-assembly-puts-brakes-on-speed-traps/article_b00eca7a-beb6-11e4-8e86-8fb7c5717c20.html

...but then Hopewell threw a hissy fit and the spineless General Assembly later caved and repealed that budget amendment.

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

[Takumi]

All I'll say on the subject is this: if you know a place is a speed trap and you speed though there anyway, that's on you.

[1995hoo]

All I'll say on the subject is this: if you know a place is a speed trap and you speed though there anyway, that's on you.

Exactly. There's a stretch of Route 29 in Madison County that's long been known for strict enforcement (approximate map link here; the blue area indicating the directions shows roughly where the enforcement occurs); the speed limit is now 60 on most of this and when I was in college it was 55. Everyone knew about it–after you pass Madison High School coming south, don't accelerate until you're past the Bavarian Chef. The southbound road through here is nice and flat and enticing, which is no doubt why the cops set up there. Yet despite everyone knowing about it, I know multiple people who arrived back in Charlottesville saying they got pulled over for going 70+ through there, and invariably everyone who heard about it had the same reaction–"Why in the world would you speed there?" It's not too hard to guess times when you're more likely to see the enforcement, too–football game days, college move-in or move-out weekend, etc., that is, days when there are likely to be that many more people on the road.

(Edited to add: We don't usually take Route 29 to or from Charlottesville because it's out of the way for us, but when we do go that way, I still make sure I'm going about 2 mph under the limit through there. We don't always see a cop and my wife likes to give me crap that everyone else is passing me, but who cares? What harm does it do to go below the speed limit for about two miles?)

As far as I know, Virginia doesn't have anything rising quite to the level of New Rome, Ohio, a town that no longer exists as an independent municipality. The Car and Driver article I linked is far from the sole source for reports about the shenanigans in that town. Hopewell and Emporia are often cited as having "speedtraps," but New Rome went far beyond a simple "speedtrap."

[Rothman]

Waverly is close to just being a town supported by speed traps.

[roadman65]

It sounds like the US 58 corridor is similar to the US 301 corridor further south.  Lawtley, Starke (which soon will have a freeway bypass of it), and once the City of Waldo.

[Beltway]

median, one sitting in his car positioned to take off, one standing with LIDAR aimed at traffic (where I was coming from) up the hill, and another idle unit. As soon as we went up the hill, he waved at his buddy in the other unit, he took off, nearly running me off the road, then went over the overpass, and pulled the guy over going about 64 - 69 mph. You could argue there could've been other reasons than speeding, but this was in the course of about 4 seconds, LIDAR locked in, and waving at his buddy to go initiate a traffic stop.

B O G U S

In over 50 years and a million miles of driving, I can't think of one instance where I was in a position to "test" to see if cops were stopping people for a "few miles over the limit".  I also can't think of one instance where I saw an officer that "nearly caused an accident" when pulling out to stop someone.  Do you have a J-school degree?

It has been rare when I have seen any police car pass me and then make an apparent stop of a vehicle, maybe a dozen times over those years, and in no case was I close enough to gauge the speed of the vehicle.

The state tried to put an end to speed traps...

You don't need legislation to do that.  The courts are a -state- function.  If a court system sees a "speed trap" it is as simple as throwing those tickets out of court, as they would if they were getting large numbers for "a few miles over".  Courts don't have time to waste on nonsense cases, they have far more serious cases to handle.

Speeders like to speed, and make excuses about their habit.  Like people who take pot and get all doped up. 
And then post on the Internet about it, and regale others with stories about it.
 

[roadman65]

This discussion is like the old Midwest with that troll mechanic or when NE2 bouts it out with one of the other users on here who disagrees with him.

If it were not entertaining I would say this needs to be locked.

[1995hoo]

I can think of one time when a cop passed me (I was going maybe 5 mph over) and then put on his lights and pulled over a guy ahead of me who was going a good deal faster than I was; this occurred southbound in the then-HOV lanes on I-95 passing the rest area north of Dumfries. Good chance the other guy was going 80+ if I had been going around 70, which would certainly explain the cop's choice of target.

I can also think of a time when I noticed an unmarked cop car behind me at a red light somewhere down in the Hampton Roads area, probably on the old Route 168 as this occurred in May 1993 coming back from Nags Head. I saw him and was slow off the line; my friend Scott was driving the car in front of me and started to accelerate hard but backed off when he saw I was slow. Guy in the other lane did a jackrabbit start and sped off, at which point the cop went after him and pulled him over. Scott later said, "I had no idea that cop was there, but I said to myself if [1995hoo] is going slowly there must be a cop."

In both cases, common sense ruled the day and I think both cops did the reasonable thing. In the 1993 situation, surely it was clear to the cop that this 1982 Accord with a UVA plate frame and multiple UVA decals in the rear window was probably a college student, which in popular perception would've made me the likely target, but showing common sense often helps.

This discussion is like the old Midwest with that troll mechanic or when NE2 bouts it out with one of the other users on here who disagrees with him.

If it were not entertaining I would say this needs to be locked.

You know, it seems to me that "Is Hopewell or Emporia a speedtrap"  and "Is Hopewell or Emporia widely perceived as a speedtrap"  are two very different questions that can quite legitimately have two different answers (regardless, on the second question, of whether one feels the perception is justified). It's sort of like playing Family Feud–the goal on that show isn't to get the "right"  answer, it's to get what the survey respondents thought was the right answer.

[Takumi]

I can think of one time when a cop passed me (I was going maybe 5 mph over) and then put on his lights and pulled over a guy ahead of me who was going a good deal faster than I was; this occurred southbound in the then-HOV lanes on I-95 passing the rest area north of Dumfries. Good chance the other guy was going 80+ if I had been going around 70, which would certainly explain the cop’s choice of target.

That happened to me once in college. I was going about 70 in a 55, and a cop turned his lights on behind me. I assumed it was for me, so I pulled over. He kept going. Ahead there was someone else that another officer had pulled over, and I assume called for assistance.

I can also think of a time when I noticed an unmarked cop car behind me at a red light somewhere down in the Hampton Roads area, probably on the old Route 168 as this occurred in May 1993 coming back from Nags Head. I saw him and was slow off the line; my friend Scott was driving the car in front of me and started to accelerate hard but backed off when he saw I was slow. Guy in the other lane did a jackrabbit start and sped off, at which point the cop went after him and pulled him over. Scott later said, “I had no idea that cop was there, but I said to myself if [1995hoo] is going slowly there must be a cop.”

Yeah, this is how I got my ticket back in November. I took off a bit overzealously from a red light not realizing there was a state trooper next to me. Wasn’t even unmarked. I deserved it.

[hbelkins]

This was an interesting excerpt from Hopewell's Wikipedia page.

Hopewell has come to the attention of AAA because some of its members have complained that Hopewell is a speed trap for its practice of citing drivers for speeding along a 1.7 mile stretch of Interstate 295, nicknamed the "Million Dollar Mile" by disgruntled drivers. AAA, claimed in a press release that Hopewell employs 11 sheriff's deputies working in 14-hour shifts to patrol less than two miles of the highway that lie within the city limits of Hopewell. However, this statistic has been denied by the sheriff of Hopewell, who was baffled as to where that information was generated as he said the deputies working on I-295 only work eight-hour shifts. This practice, which it has been claimed, annually generated $1.8 million in revenue from speeding tickets, of which 75% were issued to out of state drivers, triggered a court clash between the Commonwealth's Attorney and the city prosecutor, and elicited an official ruling from the Attorney General of Virginia. Sheriff Luther Sodat said that the almost two-mile stretch of highway "is a safety issue for Hopewell." Virginia's urban interstates have a fatality rate about one-third the Statewide rate for all roads combined.

AAA? Despite their mapping service being so kind as to mark areas of strict enforcement on Triptiks years ago, they've never been exactly known as an advocate for motorists and against speed enforcement. (I'll leave it to SP Cook to compare AAA vs. NMA here.) So if AAA is complaining about a speedtrap, must be something to it.

[froggie]

they've never been exactly known as an advocate for motorists and against speed enforcement

Clearly you're not familiar with AAA Mid-Atlantic.  Their spokesman has been quite vocal over the years about DC-area roads, enforcement, and cameras.