Which state has the most patrolled highways and freeway and which has the least

[Plutonic Panda]

From my experience, again haven't been to the north east or northwest.

I'd say the most being Florida, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Oklahoma is a hit or miss. I have noticed the northeast part of Oklahoma having the most while you can basically go as fast as you want on I-35 south of OKC and not worry because I hardly see OHP out there. Usually the only place I'll see them is either right by purcell or Paul's
Valley and straight north of the Arbuckles. I-40 in the west part of the state is usually not too badly patrolled either.

Texas is horrible for the amount of local police that sit on I-35. I can't believe it. I've received the majority of my tickets that way. I-40 in west Texas... police are almost non existent there.

Florida....... wow. I have never in my life seen so many cops on one stretch of road. I went through north Florida on I-10 and Jesus Christ there must have been at least one cop every five miles through the entire stretch of the road from west state line to about 50 miles out from Jacksonville. Absolutely ridiculous. All FHP too. How lenient are they on speeders?

As for the least patrolled, my money is on Arizona, Alabama, Missouri, Nevada and Utah.

Arizona is a hit or miss. But more often than not I'll traverse the entire stretch of I-40 without seeing a single cop either hiding or in a traffic stop. They are particularly bad around Flagstaff I've noticed.

I've gone to St. Louis tons of times and I can't recall seeing one cop ever except the time I was pulled over by a sheriff deputy. I've also seen them at the scene of accidents, but never pulled anyone over or hiding except in the St. Louis area.

Utah I saw only one however I should note I only drove in the state once so I'm not too familiar with it.

I hardly ever saw any in Alabama, but as with Utah, I only drove through there once.

I go to Las Vegas about once a week or so. While I do occasionally see them patrol the 15, more often than not, they're not there.

California is also a hit or miss. I notice on the I-5 in the Valley CHP does not have much of a presence until you get closer to Sacramento. They are particularly bad on I-80 closer to Nevada state line and of course they're crawling around metro freeways. I-15 in Cali is a hit or miss also. Hardly ever see them on the 395 and if I do see a police officer it's usually by Mammoth Lake.

I applaud and salute our police officers for keeping our roads safe, but I enjoy freeways where there are less of them rather than more.

[Plutonic Panda]

What states have you noticed have the most patrolled highways and freeways? Mine hands down would be Florida.

[Buck87]

Ohio's gotta be pretty high on the list for most patrolled

[corco]

Montana is pretty much non-patrolled outside of the interstates, US-2, and US-93.

That said, the ticket for 1-9 over is $20 not reportable to insurance and the speed limit is already high at 70/80, so it's pretty unusual to get a speeding ticket.

--

Idaho is more of a police state - lots of local bears looking for marijuanas so you have to be careful in small towns, especially with out of state or 1A/2C (Ada/Canyon County) plates. Out on the freeway, they'll pull over and ticket for 82-83 in an 80, so you have to be careful.

[Max Rockatansky]

Really it depends on where you are, I'll touch on states I've lived in.

California:

-  CHP has a heavy presence on freeways and expressways.  Two-lane highways really aren't patrolled unless they are near an urban area or a major tourist destination.  CA 1 through Big Sur, CA 178 through Lower Kern River Canyon, and CA 41 north of Fresno typically have enforcement crack downs despite being two-laned...again major tourist areas.  I hardly ever see county officials patrolling roads anywhere except maybe inside the limits of a town.  I think legislated speed limit of 55 MPH in most zones really makes it not worth it for CHP or County Sheriffs to patrol unless there is a safety problem like I stated above.

Nevada:

-  Nevada has a much larger presence on US Highways than might be expected.  There is plenty of patrols on US 95 between Fallon and Las Vegas, Esmeralda County can be especially aggressive.   There isn't much in the way of beyond normal patrols on Interstates and state highways are virtually non-existent asides from stuff like the Geiger Grade/NV 341 or a Mount Rose/NV 431.

Arizona:

-  DPS likes to patrol rural Interstate and expressways.  AZ 87 and US 93 in particular were always favorites for strict enforcement on expressways in the boonies.  DPS really likes I-10 and I-40 west of Flagstaff, I-17 has a lot of Yavapai County Sheriffs on it.  Some roads like US 191 over the Coronado Trail don't have any patrols at all or are bottle necked to daylight hours.  City cops are very aggressive in speed enforcement on signed highways that travel through their localities.  Certain tribes also target speeds like Salt River-Pima and Hualapai while others like the Navajo don't really care unless you do something really stupid.

New Mexico:

-  Really there isn't very much patrol in the southern half of the state.  I think that has a lot to do with the large Border Patrol presence in the area, especially with large checkpoints like the one west of Las Cruces on I-10.  Some counties seem to emphasize enforcement more than others, Lincoln County comes to mind.  Really there isn't too much to worry about in New Mexico unless you are doing something really stupid.

Texas:

-  Big time crack down enforcement on any freeway.  I-10 and I-20 have added emphasis by State Troopers in the western half of the state looking for drug or border related problems.  Two-lane road enforcement is basically non-existent asides from a stray Border Patrol agent who isn't necessarily looking for a speeder.  There are some really vast empty stretches of highway some like US 62/180 with 75 MPH speed limits....so year really not much to tag someone on out there.

Colorado:

Given the tourist volume in the Rockies there is actually a ton of local level enforcement in the mountains on any degree of signed route.   Interstates and freeways are pretty much just average on the other hand.

Utah:

What enforcement? lol  Really honestly it is rare to see an obvious speed trap or law enforcement that worries too much about you your speed on mainline roads.  Even rural state highways tend to be rarely enforced very tightly.  San Juan County has a lot of trucks that they use on their state highways, they especially like 95 and 261/Moki Dugway.  I don't think that is so much about speed enforcement but more so about people getting into trouble out in the boons.

Florida:

-  Holy crap are toll roads enforced.  Florida's Turnpike has an absurd amount of FHP on it along with several substations.  FHP is also very persistent on urban tollways/freeways and even rural Interstates.  Florida has a huge issue with townies annexing parcels of land on State Roads and US Routes just to get the speed enforcement revenue.  Monroe County in the Florida Keys might have some of the most ruthless speed enforcement in the country, they will actually stop a group of cars if they are all going over the speed limit...wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it.

Michigan:

US Routes and Interstates are enforced at about an average level.  On occasion you'll seen troopers on state trunklines, but not too much unless a route has become an issue.

[Big John]

Wisconsin is heavily enforced. So much that people drive slow in the fast lane.

[DaBigE]

Wisconsin is heavily enforced. So much that people drive slow in the fast lane.

Please tell me you're joking. They drive slow in the fast lane because of bad driving habits. As for enforcement, unless there is a specially-funded campaign (sobriety, aggressive driving, etc.), or you're in one of the nationally-known speed traps, you can go days without seeing a squad, even in the urban areas.

[UCFKnights]

Florida....... wow. I have never in my life seen so many cops on one stretch of road. I went through north Florida on I-10 and Jesus Christ there must have been at least one cop every five miles through the entire stretch of the road from west state line to about 50 miles out from Jacksonville. Absolutely ridiculous. All FHP too. How lenient are they on speeders?

FHP is usually pretty strict. Almost never hear of warnings from them unless its accompanied by them (the police) doing something seriously wrong.. The non-speed-trap municipalities are usually more lenient. Florida law less then 5mph over is not ticketable, and usually on interstates you have to be doing 10mph over to get pulled over by most police.

I don't really keep track, but I believe Florida's fines are rediculously high as well. Plus the court fees for contesting it are ridiculous even if you aren't guilty.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Minnesota is generally pretty quiet except for the occasional specific "emphasis days" when suddenly seemingly every state, county, and city unit is out in hiding for a specific purpose (seat belt, distracted driving, etc.). This usually happens a couple times a year. I've never noticed any particular "extra enforcement" over holidays when the warnings about increased holiday DWI monitoring are broadcast over VMS signs.

[Brandon]

Ohio's gotta be pretty high on the list for most patrolled

Shit, those sons a bitches like to sit at the state line en masse.

Wisconsin is heavily enforced. So much that people drive slow in the fast lane.

Please tell me you're joking. They drive slow in the fast lane because of bad driving habits. As for enforcement, unless there is a specially-funded campaign (sobriety, aggressive driving, etc.), or you're in one of the nationally-known speed traps, you can go days without seeing a squad, even in the urban areas.

And then again, you'll see a bunch in Racine County of Racine County Sheriffs Police looking for Illinois plates.

[hbelkins]

I don't know about "most" and "least," but Kentucky goes overboard in my opinion. Of course, my general belief that speed limits are underposted and that police officers  should be doing better and more productive things than looking for drivers who drive faster than an arbitrarily-set number, would lead me to believe that any jurisdiction where you see more than the rare cop doing traffic enforcement  would qualify for "most."

Kentucky is bad because there's a Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement agency. This agency was once a part of the Transportation Cabinet but is now attached to Kentucky State Police. In my youth, they used to be called "weight men" or "DOT guys" because they were primarily enforcing restrictions on trucks -- weight, or in the mountains, leaking and sifting contents of coal trucks. Now, KVE officers have all the powers of regular sworn KSP troopers or local officers, and if you see them with a vehicle pulled over, more than likely it's a passenger vehicle.

Recently, I fell behind a gravel truck that was flinging rocks from its overfilled bed on the interstate. Before I could get around it, a rock chipped my windshield. It's not a major chip, and I'm in hopes that it's not deep enough that water can seep in and eventually cause the windshield to crack, but it was annoying. Not all that far away from where this happened, I saw three KVE officers with three passenger vehicles stopped within a mile. I wish one of them had stopped this truck with leaking contents instead of stopping cars that were most likely speeding on an interstate where much of the traffic was going faster than 70 mph.

As far as other states go, yeah, what everyone's said so far about Ohio. Indiana and Tennessee are also bad, in my experience. West Virginia, too, although my trusty V-1 tells me that most of the ones I see aren't running radar.

Two surprises on my list. I really don't see that many in Virginia despite their gestapo-like laws. Maybe it could be because I don't tempt fate when I drive blindly and without defenses there, but I don't see all that many VSP troopers out patrolling or with cars pulled over.

My other surprise is Texas. I've only been there once, but the day I was, I saw a zillion (I counted) cops with vehicles pulled over early on a Saturday morning on I-30 between Texarkana and Dallas. Given the stereotypes about the Lone Star State, I figured the constabulary wouldn't be so attentive to speeding.

[Mapmikey]

Two surprises on my list. I really don't see that many in Virginia despite their gestapo-like laws. Maybe it could be because I don't tempt fate when I drive blindly and without defenses there, but I don't see all that many VSP troopers out patrolling or with cars pulled over.

Virginia's highways are regularly patrolled by state troopers...see lots of folks pulled over on interstates and 4-lane US routes when I am toodling around...

[Buck87]

VA has "speed checked by aircraft" signs posted at the state borders. How much of that do they actually do? Anyone here ever been caught by that?

[Rothman]

My other surprise is Texas. I've only been there once, but the day I was, I saw a zillion (I counted) cops with vehicles pulled over early on a Saturday morning on I-30 between Texarkana and Dallas. Given the stereotypes about the Lone Star State, I figured the constabulary wouldn't be so attentive to speeding.

I got pulled over in Loving County, TX, of all places, for speeding (but really for having out-of-state license plates and a load of junk in the back seat).  I was given a warning.

[CtrlAltDel]

VA has "speed checked by aircraft" signs posted at the state borders. How much of that do they actually do? Anyone here ever been caught by that?

I believe that the answer is almost none. The cost of flying the aircraft is just too high. There can be, however, the occasional exception.

[Mapmikey]

VA has "speed checked by aircraft" signs posted at the state borders. How much of that do they actually do? Anyone here ever been caught by that?

I believe that the answer is almost none. The cost of flying the aircraft is just too high. There can be, however, the occasional exception.

Virginia did paint some line segments 10-15 years ago on interstates in various areas for the purpose of using the aircraft, but as noted above, the costs are pretty high for running the operation...

[Max Rockatansky]

VA has "speed checked by aircraft" signs posted at the state borders. How much of that do they actually do? Anyone here ever been caught by that?

I believe that the answer is almost none. The cost of flying the aircraft is just too high. There can be, however, the occasional exception.

Hard to believe how ancient this meme really is:

[epzik8]

Virginia's Interstates are filled with cops. Every year going to and from Myrtle Beach, my mom, two brothers and I always see tons of police cars up and down I-95 from Emporia to Alexandria.

[Brian556]

Whatever happened to taking pride in being a defensive driver and not driving like an ass?  I mean, seems to keep me from getting pulled over.

Well said. I drive a reasonable and safe speed, and I never get pulled over.

In the southeast, Louisiana Interstates have the highest number of cops., which I like cause it makes people drive better.
The Florida panhandle is the most under-patrolled area. It's ridiculous when you come up on somebody going under the speed limit, and can't move over because of all the assholes blazing by at 90 mph.

Florida in General, other than a few small towns,  is under-patrolled. People drive way more recklessly there than in Texas.

[jeffandnicole]

NJ highways can be heavily patrolled, but the tolerance is extremely high for speeding.  In a 55 zone near me, I've seen an uptick in troopers at a certain, easily seen location, where motorists are going 70-75...AFTER they slowed down! And that's in the acceptable range!

Similiar results are seen in DE and PA on 95 and surrounding highways.

[vdeane]

NY has a reputation for enforcement and it's well deserved.  I have noticed when going out of state that I see significantly fewer police cars than in NY (there were a few in Québec when I was last there, but it was also Thanksgiving weekend, so it's not a fair comparison).  I can't compare to Florida since I've never been there, but I don't recall seeing a ton of police cars in Virginia on my way to/from the Birmingham meet a couple months ago.  I did see one in Alabama.  Looked just like something from My Cousin Vinnie.

[Rothman]

In the 1980s, PA was pretty notorious for its traffic enforcement.  In the mid to late 1990s, they reduced their patrols; I was told at a conference in the mid-2000s that their speed enforcement diminished just due to traffic cuts.

[MASTERNC]

I find DE and MD to be lightly patrolled.  PA can be hit or miss (a lot on the Turnpike and in certain localities, otherwise not a lot).

[SignBridge]

Vdeane's statement was correct re: enforcement by the NY State Police. That is their primary game. Just give out big numbers of tickets. In addition to the usual stuff, I sometimes see them positioned on highway entrance ramps, standing in the roadway watching cars proceed past them very slowly. They look for expired registrations, inspection stickers, seat-belt compliance and cell-phone usage. In the Spring season there is usually a big increase in this type of activity. However the actual enforcement levels vary with the number of troopers on duty on any given shift which varies somewhat.

[formulanone]

Florida just seems to have patrols and speedtraps in bunches. Toll roads used to be lightly-enforced, sort of a "bonus" for keeping the lights on...not the case anymore. Sure, Waldo isn't so bad anymore, but the "speed limit game" varies so much from town to town as to be annoying, along with inconsistent construction zone limits which jump around.

I haven't driven that much of Indiana (half the counties), but the per-capita amount of state, county, and local patrol cars seems to be rather high. Sudden speed limit drops from 55 to 25 mph seem excessive.

Alabama and Mississippi is rather on the light side of enforcement, and both are much more fair about posting speed limits and "reduced speed ahead" warnings that don't require drag chutes to comply.

I can't say I've seen a lot of Texas State Police nor local police (driven on 52% of the counties on about twenty separate visits). The open-road speed limits are quite generous.