NMA - Speed Trap Rankings

[jeffandnicole]

So I saw this email this morning: The NMA reveals the top speed trap states in the country.

https://www.motorists.org/alerts/the-nma-reveals-the-top-speed-trap-states-in-the-country-nma-e-newsletter-359/

NJ is listed as #2.  Which to me is surprising, as I'm not familiar with hardly any speed traps (I know a few towns that are strict on speeding.  And I know a few spots where cops may be hiding, but they tend to have some large tolerances before pulling someone over).

Then I see the NMA's methodology:

To develop the rankings, the NMA compiled the number of speed traps reported over the last five years–November 1, 2010 through October 31, 2015–by state. Those totals were then indexed to the number of road miles in each state.

A few issues with this: First: States with more complainers may have a tendency to report speed traps more often.  And they're probably not really speed traps...especially since the listing may say "The cop was driving down the road, saw me, made a U-turn and pulled me over".  Followed with "The cop said I was going 15 over the limit, but I never go that fast".  Second: Some issues have nothing to do with speeding. Red Light Camera violations appeared frequently, for example.  And finally, taking a look around, most of the entries seem to be quite old.

And finally...NJ tends to publish their road mileage based on who has jurisdiction of the roadway.  Many ratios have been screwed up by this, because they'll post the number of miles maintained by NJDOT, not the number of miles in the state.  And it's significant because something like 2/3rds of the road mileage is maintained by counties, municipalities or authorities; not by NJDOT.

The real story here: The NMA seems to be trying to keep themselves relevant.

[Rothman]

I am surprised Virginia isn't ranked higher.

[vdeane]

It didn't take me long to realize that their "speed trap" and "roadblock" directories were really just places where someone saw a cop or border patrol car once.  There are a few legit cases in each, but a lot of listings are obviously one time events.

[jeffandnicole]

(Regarding Virginia...) Probably for the same reason...just the opposite. Since every road in Virginia is basically a state road, including all those little culdesacs, their mileage is probably very high.

[steviep24]

I'm surprised NY isn't #1. I see cars pulled over by State Troopers on a daily basis.

[Rothman]

I'm surprised NY isn't #1. I see cars pulled over by State Troopers on a daily basis.

Pfft.  Troop T's average speed for tickets is in the low 80s.  That's hardly a sign that they're actually "trapping."

I'm thinking Hopewell and Waverly in Virginia -- bona fide traps and two out of the many in VA.

[SidS1045]

I'm surprised NY isn't #1. I see cars pulled over by State Troopers on a daily basis.

...which does not necessarily mean that the traffic stops were due to a speed trap.  Unless you've actually questioned police about all those stops, for all you know they are a heavy enforcement sweep in a particular area.

The usual definition of the term "speed trap" is a section of road, which by its design and/or appearance, tends to induce motorists to exceed posted or prima facie speed limits.  Unfortunately, due to blatant abuses by some (usually municipal) police departments (see Waldo FL or Linndale OH, just to name two), the definition has been expanded to include areas in which police departments manipulate speed limits for the purposes of balancing local budgets.

[mariethefoxy]

Delaware is one of the worst speed trap states, they deliberately have US 13 in Kent and Sussex counties set up in a few towns with low speed limits for the sole purpose of catching out of towners who aren't paying attention. Every single time Im down there I see at least 2-3 cars pull over people.

Jersey from what Ive noticed is the cops patrol the towns more vs the highways, which seems to be the way New England tends to do it also.

[Rothman]

Delaware is one of the worst speed trap states, they deliberately have US 13 in Kent and Sussex counties set up in a few towns with low speed limits for the sole purpose of catching out of towners who aren't paying attention. Every single time Im down there I see at least 2-3 cars pull over people.

Absolutely true, come to think of it.  Greenwood and Harrington, especially.

[machias]

Delaware is one of the worst speed trap states, they deliberately have US 13 in Kent and Sussex counties set up in a few towns with low speed limits for the sole purpose of catching out of towners who aren't paying attention. Every single time Im down there I see at least 2-3 cars pull over people.

Jersey from what Ive noticed is the cops patrol the towns more vs the highways, which seems to be the way New England tends to do it also.

There's a couple of expressways and freeways in Central New York purposely set up this away - NY Route 12 north of Utica comes to mind. 15 or so miles built to interstate standards but with a speed limit of 55. The state police LOVE to pull over out of staters and towners headed up to the Adirondacks.  NY Route 5S east of Utica is the same situation but not nearly as many out of staters on that route.

[cl94]

You have to be going quite fast to get pulled over on an expressway in New York. If there's a decent amount of traffic, they typically won't get you unless you're going significantly faster than the pack. There's a reason why Troop T's average is over 80 and I bet that's brought down by the speed traps they set up daily on I-190 and just east of the Lackawanna tolls where the limit is 55.

Small towns are another story. They'll get you for going 2 over. Places like Corfu and Mount Morris are some of the most well-known speed traps out there. Corfu's police department exists solely to issue tickets, with both of their cars typically running radar most of the day.