Complain about illegal speed trap

[awesometbn]

In Georgia if you suspect an illegal speed trap is being used you can complain and hopefully trigger an investigation. Here is the traffic code reference I found that explains the criteria.

http://www.legis.state.ga.us/cgi-bin/gl_codes_detail.pl?code=40-14-11

Do other states have similar laws? I would be interested to hear about everyone's experiences, and what your state laws have to say about illegal speed traps.

[V1_Bman]

I wish...IL

[awesometbn]

Found something interesting in Oregon, in the opinion page of the Eugene newspaper. See http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2005/10/13/letters.html for the original letter.



ILLEGAL SPEED TRAPS

Ilse Kolbuszowski wrote a letter ( 8/18 ) that questioned the "priorities" of the Eugene Police Department after her friend received a speeding ticket for going 35 mph in a 25 mph zone on Patterson Street. I liked her sentiments, but would like to suggest that a main priority for the Eugene police system, like any other, is to raise revenue. Consequently, the police system and its officers create illegal speed traps in order to obtain more money from taxpayers.

Wait, it gets worse: Eugene police aren't only "raising" as much "revenue" from the public as possible; some are also criminals in uniform, like officer Magana who was found guilty of raping women in Eugene while on duty. However, you can fight illegal speed traps by appealing your ticket. Check out websites like: ticketkiller.com. The basic facts regarding setting speed limits in Eugene is that ODOT must adhere to Federal laws mandated in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), Title 23 (2b-10) and the 8 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Section 630.

Many speed limits in cities like Eugene have been arbitrarily set without following the federal law which requires that an engineering speed survey must be performed every five years (by an engineer) and mandates that the speed limit shall be in the 85th percentile of free-flowing traffic. Although, if you appeal for the sake of "justice," you might end up like me in a kangaroo court of Lane County in front of Judge Chuck Carlson who will laugh and yell at you.

Michelle Satterlee, Eugene

[awesometbn]

Found the following vehicle codes in California that talk about illegal speed traps. The Speed Trap Law (Vehicle Code Sections 40801 - 3) is a good example of a law that requires exclusion of evidence if authorities haven't followed its procedures.

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d17/vc40801.htm
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d17/vc40802.htm
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d17/vc40803.htm

[awesometbn]

This article "Website Helps Motorists Steer Clear Of Speed Traps" says Michigan law provides financial support to public libraries instead of police departments when fines are collected from traffic violations.

http://www.officer.com/article/article.jsp?id=28648&siteSection=1


Michigan law stipulates that directs fines from traffic violations "be exclusively applied to support of public libraries." The law is intended to prevent police from gaining revenue by the issue of traffic tickets.

(C) 2006 Michigan Daily via U-WIRE

In that case I think it would be possible to call your state attorney general and complain about a particular police department. When they investigate they must prove that money went to libraries instead of the police budget. There is a similar law in Georgia that caps a percentage of ticket revenue in the police budget. Otherwise it is illegal.

[awesometbn]

From Tennessee, I guess you can't write anything extra in the memo field of your check!

http://www.thenewstribune.com/24hour/weird/story/3222126p-11947457c.html


Mayor probed in 'speed trap' check case

The Associated Press
Wednesday, March 8th, 2006 01:58 PM (PST)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - After motorist T. Allen Morgan got a speeding ticket in Coopertown - a town known for its heavy-handed traffic enforcement - he tried to pay his ticket like a good citizen.

But he added a little note on his check which angered Mayor Danny Crosby. The mayor refused to accept the check, sparking the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to launch an investigation Monday.

Crosby told Morgan that he had to either write another check that didn't have the words "for speed trap" written in bold letters or face the charges in traffic court.

At the request of District Attorney General John Carney, the TBI is investigating if Crosby acted illegally by denying Morgan's payment, TBI spokeswoman Jennifer Johnson said.

"As mayor of this city, if I accept that check from that gentleman, I'm admitting we run a speed trap, and that's a bald-faced lie," Crosby said Tuesday.

Coopertown lies about 20 miles northwest of Nashville on a state highway used by motorists to travel between interstates 24 and 65. The town generates nearly 30 percent of its revenue from traffic tickets.

Last month AAA officials said the automobile association was considering adding Coopertown to its list of national "strict enforcement areas," an honor shared by only seven other cities.

By the way, I was not allowed to pay fines by check in Georgia. They only took cash at the court, and if you did not have enough money (cash or bond) you were invited to spend 30 days in jail. I asked the clerk of the court about this policy and they said by the time you have your trial you should know your fine and be well prepared to pay if you do not win your case.

[TexasRed]

The hell is an illegal speedtrap?

"Oh sh!t you caught me! That's too good of a location, therefore you are illegal!" :?:

[awesometbn]

TexasRed wrote:

The hell is an illegal speedtrap?

"Oh *BEEP* you caught me! That's too good of a location, therefore you are illegal!"

The answer is your state legislature, everything seems to vary by state. They set the law the police department has to follow regarding the collection of fines and how they target citizens driving vehicles.

IMHO an illegal speedtrap is not a person complaining that he was pulled over and it was unfair, but instead it is a pattern of behavior by law enforcement that is contrary to the traffic code. In my state, Georgia, you have the right to complain about anything but what will really get attention is when the law enforcement agency is getting much more revenue from tickets than the law will allow. For example "if the fines levied based on the use of speed detection devices for speeding offenses are equal to or greater than 40 percent of that law enforcement agency's budget." Each state has different laws that define an illegal speed trap.

[awesometbn]

Sorry I didn't see this before, but here is the Wikipedia entry for speed traps,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_trap

[awesometbn]

Wish this was still possible today. I found this quote in an article about former Georgia governor Lester G. Maddox.

http://www.legacy.com/Atlanta/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=1114520


The new governor got teachers a 25 percent raise and took on local corruption in southeast Georgia's Long County, ordering billboards erected that warned drivers of speed traps in the area.

[awesometbn]

Disturbing. Here are some excerpts from an article that talks about a Missouri speed trap that everyone seems to know about. It's just a reminder to me, to always fight your ticket.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060325/D8GIKFE00.html


Speed Traps Stir Debate in Small Towns

Mar 25, 8:37 AM (ET)
By CHRISTOPHER LEONARD

EOLIA, Mo. (AP) - In local diners and truck stops, drivers talk about this little highway town with a word of warning. Watch your lead foot when driving through, they say. This is a speed trap town.

...

Most speed trap towns have highways running through their city limits, providing steady access to out-of-towners who won't raise too big a stink when ticketed, said Eric Scrum with the National Motorists Association.

...

Business owners in Eolia worry the same fate might await them. Debbie Reading said business has fallen off steeply at her beauty salon.

"People are just getting pulled over for piddly little things," Reading said. "They actually tell us they don't want to come over here and get their hair cut because they're scared."