Florida's speed-trap city agrees to reform, won't be killed off

LA Times ^ | March 29, 2014 | Paresh Dave

[kingattax]

A tiny northern Florida city that received national notoriety for issuing thousands of speeding tickets on its funky stretch of highway will be spared from death.

State lawmakers Friday dropped their threat to dissolve Hampton, a 1-square-mile city located an hour's drive south of Jacksonville.

Auditors in February reported that the small cadre of officials in the city of about 500 residents mismanaged the city's bank accounts, credit cards and collections. The city had just three full-time employees: a clerk, a police chief and a water manager.

Most egregiously, city officials discovered an intriguing revenue stream shortly after annexing a quarter-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 301 about 20 years ago.

The square-shaped city turned into a comical fly-swatter, sticking out to reach a business near the highway that wanted to be protected by city police. Realizing it could capitalize on drivers making the trek in and out of Jacksonville, the city slowly grew a volunteer police force and caught motorists in its new speed trap.

During the last handful of years, that revenue stream ballooned to more than $200,000 annually, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

[cuban leaf]

This kind of stuff is one reason I moved to a rural area in central KY. I’ve been here almost three years now and I’ve noticed a difference from the 45 years I lived in the Seattle area:

I don’t even think about radar cops any more as I drive. In Seattle, if I was behind the wheel, I was thinking about it, unless I was backed up in a traffic jam, which was roughly a third of the time.

I average about 70 in 55 mph zones on my 122 mile (round trip) commute every single day. I have yet to see a speed trap.

[RipSawyer]

The public safety excuse is one of the biggest pantloads imaginable, ain’t it?

[EEGator]

I was there last Summer. Going north it goes 45-55-45-55-65. It has "Spreed Limit Strictly Enforced" signs, but the whole point is to catch people. I understand people need to be alert when driving, but the whole point of it has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with generating revenue. Side note- It reminds me of this terrible movie:

[Flag_This]

"I was a highwayman..."

You left out the lyrics that were really relevant to this thread:

"And I'll be back again, and again and again and again and again.. "

[cuban leaf]

That map is absolutely hilarious!

[ChildOfThe60s]

It has "Spreed Limit Strictly Enforced" signs, but the whole point is to catch people.

If the purpose is to catch people, it is catching people that are begging to be caught. If you get caught there, you are not paying any attention to your driving.

That said, I've seen what unrestrained speeding is like in a small stretch as in their center of town. Sorry, but without slowing people down there, that stretch would be loud and unsafe and rather unpleasant. And frankly, without a real smack upside the head, they aren't going to slow down. Seen places like this with basic speed sign changes and they are completely ignored. Fact is that the majority of drivers are either inconsiderate or inattentive, and have no concept of the noise and safety issues they inflict on the areas they drive through. And I speak from a lot experience on that.

[ChildOfThe60s]

Still taking about Waldo, not anywhere else.

[mazda77]

South Carolina I-95 between Ridgeland to the south and US 21 to the north is a section that seems like the only place the pavement is asphalt and smooth in the entire state. On either side the pavement is concrete washboard style. There is a little overpass without an exit on it that is somewhere closer to the US 21 exit that has permanently mounted radars on the overpass. A curve in the interstate approaching from both sides hides the patrol cars setting on each side just waiting for those who get used to the smooth comfortable surface.

[mazda77]

Going north as you say is not such a deal but it is the south run where they really work it.

[JW1949]

There was a small town in East Tennessee on Highway 411 that had posted speed limit signs that read 34 MPH...If you were doing 35, you got nailed...No tolerance allowed...They would even take you to the judge’s house and fine you right at his front door....*LOL*

[Scoutmaster]

The National Motorists Association maintains www.speedtrap.org and says the two worst speed traps in the U.S. are in Flower Mound, Texas, and Livonia, Michigan.

The NMA reports that the District of Columbia, South Carolina, Michigan, Iowa and Tennessee were the worst states/districts in the U.S. for speed traps.

Trapster.com has an interactive map on both its website and its mobile-phone application that shows the hot speed traps throughout the country

[loungitude]

One south/east police gang was scoring a big flow of drugs on the highway. Then they figured out that if they patrol the other direction, they would score a big flow of cash. They get to keep some of the cash. Guess which direction they patrol, in order to protect the children?

[EEGator]

There is no reason for the speed to change. It’s a 100% commercial area. If one is worried about safety, do not live in the center of Florida. :)

I get your point.

[Moonman62]

Hacienda Village was another infamous Florida speed trap.

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

[PapaBear3625]

Sheriff’s in counties with interstates that are drug corridors have jumped on the profiling wagon and routinely pull out of state plates for “unsafe lane change” and bring in the dogs to sniff around. A couple of times a year they find enough drugs/cash/seizure material to fund the annual BBQ and buy new toys for the dept.

One quick fix: have the state pass a law that all traffic/speeding fines go into the state general fund, as well as all drug-bust proceeds.

As long as the police dept directly profits and benefits from certain types of arrests, then that is all they will have interest in. When their budget comes exclusively from what the taxpayers allocate to them, then and only then will they put their focus back on dealing with the crimes that the electorate want them to focus on.

[PapaBear3625]

On an increasing basis, speed traps are being setup during workweeks at rush hours. This is so that they can catch working people who will actually pay their tickets and also because they generally won't take time off from work to fight them in traffic court.

And also so they will be less likely to be accused of "racial profiling" (i.e., hassling the underclass, which is a major power base of the Dem party).

[PapaBear3625]

If I were a sitting judge I would have thrown out every single ticket that LEO wrote that was under 5 miles over the spped limit, maybe 10...

If you were a sitting judge, the funding out of which your salary comes from, would largely come from fine revenue, and if you cut down on fine revenue then you would be replaced real fast.

[stboz]

Try Ft. Sumner, NM. The legacy of Billy the Kid lives on.

[ChildOfThe60s]

Going north as you say is not such a deal but it is the south run where they really work it.

Funny, I know I had to come south through there, but I can't recall the speed warnings etc., yet I remember the arrangement going north quite well. Still, it's been 15 years.

We used to go 301 from Ocala through there up to 10 then 95 to Savannah. Better than 75 to 10 and over.

[vette6387]

“Society Hill, South Carolina has one of the worst I have ever known. This is a tiny village in the middle of nowhere in an area of rather flat land and when you leave on Hwy. 52 going North to Cheraw you head down a fairly steep hill where you must literally ride the brake to avoid a speeding ticket. The cop sits at the bottom of the hill where someone coming down the hill is guaranteed to exceed the speed limit unless he has his foot on the brake. This speed trap has been notorious for many decades but the town officials would swear that there is no speed trap in their town.”

Two Words: Vigilante Justice! A group of motorists should have beaten the $hit out of one or two of these “single cop” traps and burned their cars years ago.