Posted on 03/04/2015 12:15:01 PM PST by Responsibility2nd
WALDO, Fla. (AP) - The tiny town of Waldo in north Florida has such a notorious reputation as a speed trap that AAA erected billboards to warn drivers about it, but all that may be about to change.
On Tuesday, weeks after the police chief and interim chief resigned due to state investigations into ticket quotas, mishandling of evidence and other issues, Waldo's City Council disbanded its police force.
While the Alachua County Sheriff's Office is now in charge of policing the town of 1,000, and AAA says it will consider removing its billboards, some citizens worry that the speeding problem will worsen and criminals will feel they have carte blanche.
~snip~
Officials in the town between Jacksonville and Gainesville never hid the fact that citations paid for the small police force, arguing that the speeding problem was a real public safety hazard. For years motorists cruising through the 2-square-mile town have passed the AAA's warning signs.
Trouble with Waldo's police department started in August, when Chief Mike Szabo was suspended amid a Florida Department of Law Enforcement probe into his alleged recording of conversations with fellow officers.
A couple of weeks later the town's interim chief, Cpl. Kenneth Smith, was also suspended after five of the department's officers told the City Council that he was mishandling evidence, taking city property for personal use and imposing a strict ticket quota.
Smith and Szabo later resigned, and the department crumbled.
Waldo really does have a speeding problem, officials and residents insist. They say cars and trucks regularly blow through town on U.S. 301 and Highway 24, endangering residents and school children.
(Excerpt) Read more at naplesnews.com ...
Anybody ever been to or through Waldo? The article goes on to say speeding is a legitimate problem, but so is official graft and corruption.
NE of Gainesville...............Avoid like the plague.....................
I’ve been through there many times.
I’ve never gotten a ticket there.
With those ENORMOUS signs posted by the highway as you approach the town there is no way anyone could claim they had not been warned.
I have been through Waldo several times but the last yime was in the 90s.
It is/was nothing more than strong arm robbery under the color of law.
No reason why speeding should be worse there than anywhere else.
When I use to drive through small southern speed traps, I just paid an instant $10 fine and went on my way.
Where’s Waldo?
Oh, Florida...nevermind.
Where’s Waldo?
Anybody think of putting a few speed bumps or man made road gaps / chuckholes (with warning signs, of course) in the parts of the state highways passing through the downtown and near the schools? A couple busted axles and the word would probably get around. More expensive than a speeding ticket.
Thanks.
Convenient, but perhaps part of Amerika that will also disappear as cop-cams become more pervasive.
Used to live in Gainesville, been in Virginia with family in Naples for 43 years - so I’ve been through Waldo a million times......main speeders are log truckers.....and a few locals and a few snow-birds.
As I know all the speed traps on 301, I’ve never gotten a ticket. Told my kids.....couple wouldn’t listen to dad, and got tickets.....one time each. Live and learn. Dad’s advice is usually good.
Thought I read that Waldo did this many months ago????????
Also watch out for Lawtey, Starke and Citrus.......you will generally be ok at 8mph over BETWEEN the cities on 301, but best obey the city limits to a T...........
Never been there. Was once offered a rental home in Waldo, Ohio though.
Where do you live?
Waldo.
Where’s Waldo?
Nope, was not doing that.
One speed trap down. Now, on to Summersville, West Virginia.
I don’t know how many traffic lights (if any) are in Waldo, but many towns and cities use them to control speed. Drive too fast and all you do is get stopped at the red light faster.
When properly controlled - traffic lights will keep the flow of traffic at a legal and safe speed.
I’ve driven through Waldo, occasionally, for 40 years. It was and always will be a speed trap....unless there’s no police department :)
There are a couple other speed traps on 301, but none as bad as Waldo.
Yes me a few times ad it is known you watch how you drive, signal all the time and go below the limit.
Horrible little place
One down and many many to go. How about Big Cabin, Oklahoma on US69 South between the Will Rogers (I-44) Tpke and Adair, OK. Nice little hump of an overpass to hide behind you curs.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.