National
Motorists
Association

The Worst Speed Trap Cities In North America

We put out a press release yesterday that organized some of the data we’ve collected in running the National Speed Trap Exchange (www.speedtrap.org) over the past decade. It’s a list of the worst speed trap cities in the United States and Canada. Here’s an excerpt from the release:

For years, drivers from every U.S. state and Canadian province have reported speed trap locations to the National Motorists Association’s National Speed Trap Exchange. As families squeeze in vacation time together this Labor Day weekend, before the school year begins in full swing, the roadways will be a very busy place for travelers.

With the combination of heavy holiday traffic, federally-funded ticketing campaigns, and financially-strapped local and state governments, motorists have good reason to feel like they have dollar signs painted on their vehicles.

To help families avoid a depressing and expensive holiday traffic ticket experience, the NMA has identified two cities in each state and province using data directly from the National Speed Trap Exchange.

The first city listed has the most user-reported speed traps regardless of population size, while the second has the most speed traps for cities with populations of 100,000 or less.

To see which cities in your state made the list, click through to the full press release on our press page.

Another Ticket Camera Success Story

By James Baxter, NMA President

The report is in from Baytown, TX, on the results of the city’s red light ticket camera program.

The camera proponents are going to be hard pressed to lavish praise on the results:

• 40 percent increase in total accidents
• 75 percent increase in injury accidents
• 37 percent increase in “t-bone” right angle crashes
• 83 percent increase in rear-end collisions

These disastrous results should really be no surprise. Independent studies (no financial interest) of the automated intersection ticketing programs have repeatedly shown an increase in rear- end collisions, more injuries, and contrary to the claims of ticket camera proponents, no reduction in right-angle crashes.

But, tomorrow, just as sure as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west there will be a government official or clueless reporter making the claim that red light cameras improve traffic safety.

Baytown officials are being presented with a petition to put ticket cameras to a vote in November.

If these officials are really concerned about the well-being of their constituents they won’t wait until November to put the cameras down the road.

If they do wait until November, the voters would be well served to treat incumbent officials as they do the red light camera program and put them down the road too.

The Rise Of The Ticket Camera “Front Group”

By Jim Baxter, NMA President

Recently, groups opposed to the use of ticket cameras have discovered that companies that promote and profit from the installation of ticket camera systems have been setting up fake organizations, or “front groups” to convey the illusion that there are local citizen groups who favor automated ticketing of motorists.

There is also the attempt to imply that these citizen based organizations are solely concerned about improving traffic safety.

Despite a seemingly blind mainstream media, it has been obvious to even casual observers that organizations like “Stop Red Light Running” were just shills for the ticket camera industry.

Until recently, the formation of local pro-camera ticket groups, was not recognized as a centrally orchestrated campaign to sell or protect ticket camera installations. However, recent discoveries and comparisons show that 15 or more websites for a like number of different communities are the creation of one company with ties to Automated Traffic Solutions (ATS), a leading purveyor of ticket camera systems.

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Motorist Activism: Should You Start A Petition Drive?

By Jim Baxter, NMA President

Given the frequent disconnect between citizens and their elected representatives, there is often a great deal of difference between what the government is doing and what the public wants the government to do.

This is most evident when the government passes and enforces laws that primarily benefit the government, expand its powers, and rewards public employees; this at the expense of everyone else.

In some states and among many local communities, the general public can circumvent unresponsive elected officials through a petition process where unpopular laws are repealed or popular laws passed, by a vote of the citizenry. It’s also a process where majorities can throttle unpopular minorities.

No state is more notorious for its “Initiative and Referendum” antics than is California.

Every election cycle sees multiple issues placed on the ballot, many involving millions of dollars in costs for collecting petition signatures, promoting, or opposing, referendums and follow-on legal battles.

At the other end of the spectrum are small villages with a few hundred residents where 100 signatures can put an issue on the ballot.

Recently, the dichotomy between government interests and citizen interests has come to a head over the use of ticket cameras and other automated devices intended to generate traffic citations. (Not news to anyone who even occasionally reads this blog.) Contrary to official proclamations that these ticket machines are being used to enhance traffic safety the general public knows they serve no purpose but to generate revenue for government coffers.

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