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.

• The Worst Speed Trap Cities In The United States
• Watch Your Wallet When Driving Through These 10 States
• 7 Ways To Shut Down A Speed Trap
• Jericho, Arkansas: Pay Your Ticket Or Get Shot
• Speedtrap.org Redesigned: A New Focus On Usability

It was something that we thought would make the site more useful to fans of the site. Unfortunately, due to various issues, the redesign was not a hit with the general public. Since the redesign launched, traffic has steadily dropped and user complaints became more frequent.

Adding the mapping feature was a technical challenge and required some compromises on our end. For example, we originally had nearly 60,000 speed traps listed in the United States and Canada. However, since many of the speed traps were not usable by Google Maps we had to drop about 40,000 of them — including all the Canada speed traps.

The overall usability of the site also suffered with various issues popping up from time to time, including but not limited to speed traps showing up in the wrong locations and the search function failing to generate relevant results.

Because of these issues, we decided to redesign the site from the ground up with a new focus on making it as easy as possible to find and add speed traps to the site. We also wanted to make it easy for people to browse the site and discuss speed traps.

It was a tough decision, but we ultimately decided that removing the maps from the site was the best way to achieve these goals. We believe that the mapping feature is a better fit for the increasingly competitive device market (GPS and mobile) than for our website.

We want to be the place where people go to share, talk and vent about speed traps online instead of just being a speed trap notification service.

Because of this decision, we were able to add back the missing speed traps including all the Canada speed traps.

With the new design, we were also able to remove some barriers to interaction. Previously, you had to register for an account before you could add a speed trap. That is no longer the case. With the new site, anyone can easily add a speed trap in less than a minute. To keep the quality of submissions reasonable, each speed trap is moderated by a real person — but speed traps will generally go up quickly.

Another barrier to communication was the commenting system. We’ve decided to start the new site on a clean slate. Our database of comments had become cluttered with spammy links, references to previously corrected spelling/grammar errors, and complaints about inaccurate maps (which no longer exist on the current site and would confuse new users.)

The volume of comments was so large that it was impossible to separate the wheat from the chaff. It’s unfortunate that we’ve lost the good and helpful comments that have been left on the site, but we hope people will start new conversations on the redesigned site.

To encourage above-average comment quality and discourage spammers, commenting is the one thing on the site that requires a user account. The account is free though and it takes less than 30 seconds to sign up. If you already had an account on the old site, it will work on the redesigned site as well — we transferred the accounts into the new system.

On the old site, because comments were tied to specific users, many users chose not to comment out of fear that their username would be noticed by local authorities and they would become targets of unwelcome attention. On the new site this is no longer an issue because all comments will be anonymous.

Overall, we think you’ll find the new site substantially easier and more fun to browse. If your area doesn’t have many speedtraps, we encourage you to add any that you know of. It’s extremely simple to do — just click “Add A Speed Trap” on any page of the website.

Check it out here: The National Speed Trap Exchange

• The NMA Website Gets A New Look
• Watch Your Wallet When Driving Through These 10 States
• The Worst Speed Trap Cities In North America
• New NMA Blog Commenting System
• Vote For The Worst Speedtrap In Your State

A big reason why speed trap towns are able to stay in business for years is that they generally leave the locals alone. After all, if the tickets are going to out-of-towners, there’s no reason for the local citizens to be upset.

In that scenario, the town and its citizens benefit from the extra money generated by the tickets. Meanwhile, the out-of-towners who get the unfair tickets are unable to vote the city’s leaders out of office and unlikely to complain — due to the hassle of driving back to the small town to fight a ticket.

The police department in Jericho, Arkansas decided to ignore this reality and treated even the locals with disdain. Now, thanks to their greed, the speed trap has been exposed in the national media.

In case you missed it over the holiday weekend, here’s an excerpt from the Associated Press story on MSNBC:

It was just too much, having to return to court twice on the same day to contest yet another traffic ticket, and Fire Chief Don Payne didn’t hesitate to tell the judge what he thought of the police and their speed traps.

The response from cops? They shot him. Right there in court.

Payne ended up in the hospital, but his shooting last week brought to a boil simmering tensions between residents of this tiny former cotton city and their police force. [...]

It was anger over traffic tickets that brought Payne to city hall last week, said his lawyer, Randy Fishman. After failing to get a traffic ticket dismissed on Aug. 27, police gave Payne or his son another ticket that day. Payne, 39, returned to court to vent his anger to Judge Tonya Alexander, Fishman said.

It’s unclear exactly what happened next, but Martin said an argument between Payne and the seven police officers who attended the hearing apparently escalated to a scuffle, ending when an officer shot Payne from behind.

This lead to a refreshingly honest and direct quote from a local sheriff’s office:

“You can’t even get them to answer a call because normally they’re writing tickets,” said Thomas Martin, chief investigator for the Crittenden County Sheriff’s Office. “They’re not providing a service to the citizens.”

The article also gives a bit of history on how the town became a speed trap:

Sheriff’s deputies patrolled Jericho until the 1990s, when the city received grant money to start its own police force, Martin said.

Police often camped out in the department’s two cruisers along the highway that runs through town, waiting for drivers who failed to slow down when they reached the 45 mph zone ringing Jericho. Residents say the ticketing got out of hand.

“When I first moved out here, they wrote me a ticket for going 58 mph in my driveway,” 75-year-old retiree Albert Beebe said.

The frequent ticketing apparently led to the vandalization of the cruisers, and the department took to parking the cars overnight at the sheriff’s office eight miles away.

The police force has been temporarily disbanded while the town is in the news, but there are signs that there may be more corruption beyond setting up a blatant speed trap:

Meanwhile, sheriff’s deputies want to know where the money from the traffic fines went.

Martin said that it appeared the $150 tickets weren’t enough to protect the city’s finances. Sheriff’s deputies once had to repossess one of the town’s police cruisers for failure to pay on a lease, and the state Forestry Commission recently repossessed one of the city’s fire trucks because of nonpayment.

City hall has been shuttered since the shooting, and any records of how the money was spent are apparently locked inside. No one answered when a reporter knocked on the door on Tuesday.

If you haven’t already read the full story, check it out here.

• 7 Ways To Shut Down A Speed Trap
• How Not To Run A Speed Trap
• The Worst Speed Trap Cities In North America
• The Traveling Public Can Go Elsewhere
• Avoid Speeding Tickets: The Value Of A Good Radar Detector

Most police agencies try to keep their speed traps somewhat subtle. That way they can collect as much money as possible without having to deal with angry motorists going to local government or the media.

Romulus, Michigan police obviously don’t subscribe to that philosophy.

Check out an excerpt from this delightful story:

Romulus police officers are being so aggressive that another police agency is warning drivers to be wary of a so-called “speed trap.”

Detroit Metropolitan police are outing Romulus officers who are pulling over drivers for speeding in the area of Interstate 94 around the airport.

[...]

The Wayne County Airport Authority has even begun circulating fliers that read, “The Romulus Police Department has dramatically increased its patrols at the entrances and exits to Detroit Metropolitan Airport, using unmarked vehicles. Please be careful to observe all speed limits and traffic laws.”

Airport officials said they plan on turning the flier into a billboard and will leave it up until the Romulus police stop targeting those entering and leaving the airport.

The airport police chief sent out an e-mail to officers telling them to park in front of a Romulus police patrol car if you see one and turn on overhead lights to warn drivers to slow down.

Read the full story here.

• How To Fight A Michigan Speeding Ticket
• Jericho, Arkansas: Pay Your Ticket Or Get Shot
• The Worst Speed Trap Cities In North America
• 7 Ways To Shut Down A Speed Trap
• The Worst Speed Trap Cities In The United States

By James Baxter, NMA President

According to public opinion, there are 57,000 speed traps in the United States. That’s how many speed traps have been listed by individuals on SpeedTrap.org, a website sponsored by the NMA. That averages out to 1140 speed traps per state.

Of course some states lead the charge, like California with 5399 speed traps. On the other end of the spectrum is Alaska with “only” 51 speed traps. These are not numbers you’re likely to find published in state tourism brochures. However, they are numbers you might want to consider when planning your next vacation.

Speed traps are an economic phenomenon; they are a source of revenue for state and local governments, local court systems and police departments. Adding extra juice to the financial pie are federal funds targeted on speed enforcement. This is a double dipping extravaganza where police departments not only bag the fines but also get federal funds for manpower, equipment, and related expenses.

We the people get to pay for this on both ends, through our taxes and then the ticket fines and insurance surcharges.

The chart at the bottom of this post lists the number of speed traps in each state. You might want to write a letter to the governor and/or tourism agency in one or more of these states, perhaps a state you were planning on visiting, and let them know that while you’re happy to spend money on goods and services you are not keen on being milked by the state patrol or a small town ticket mill. Consequently, you are reconsidering your travel plans.

You will probably receive a condescending bureaucratic reply saying something like “if you abide by our traffic laws you should have no occasion to be stopped and cited by one of our fine police officers.” This, of course, is nonsense and they know it.

But, bottom line, they’ll get the message “if you’re going to screw the traveling public, the traveling public can go elsewhere.”

• Watch Your Wallet When Driving Through These 10 States
• Why Don’t Politicians Care About Transportation Issues?
• 7 Ways To Shut Down A Speed Trap
• How To Fight A Michigan Speeding Ticket
• How Not To Run A Speed Trap

Nothing can ruin a vacation more quickly than an undeserved speeding ticket. As a public service, the National Motorists Association (NMA) has prepared a list of the worst speed trap cities in all fifty states.

This list was created from the NMA’s SpeedTrap Exchange (www.speedtrap.org), a site devoted to identifying the location of speed traps.

The results were drawn from a combination of two sources.

The first source was an online poll on the NMA network of websites (www.motorists.org & www.speedtrap.org). The poll asked visitors to choose the worst speed trap city in their state. The second source was an analysis of the postings on www.speedtrap.org over the last two years.

All motorists would be well-advised to keep these locations in mind while driving this holiday:

ALABAMA

Worst Speedtrap: Montgomery
Dishonorable Mention: Birmingham, Huntsville, Uniontown

ALASKA

Worst Speedtrap: Anchorage
Dishonorable Mention: Fairbanks, Juneau, Seward

ARIZONA

Worst Speedtrap: Tucson
Dishonorable Mention: Gilbert, Phoenix, Scottsdale

ARKANSAS

Worst Speedtrap: Little Rock
Dishonorable Mention: Augusta, Fayetteville, Parkin

CALIFORNIA

Worst Speedtrap: Fresno
Dishonorable Mention: Fullerton, Los Angeles, San Jose

COLORADO

Worst Speedtrap: Colorado Springs
Dishonorable Mention: Aurora, Denver, Fort Collins

CONNECTICUT

Worst Speedtrap: Enfield
Dishonorable Mention: Danbury, Groton, New Canaan

DELAWARE

Worst Speedtrap: Newark
Dishonorable Mention: Dover, Felton, Fenwick Island

FLORIDA

Worst Speedtrap: Waldo
Dishonorable Mention: Lawtey, Ocala, Orlando

GEORGIA

Worst Speedtrap: Pendergrass
Dishonorable Mention: Atlanta, Duluth, Marietta,

HAWAII

Worst Speedtrap: Honolulu
Dishonorable Mention: Kailua, Kaimuki, Maui

IDAHO

Worst Speedtrap: Boise
Dishonorable Mention: Idaho Falls, Lewiston, Post Falls

ILLINOIS

Worst Speedtrap: Naperville
Dishonorable Mention: Carol Stream, New Lenox, Peoria

INDIANA

Worst Speedtrap: Indianapolis
Dishonorable Mention: Bloomington, Culver, Fort Wayne

IOWA

Worst Speedtrap: Des Moines
Dishonorable Mention: Ames, Cedar Rapids, Davenport

KANSAS

Worst Speedtrap: Shawnee
Dishonorable Mention: Leawood, Overland Park, Topeka

KENTUCKY

Worst Speedtrap: Louisville
Dishonorable Mention: Lexington, Middlesboro, Owensboro

LOUISIANA

Worst Speedtrap: Woodworth
Dishonorable Mention: Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, Metairie

MAINE

Worst Speedtrap: Kittery
Dishonorable Mention: Augusta, Falmouth, Portland

MARYLAND

Worst Speedtrap: Frederick
Dishonorable Mention: Columbia, Hagerstown, Waldorf

MASSACHUSETTS

Worst Speedtrap: Worcester
Dishonorable Mention: Lowell, Newton, Springfield

MICHIGAN

Worst Speedtrap: Livonia
Dishonorable Mention: Ann Arbor, Redford, Warren

MINNESOTA

Worst Speedtrap: Minneapolis
Dishonorable Mention: Bloomington, Elk River, Plymouth

MISSISSIPPI

Worst Speedtrap: Starkville
Dishonorable Mention: Jackson, McComb, Tupelo

MISSOURI

Worst Speedtrap: Foristell
Dishonorable Mention: Curryville , Independence, St. Charles

MONTANA

Worst Speedtrap: Missoula
Dishonorable Mention: Darby, Havre, Joliet

NEBRASKA

Worst Speedtrap: Omaha
Dishonorable Mention: Bellevue, Grand Island, Lincoln

NEVADA

Worst Speedtrap: Las Vegas
Dishonorable Mention: Henderson, Pahrump, Reno

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Worst Speedtrap: Manchester
Dishonorable Mention: Nashua, New London, Somersworth

NEW JERSEY

Worst Speedtrap: Paramus
Dishonorable Mention: Bridgewater, Monroe Township, North Brunswick

NEW MEXICO

Worst Speedtrap: Albuquerque
Dishonorable Mention: Cuba, Las Cruces, Rio Rancho

NEW YORK

Worst Speedtrap: Brooklyn
Dishonorable Mention: Batavia, Rochester, Staten Island

NORTH CAROLINA

Worst Speedtrap: Raleigh
Dishonorable Mention: Charlotte, Greensboro, Wilmington

NORTH DAKOTA

Worst Speedtrap: Grand Forks
Dishonorable Mention: Fargo, Thompson, Washburn

OHIO

Worst Speedtrap: Columbus
Dishonorable Mention: Akron, Canton, Lindale

OKLAHOMA

Worst Speedtrap: Caney
Dishonorable Mention: Moffet, Moore, Kiowa

OREGON

Worst Speedtrap: Portland
Dishonorable Mention: Beaverton, Eugene, Springfield

PENNSYLVANIA

Worst Speedtrap: Horsham
Dishonorable Mention: Feasterville, Harrisburg, Warrington

RHODE ISLAND

Worst Speedtrap: Providence
Dishonorable Mention: Johnston, Pawtucket, Warwick

SOUTH CAROLINA

Worst Speedtrap: Greenville
Dishonorable Mention: Columbia, Gaffney, Society Hill

SOUTH DAKOTA

Worst Speedtrap: Sioux Falls
Dishonorable Mention: Rapid City, Wagner, Yankton

TENNESSEE

Worst Speedtrap: Nashville
Dishonorable Mention: Memphis, Piperton, Smyrna

TEXAS

Worst Speedtrap: Houston
Dishonorable Mention: Arlington, Austin, Estelline

UTAH

Worst Speedtrap: Sandy
Dishonorable Mention: Roy, Salt Lake City, West Valley City

VERMONT

Worst Speedtrap: Wilmington
Dishonorable Mention: Barre Town, Island Pond, Norwich

VIRGINIA

Worst Speedtrap: Virginia Beach
Dishonorable Mention: Chesapeake, Emporia, Norfolk

WASHINGTON

Worst Speedtrap: Bellingham
Dishonorable Mention: Black Diamond, Ritzville, Seattle,

WEST VIRGINIA

Worst Speedtrap: Summersville
Dishonorable Mention: Charleston, Gauley Bridge, Hurricane

WISCONSIN

Worst Speedtrap: Rosendale
Dishonorable Mention: Appleton, Milwaukee, Waukesha

WYOMING

Worst Speedtrap: Thermopolis
Dishonorable Mention: Cheyenne, Jackson Hole, Rawlins

Although these are the worst speed trap cities in the nation, arbitrarily low speed limits combined with heavy enforcement means there are many other areas in which drivers should be alert to avoid traffic citations.

Motorists who wish to enjoy their travelling time this weekend should visit www.speedtrap.org for a full list and specific locations of speed traps.

• Watch Your Wallet When Driving Through These 10 States
• The Worst Speed Trap Cities In North America
• 7 Ways To Shut Down A Speed Trap
• Ohio Cashes In On Freeway With Artificially Low Speed Limit
• The Traveling Public Can Go Elsewhere

• Have Your Say: NMA Forums Launched
• Speedtrap.org Redesigned: A New Focus On Usability
• Reader Feedback: What Do You Want To See?
• 10 Most Popular NMA Blog Articles In 2009
• How To Fight A Michigan Speeding Ticket

The list was compiled from items on our site and from www.thenewspaper.com. TheNewspaper.com is an excellent source of news on motorists issues and we encourage anyone who is interested in the politics of driving to subscribe to their news feed.

10) City Rakes In $1,136 In Traffic Ticket Fines Per Resident

The city of Pendergrass, Georgia pulled in $558,020 in traffic fines despite only having 491 residents.

9) Police Wrongly Seize Car From An Innocent Woman

Police in Alexandria, Louisiana seized the car belonging to a motorist who had committed no crime. A pair of police officers ran the license plate on Ruby Wallace’s 1995 Honda Accord and found the department of motor vehicles (DMV) had listed it as canceled. Wallace was without her car for days until the DMV admitted their database was wrong. As fees mounted, neither the Alexandria Police nor the DMV would take responsibility for the mistake or pay the towing company the $430 it demanded before it would return her Honda.

8 ) Texas Toll Authorities Double-Bill 50,000 Drivers & Have No Plans To Stop In The Future

Since January, one out of every 600 vehicles was double-billed on Texas toll roads. Instead of fixing the problem, the authorities were satisfied with only reducing the frequency of the error to one out of every 2000 drivers.

7) Maryland Pushes for $2000 Speed Camera Ticket, Virginia Follows

Officials in both Maryland and Virginia are planning to introduce legislation allowing cameras in so-called highway work zones that would issue automated tickets worth $500 in Virginia and $2000 in Maryland. Lawmakers are following the lead of Illinois which last year introduced $1000 freeway speed camera tickets that have generated significant revenue.

6) Texas DOT Considers Lowering Speed Limit To Boost Toll Revenue

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has agreed to consider lowering the maximum speed limit on a stretch of interstate highway that competes with a planned toll road. TxDOT’s agreement with the company collecting the tolls also ensures no improvements can be made to nearby roads unless the agency issues payment to the company with taxpayer funds.

5) Georgia Speed Trap Caught Using Ticket Quotas

A local television station has uncovered evidence that a notorious Georgia speed trap has been using traffic ticket quotas. WGCL-TV reports that DeKalb County Police officers are told during roll call that they must issue 65 citations a month and make 25 arrests.

4) Traffic Court Judges Caught Fixing Tickets

New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram announced the filing of corruption charges against nearly half of the Jersey City’s municipal court judges for “fixing” tickets for their friends and family.

3) Wisconsin Appeals Court Decision Grants Police License to Stop Innocent Motorists

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals recently ruled that police do not require a reason to stop a car registered in the name of someone with a suspended license. The court ruled that as long as a police officer makes no attempt to determine whether a spouse or other family member might be behind the wheel, he is free to pull over whoever happens to be driving.

2) West Virginia Looks to Boost Revenue with Court Costs

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals moved to boost revenue from traffic tickets by warning lower courts that they must collect the maximum possible amount in court costs from each defendant. As a result of the clarification, any motorist charged with, for example, both speeding and failure to signal must pay the $160.50 assessment for court costs twice — for a total of $321 — even though the motorist appeared only once in court.

1) Motorists Forced To Let Officers Draw Blood Samples At DUI Stops

An increasing number of police departments are allowing their officers draw blood samples from motorists under suspicion of a DUI/DWI. The officers have limited medical training and it’s the officer’s choice between a breathalyzer or a blood test.

If you found this list worth reading, please take the time to share it with others. Click the “Share This” button below to email it to friends or submit it to a social news site.

• Maryland Police Refuse To Pay Speed Camera Tickets
• 19 Interesting Driving-Related Legal Rulings From This Year
• Motorists Forced To Let Officers Draw Blood Samples At DUI Stops
• Watch Your Wallet When Driving Through These 10 States
• Michigan Cities Break The Law To Generate More Speeding Tickets

• The police department wants more money for equipment and salaries.
• The City wants more money to avoid raising taxes.
• Local residents and businesses often go along with speed traps because they reduce local taxes, and besides, they’re usually not the drivers who get the tickets anyway.

A “win win” situation for everybody in town, but not for the poor saps that suffer fines, points and insurance surcharges in the name of “safety.” However, any person, if persistent enough, can take meaningful action to eliminate the classic speed trap. There are multiple approaches to bringing public and private wrath down upon the perpetrators of speed traps.

1) Appeal To Local Business Owners

With sufficient prodding local businesses can be effective in lobbying for the end of community speed traps. One way to prompt this kind of lobbying is to convince business owners that the local speed trap is costing them money, or is about to cost them money.

This can be done by sending letters to local businesses and the chamber of commerce stating that you and anyone you can convince accordingly, will not be shopping in that community until the use of speed traps is discontinued.

2) Get The Attention Of The Local Media

Letters should be sent to the local newspapers, radio and TV stations, and to the mayor or any other head of the government that sponsors the speed trap.

The combination of economic sanctions (loss of business) and embarrassment of local officials may generate pressure to eliminate the speed trap, or at least reduce its most abusive characteristics.

3) Purchase Small Advertisements In The Paper

If the media ignores the story, you can still get the word out in other ways. To add a little momentum to your efforts you may want to purchase small ads in surrounding community newspapers that identify the speed trap and demand that things change.

4) Find Other Speed Trap Victims To Join The Cause

Ask around the area and find other speed trap victims. The trap has taken money out of their pockets so it won’t be hard to convince them to join the effort. If you generate some additional interest and help, the media and local officials will start to take you more seriously.

5) Request A Traffic Engineering Study

If a local village or city is using a state or county highway as a speed trap you may be able to provoke the state or county officials sufficiently to have them force the end of the speed trap. For example, if the speed limit is severely under-posted you can request a copy of the traffic engineering study that sanctioned such a low speed limit.

You can use a “public information request” or “freedom of information request” to force the release of this study, if the public agency won’t willingly release it. More often than not, no such study exists.

There are exceptions, but all states require a traffic engineering study to support an unusual or abnormally low speed limit. Even if a traffic engineering study exists, it may not support the speed limit posted by the local unit of government.

6) Talk To Your Elected Officials

All elected officials give lip service to the belief that underhanded and exploitative speed enforcement should not be used as a means to extort money from honest responsible citizens. It’s fair game to ask them to put substance behind their words. You have every right to ask your state legislators to pass a law that will reduce, if not eliminate the abuses common to speed traps.

Here are some approaches you can suggest to your state senator or representative:

• Require that any posted speed limit that differs from the standard speed limit for a given type of road or highway be supported by a legitimate traffic engineering study that determines the 85th percentile speed of free flowing unimpeded traffic.
• Establish a limit on the percent of local revenues that any community can generate through traffic fines. Any local unit of government that is generating more than 10% to 20% of its total revenue from fines is abusing traffic enforcement for revenue enhancement purposes.
• Require that a high percentage (75 %) of all traffic fines and related costs be transferred to an unrelated state fund, e.g. public education, emergency relief, or public library aids.
• Prohibit the use of electronic speed measurement devices to enforce speed limits that have not been determined through the use of an official traffic engineering study.
• Require specific and proper training for any person using electronic devices for speed enforcement purposes.
• Provide that any motorist charged with a traffic violation has the automatic right for a change of venue to a court of record (from a local administrative or municipal court).
• Prohibit the use of electronic speed measurement devices to clock vehicles within 100 yards of a speed limit sign that reduces the speed limit.

By giving your legislator concrete and realistic suggestions you will have made it difficult for him or her to just ignore your request. Getting a bill drafted and introduced is still a long way from getting it passed into law, but it sure is a good start in the right direction.

7) Challenge Your Speed Trap Ticket In Court

On a very personal and individual level there is yet another way to challenge and oppose speed traps.

If you’re caught in a speed trap, you need to challenge your speeding ticket in court.  Just paying the ticket to avoid the hassle will only perpetuate the system by giving the municipality exactly what it wants and expects: your money.  Challenge your ticket in court with the full knowledge that you may have to appeal your conviction to a higher, more legitimate court. This accomplishes a variety of objectives:

1. You force the operators of the speed trap to take their time and money to prosecute you.
2. If you are well prepared, a competent judge may decide to formally chastise the speed trap operators, especially if they have violated an existing state law.
3. Finally, as a reward for your hard work, there’s a good chance the charges against you will be dismissed.

This article was adapted from information on the NMA’s speed trap registry website, www.speedtrap.org, a listing of speed traps submitted by drivers across the country.

• The Traveling Public Can Go Elsewhere
• Michigan Cities Break The Law To Generate More Speeding Tickets
• How To Fight A Michigan Speeding Ticket
• The Worst Speed Trap Cities In North America
• Watch Your Wallet When Driving Through These 10 States