The Worst Speed Trap Cities In The United States
Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel times of the year. As people prepare for their holiday trips, they should be on the lookout for speed traps.
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.
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“Speeding” is a pretty empty term. It means that a driver was exceeding a posted limit. It has nothing to do with unsafe driving.
A “speed trap” is any area where (1) speed limits are set arbitrarily low or (2) speed limits drop more rapidly than recommended by engineers or (3) there is a convenient hiding spot or (4) enforcement is undertaken with the intent of generating cash or (5) speed enforcement is very aggressive without regard to any actual danger posed by drivers.
Since limits are almost universally set well below the 85th percentile and because whole enforcement agencies have been created to generate cash, #s 1 and 4 are the leading reasons that we have speed traps.
Define Speed Trap.
Either you are speeding or you are not. If you speeding then how is that a trap.
In Texas, the town of Lavon just north of Dallas received special attention as the WORST speed trap in the DFW area in a local news broadcast on the topic a couple years ago. The local cops were reported to give $100+ tickets to non-residents for exceeding the speed limit by just 1 mph on nearby highway 78.
I have been careful to avoid it since then…
I live in Massachusetts and have been driving a stretch of route 2 almost daily for over 20 years. It wasn’t until the other day while I was bringing my son to school that something interesting dawned on me. Massachusetts claims it gives out speeding tickets for safety reasons. If that’s true, why do we NEVER see an officer, be it state police or city, with a radar gun in hand during the winter?
Another favorite tactic is setting up a speed trap at speed transition zones. Also, ticketing motorists traveling through from other areas is a popular ploy. People will usually then just pay the ticket rather fighting it in court.
So you see it is all about maximizing return on ticket revenue and little to do about making our roads safer.
Some examples of speed propaganda.
Speed traps, try South Carolina. My family was driving through very late one night (around 3:00 AM) and got pulled over by a state trooper outside of Myrtle Beach. (it’s about 10 hours from our home in Tennessee to Myrtle Beach, thats why the late night driving). We weren’t speeding but still got the ticket and then got mailed lots of offers from lawyers if we wanted to fight it.
It’s a no win situation.
Be exceptionally careful on south and north 275 in Michigan, the strethch by the airport. I go through there twice a day and see 4 to 6 police cars pulling over whom ever including semis one after another with the help of another police car up on the overpass, he radios ahead instructing the others. I have no doubt that this is big monies for all of this area. I wish you luck, and a very Merry Christmas!
Another one is going toward Columbia, SC traveling on I-26 between Peak Exit and Lake Murray Blvd. Exit. Unmarked car maintains certain speed in the passing lane creating bumper to bumper stress for those trying to get to work on time blocking access to any passing and then when you do find an opening, when you “gun it” to get through, that’s when you see the blue lights. It’s called the pressure cooker stradegy.
Wilmingtom, NC deserves the recognition as a speed trap area. Twice while passing through Wilmington on the way to Shiloh, NC to visit my invalid brother I have been stopped. Once in my motor home, which for the year model only has lap belts, I was given a ticket for improper passenger restraints. Even wil I protested to the officer the lap belts were standard equipment from the factory and were legal as the full restraint law did not cover the year the motor home was manufactured. But thanks to an attorney with the “Good Sam’s Motor Club,” I was able to fight this one.
The other ticket two years later was for of all things, going too slow and obstructing traffic flow. The roads had detours due to construction and being unsure of the area I was trying to make sure I was going in the right direction. But even after the explaining to the officer my situation, it was to no avail.
Being from Alabama, I would advise against driving through Wilmington, NC with an out of state tag. I believe the police and court system there know most people will not drive back to NC for a traffic ticket and this only enriches the city budget.
Speed trap on Little York Road in Vandalia Ohio. You come down a steep hill with a bend and there is one of the meter maids of vandalia. Two tenths after the meter maids your out of vandaili. No way, unless you ride your brakes you can go down the hill at 35. Think with the crime rate of Vandalia, they could upgrade their meter maid force and make them reall police men. Oh well, guess its more important to give tickets than to protect the citizens.
First, J. Wilson is a tool!
Second, Ohio’s worst speed trap town is a little dump called Cleveland Heights. The traffic division here is the biggest part of the PD and they generate thousands per month for the city. Don’t spend your money here and don’t drive through here.
Who can afford to speed with the price of gas so high. It is impractible.
All rural limits should be posted at the 95th percentile, updated on a biannual basis.
All traffic fines, court costs, administrative costs, fees and any other “fee” should go to a public corporation at the state level, those funds used to fund scholarships to state universities. Take the money out of the equation and speed traps will evaporate.
Caney, OK is not even on the highway but about 1/2 mile away.
Drivers break the law because of the lack of confidence in them.
That’s where the non mandatory 85% method of setting speed limits was supposed to help. Many state and municipalities pay no attention to it.
This “one size fits all drivers speed” reaks of the nonsensical notion much like one size pants fits all males or one size bra fits all women.
While the vast majority of traffic tickets center around speeding, a recent news media article http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/19/1992.asp pretty much dispelled that notion and police departments have known that for a long time but its a cash cow that continues to bare large sums of revenue.
Why would you fess up to the truth when the truth will cost you voluminous amounts of money. We all know what drives this mess. We’ve acknowledged the corruptive nature of money because we have all kinds of legalities in our society attempting to prevent it. Yet we’ve turned a blind eye towards this corruptive practice of revenue in traffic control. Tell me what the HELL I’m missing here!
As someone posted ….”If you aren’t doing anything wrong, you have nothing to fear.” The mantra of Good Germans everywhere….no longer applies in the good ‘ole U. S. of A. It used to be a bedrock of our justice system but our legal system has become too sophisticated for that now. As the Supreme Court will consider whether we will continue the right to bear arms….that might go next. Whittling away at our rights and the Constitution has become a national past time for some groups.
I noticed the Caney, OK won the best speed trap in Oklahoma with the runner ups rightfully named. At least in Oklahoma the contest pretty much hit the nail right on the head. I’m ready to see a law passed that forces all municipalities to report their traffic revenue on a regular, timely basis and then reported via the Internet. No more hiding behind the lack of figures. Where’s the transparency?
“If you do the Speed Limit, you won’t get a ticket”
And if the woman raped in Saudi Arabia had been walking with a male relative, she would not have been sentenced to lashes and jail time.
“If you are going over the Speed Limit, then you are breaking the law”
And it is against the law in Guam for a virgin to marry.
Give me a break! A bad law is a bad law and people break laws they don’t respect or have any particular use for.
speed trap? so what? if you are going over the speed limit, then you are breaking the law. Even though many agencies un- officially give a 5 mph leeway, it is still breaking the law of going over the speed limit if an agency decides to enforce speed limit within that 5 mph window.
“You have to be pulled over to get a ticket.”
No, you don’t. Ever heard of photo radar?
You have to be pulled over to get a ticket.
[...] [NMA via USA Today] [...]
Doing the speed limit in Summersville, WV is no guarantee you won’t get a ticket. Especially if you are from North of the border.
Just to let everyone know I-10 just west of Baton Rouge is closed due to a well fire near the interstate. Probably a 2 hour delay to go around.
Everyone should visit newromesucks.com for an example of a hardworking individual who made a difference for Ohio’s infamous problem town. That first post about “do the speed limit and you wont get a ticket” reminds me of Jims “New Rome Lover Alerts”
Thanks NMA for all you do! Louisiana is a bigtime player in the speedtrap business and Woodworth is very deserving of their recognition. Keep up the good work, speedtrap legislation is on its way down south.
Tell that to this farmer who got a speed camera ticket for doing 85 mph in his farm tractor. http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/09/908.asp
Makes you wonder if he would have gotten off if he had been doing 20 mph in a car? Probably not, he would be considered “guilty first”.
“If you aren’t doing anything wrong, you have nothing to fear.”
The mantra of Good Germans everywhere.
If you do the speed limit, you won’t get a ticket.