Thursday, May 24, 2007

Speed Traps, or "Here's the 10-20 on the Smokeys"

In an earlier post, I mentioned the notorious speed trap known as Estelline, Texas. Well, it isn't just small towns that entrap motorists. The National Motorists Association has come out with its list of the top speed traps cities in the U.S. Here are the top ten worst places to speed:

  1. Detroit & Suburbs
  2. Colorado Springs
  3. Houston
  4. Orlando
  5. Nashville
  6. Ann Arbor
  7. Albuquerque
  8. Washington
  9. Denver
  10. Virginia Beach

The NMA gets reports of speedtraps on its web site, www.speedtrap.org. While these are the places that top the reports, they say that many other places have arbitrarily low limits and heavy enforcement, so motorists should beware. Obviously, public safety is not the primary reason for such traps; rather revenue and harrassment seem to be the motivating factors.

Just another reason to watch your speed. And while many cops are good citizens and public servants, too many others are in the business as a legal way to bully others. Who needs that hassle?