50% of Towns Revenue Generated From Traffic Tickets

In the past four years, police in Gauley Bridge -- which has 614 residents, according to the 2010 Census -- have issued more than 6,000 speeding tickets. That's more than any other city or town in the state, according to the state Division of Motor Vehicles.

Somebody took the scam a little too far and caught the eye of other scammers who didnt appreciate all the attention.

The West Virginia State Police have seized boxes of records and several computers as part of an investigation into the Gauley Bridge Police Department, said Fayette County Prosecuting Attorney Carl Harris.

Link


The best part is the cops say they're just doing their job protecting the town from speeders:

"What part of 25 miles per hour and 45 miles per hour do people not understand?"

Yet, their concern cant be all that genuine:

"We even give them 9 miles per hour over."

I guess the cops dont really understand 25 or 45 mph either since to them it's 34 and 54mph.

Typically what happens in speed traps is the locals set an artificially low speed limit on a roadway that should have a much higher speed limit. So while they're suggesting that they are saving lives by coming down hard on those that are exceeding their 25 mph limit, what they're probably failing to mention is that the actual safe travel speed on the roadway is much higher and they just reduced it in order to divert innocent driver's hard-earned cash into their own coffers.

I read a DPS study once that suggested that new roadways should have no speed limits posted so that the "natural" speed of travel can be observed, and then the speed limit set at or just under that "natural" speed. I think this makes good sense because often speed limits are set too low or even too high. There are a few country roads around here on which the speed limit is 70 but the natural traffic flow is closer to 60 because the roads are narrow and sight lines are poor and people just instinctively travel slower because of it. Likewise, often there are beautiful, wide, clear roads with excellent sight lines that have preposterously low speed limits.

reply to post by thisguyrighthere


I dunno. 9 mph over is the standard for most traffic cops. If it is 25, they don't pull you over until you hit 35. If it is 70, they don't pull you over until you hit 80. There are reasons for that. Different size tires, calibration of speedometers, calibration of radar guns, angle of the radar gun to the moving vehicle, etc. So, they always leave that gray area unticketed.

Now, if citizens in the town KNOW the speed limit, and if the cops are not issuing frivolous 1 or 2 mph over the limit tickets, then I agree with the cops!

The only suspicious part to me is this: in a town of 600 people, you cannot issue 6000 tickets. Its impossible. SO, they must be targeting out-of-towners. If they pulling the sheriff roscoe p. coltrane tactics and setting up a speed limit sign on the edge of town where nobody expects it, and then busting the out-of-towners as they are surprised by the sudden drop, then that is definitely worthy of a criminal investigation.

This is common practice among many of the smaller police departments and sheriff's office in the US. These law enforcement agencies have a mission to "serve and protect", however, many of them are tasked by their administrators with producing revenue. Moreover, municipalities will intentionally set speed limits in a confusing manner to facilitate traffic control enforcement in increasing the rate at which they collect these revenues.

reply to post by getreadyalready


There is an anecdote in the comments where a poster claims ticketing for 1-2 miles over is common.

But that's just a faceless anecdote so it's worth what it is.

Originally posted by getreadyalready
Now, if citizens in the town KNOW the speed limit, and if the cops are not issuing frivolous 1 or 2 mph over the limit tickets, then I agree with the cops!

The only suspicious part to me is this: in a town of 600 people, you cannot issue 6000 tickets.

I just assumed from the article that we're talking about a traditional speed trap here. In your typical speed trap, the locals are well aware it's there and they don't speed. It's all the travelers passing through that get bagged. It's usually some podunk hole-in-the-wall town along a major highway. The speed limit may be 60 or 70 mph, but they reduce it to a ridiculous 30 mph where it passes through their town borders even though the town proper may be blocks away from the highway. Then they camp out along their little stretch of gold and issue ticket after ticket. Typically when you call the judge you'll get the story about "deferred adjudication", if you pay the ticket and a modest (ha!) "processing fee" and you don't get another ticket within 30 days then they will be happy to dismiss it (keeping your money of course). It is one big scam. Totally legal of course, but it's still a scam.

reply to post by SavedOne


I think you are spot on! I think that is exactly what is going on here.

I grew up about 15 minutes from this town, locally it is a well known fact that you avoid this town at all cost. In fact, I received one of my only speeding tickets ever from Gauley Bridge cops. They lie, they 'll pull you over for going even one mile over or under the limit.

Too many people in Mayberry speeding, eh?

... and of course there ARE NO QUOTAS for these seemingly exceptionally 'active' officers either....

600 people... 6,000 tickets.... yeah... it isn't about the money.. it's about "the law."

This town is enroute to a lot of tourist destinations, that is where they get the bulk of their tickets, from unexpecting tourist passing through. I know of at least one local business that moved because it began hurting their business.

A friend of mine just beat one of these speed traps.

The town put a truck parking zone just at the edge of the town so trucker would not park in town. but they also put the speed limit sign right in the middle in the truck parking area.so that if a truck parks in the right place they completely hide the speed sign

Then all the cops have to do is wait for a truck to park right and start writing tickets.

The friend of mine has a vidio camera that records every thing as he drives down the road. he got a ticket and beat The ticket because the speed sign was hidden behind a truck and the town "forgot to paint the speed marking on the road as per state rules"
He wonders how long this has been going on as this is a heavy traveled highway going through town,
PS the friend is a retired cop.

This speed trap is on highway 395 in the sierras.

I got pulled over for 6mph over the speed limit, then they insisted on searching my vehicle because it was 10pm; after I refused they brought a dog to sniff around my vehicle; when I have no criminal or drug history.

I was polite and friendly the entire time; yet they felt the need to search me and collect more revenue.

Protect and Serve, thanks our boys in blue.

They shouldn't be able to fine someone for a traffic ticket unless the person has multiple violations. Safety violations shouldn't be considered a crime, unless it is excess.

That would eliminate the temptation of these towns to hit people with traffic violations in order to generate revenue.

Originally posted by poet1b

They shouldn't be able to fine someone for a traffic ticket unless the person has multiple violations. Safety violations shouldn't be considered a crime, unless it is excess.

That would eliminate the temptation of these towns to hit people with traffic violations in order to generate revenue.

I agree, if traffic tickets didn't generate revenue, how many traffic tickets would the cops write then?

You can count on barely any, maybe they would actually start doing their work, disrupting crime.

Too bad they are far behind the times and havent caught onto the real revenue maker:

Speed cameras now a $77 million dollar industry in Maryland

Prince Georges County is planning on adding as many as six new cameras each month this year, with the goal of having 72 by July, according to the Washington Examiner. In the short period of time the county's current 20 cameras have been in place(since September) they have issued over 93,425 citations (face value $3.7million).

stopbigbrothermd.org

Originally posted by xstealth
I got pulled over for 6mph over the speed limit, then they insisted on searching my vehicle because it was 10pm; after I refused they brought a dog to sniff around my vehicle; when I have no criminal or drug history.

I was polite and friendly the entire time; yet they felt the need to search me and collect more revenue.

Protect and Serve, thanks our boys in blue.

edit on 2/3/12 by xstealth because: (no reason given)

Should've told them they can't search until your attorney was present. That would've sent them packing.

This has been going on in Florida for ages. There is a section of highway that is commonly used to travel between I95 and I75, that is renowned for this activity. They fluctuate the speed limit from as high as 60 down to 25 with little to no notice. It such a well known scam that AAA trip-ticks used to list the speed traps on this road. The worst part is that the officers, who know full well that its nothing more then a scam, have the balls to put on a great act about how badly your speeding that they should arrest you for reckless driving. Finally the state made them actually post the changes in speed limit in advance of the traps, but they still give as little notice as is humanly possible.

Bedford, TX speed trap. There was this School Zone Speed sign in Bedford, TX that was blocked by trees. You couldn’t recognize it for what it was until you were 20 feet from it. No one can possibly recognize this sign, react to it, and slow down to 20 mph before you are already in the school zone. The only people not getting tickets travel this street all the time. They know the sign is there. I don’t drive this street very often so I didn’t know the sign was there and I couldn’t see it. This ticket was expensive. This occurred May 2012. As of Dec 2012 the trees have been trimmed. You can now see the sign. But not last spring. I took pictures that prove everything I just said. During the spring I bet this city can easily make $1000 a day in fines from this one location.