Here?s the list, which includes both the cities and the number of speed traps per 100,000 residents according to the NMA study.
The 25 most speed trap-ridden cities in the U.S. and Canada
1. Livonia, Michigan 27.9
2. Windsor, Ontario 17.6
3. Orlando 17.2
4. Las Vegas 11.1
5. Denver 10.9
6. Reno, Nevada 10.4
7. Tampa 8.9
8. Colorado Springs, Colorado 7.2
9. Austin, Texas 6.1
10. Sarasota, Florida 6.1
11. Portland, Oregon 5.8
12. Jacksonville, Florida 5.4
13. San Antonio (Bexar County) 5.3
14. Fresno, California 5.0
15. Hamilton, Ontario 5.0
16. New Orleans 4.7
17. Toronto (Greater Toronto Area) 4.7
18. Houston (Harris County) 4.0
19. Edmonton, Alberta 3.3
20. San Diego (San Diego County) 3.2
21. Indianapolis 3.2
22. San Jose, California 3.1
23. Chicago (Cook County) 1.9
24. Los Angeles (Los Angeles County) 1.6
25. New York (Five boroughs) 0.9
sauce: http://www.leftlanenews.com/slow-down-the-25-most-speed-trap-ridden-cities-in-the-u-s-and-canada.html (http://www.leftlanenews.com/slow-down-the-25-most-speed-trap-ridden-cities-in-the-u-s-and-canada.html)
This list seems fairly accurate to me.
I do believe Livonia and Windsor, same with Hamilton and Toronto. Everyone goes the speed limit or less whenever I'm truckin across through there. I stick to the speed limits when I'm in a truck, anyway, unless it really causes a traffic hazard.
When I rented the C6 in Las Vegas, my friend warned me to stick to the speed limit around the city, and I did. There were many cops on the roads. He actually got a ticket in Bumfuck, California.
I can say from experience that at least one of the cops around Indianapolis is a total hardass out to write as many tickets as possible, but he seemed like he was just following standard procedures, so I can safely assume that all the cops around Indianapolis are specifically trained to be hardasses.
Chicago is the only one I don't quite agree with. Everyone on the highways there drives at least 10 over, even the trucks. I think Chicago cops are really too busy looking for murders and drug dealers to be very strict with speed limits.
I think that smaller towns probably escaped under the radar (pun intended) on this list.
Sure, Livonia's bad: but not as bad as Allen Park or Pleasant Ridge: both towns that can claim jurisdiction over about a half a mile of interstate freeway, and are always there writing tickets.
Yeah, small towns can be far worse than any of the cities mentioned here. 4 cities in FL mentioned, but by far the worst speed trap in the state is little Waldo, FL.
Denver is pretty bad. On the way to Pueblo and back I had to pull back from warp speed as I entered both D-town and Springs.
Quote from: R-inge on September 04, 2011, 02:48:04 PM
Denver is pretty bad. On the way to Pueblo and back I had to pull back from warp speed as I entered both D-town and Springs.
You never learn, man.... :rockon:
Surprised that so many big cities are on the list. For one thing, traffic moves like molasses through most of them because of congestion and, generally speaking, police officers have much bigger things to deal with than traffic violations. In my experience, you have to be doing something outrageously stupid to get pulled over in a large city.
Quote from: Lebowski on September 04, 2011, 08:47:55 AM
Yeah, small towns can be far worse than any of the cities mentioned here. 4 cities in FL mentioned, but by far the worst speed trap in the state is little Waldo, FL.
I never speed through small towns.
Quote from: TurboDan on September 05, 2011, 06:14:20 PM
Surprised that so many big cities are on the list. For one thing, traffic moves like molasses through most of them because of congestion and, generally speaking, police officers have much bigger things to deal with than traffic violations. In my experience, you have to be doing something outrageously stupid to get pulled over in a large city.
I think that tells you a lot about the quality of the list. Most of these lists are worthless and this one is no exception.
Quote from: Rupert on September 05, 2011, 06:16:00 PM
I never speed through small towns.
Grow a set... :rage:
Quote from: dazzleman on September 05, 2011, 06:19:50 PM
Grow a set... :rage:
When I got that ticket back in November, the cop told us why smaller towns ticket far more than a larger city (like Akron versus the surrounding suburbs, townships and cities). They do it because they have nothing to do. They generally have fewer calls and can afford to sit there and ticket. The cop said if he were to bust people going as high as 15 over, he'd be ticketing all day, and there are too many calls for that. You have to be doing something really crazy to get pulled over.
They're probably factoring in speed cameras, which I bet some of these cities have a lot of.
Quote from: Colonel Cadillac on September 05, 2011, 08:48:01 PM
They're probably factoring in speed cameras, which I bet some of these cities have a lot of.
Cities are more likely to have red light cameras.
Our red light cameras double as speed cameras. If you pass through the intersection on a green light and are speeding, you get a ticket. If you run a red light you get a ticket. If you run a red light while speeding you get TWO tickets.
Quote from: 93JC on September 05, 2011, 08:57:31 PM
Our red light cameras double as speed cameras. If you pass through the intersection on a green light and are speeding, you get a ticket. If you run a red light you get a ticket. If you run a red light while speeding you get TWO tickets.
I don't consider those real tickets. They're more like parking tickets.
Quote from: dazzleman on September 05, 2011, 08:59:44 PM
I don't consider those real tickets. They're more like parking tickets.
For us poor folk they're $70 and that's a trip to the grocery store.
"Us poor folk"?! Hahahahaha, that's a good one!
And his point was that you don't really earn those tickets, not that it's too cheap for his rich self to care.
Quote from: Colonel Cadillac on September 05, 2011, 11:39:12 PM
For us poor folk they're $70 and that's a trip to the grocery store.
They're $95 here in Cleveland/East Cleveland.
Quote from: Rupert on September 06, 2011, 12:00:39 AM
And his point was that you don't really earn those tickets, not that it's too cheap for his rich self to care.
Yes. My comment had nothing to do with cost. I don't give a fuck about the cost of a regular ticket.
Getting a ticket in the mail isn't the same as getting pulled over and having a cop hand you the ticket at the side of the road. And the camera tickets don't go on your driving record. They're much more like parking tickets.
Also, $70 at the grocery store = high roller.
Nice to see Texas is keeping the dream of freedom alive with three cities on the list. I drive through a notorious speed trap every day on the way to work (610 loop by the Astrodome) There are always cops on the inside shoulder there waiting for speeders to come over the rise. And they never seem to lack for customers. :rolleyes: People never learn.
Quote from: dazzleman on September 06, 2011, 12:53:28 AM
Getting a ticket in the mail isn't the same as getting pulled over and having a cop hand you the ticket at the side of the road. And the camera tickets don't go on your driving record. They're much more like parking tickets.
I wouldn't be so sure about that. I had my carrier run my driving record a few years ago and they saw a camera ticket I received in Arizona.
Quote from: MiataJohn on September 06, 2011, 08:29:39 AM
Nice to see Texas is keeping the dream of freedom alive with three cities on the list. I drive through a notorious speed trap every day on the way to work (610 loop by the Astrodome) There are always cops on the inside shoulder there waiting for speeders to come over the rise. And they never seem to lack for customers. :rolleyes: People never learn.
Radar detector to the rescue!
I'm honestly surprised so few people actually have one. When I drive from New Orleans to Connecticut and vice versa, I typically avoid a couple of speed traps because my radar detector lets me know a cop is shooting radar up in the distance.
Quote from: Colonel Cadillac on September 06, 2011, 02:05:33 PM
Radar detector to the rescue!
I'm honestly surprised so few people actually have one. When I drive from New Orleans to Connecticut and vice versa, I typically avoid a couple of speed traps because my radar detector lets me know a cop is shooting radar up in the distance.
I've had one in each car for the past 27 years. Trouble is they suck when it comes to Laser.
Quote from: MiataJohn on September 06, 2011, 02:47:36 PM
I've had one in each car for the past 27 years. Trouble is they suck when it comes to Laser.
Yes. There is enough laser out there now that I gave up and sold my nice Passport 8500. I keep thinking abouy buying a new cheaper one just because I do so much highway driving now.
Quote from: Eye of the Tiger on September 03, 2011, 03:09:55 PM
Chicago is the only one I don't quite agree with. Everyone on the highways there drives at least 10 over, even the trucks. I think Chicago cops are really too busy looking for murders and drug dealers to be very strict with speed limits.
I don't actually doubt it since that includes all of Cook county. The city more or less doesn't give a shit if you speed (65/70 is pretty much the defacto speed limit on the 290/90 within the city limits) but the suburbs in Cook are a fucking mess with cops that are pretty much bored out of their mind and itching for something to do.
Quote from: Xer0 on September 06, 2011, 03:47:19 PM
I don't actually doubt it since that includes all of Cook county. The city more or less doesn't give a shit if you speed (65/70 is pretty much the defacto speed limit on the 290/90 within the city limits) but the suburbs in Cook are a fucking mess with cops that are pretty much bored out of their mind and itching for something to do.
That's a good point. I was thinking more of the interstates, but when I drive down North Ave into the suburbs, practically nobody speeds. On top of that, the speedlimits are stupidly low on that road, like 35-45. It is extremely hard for me to drive that slow on a road like that.
Quote from: Eye of the Tiger on September 06, 2011, 03:46:22 PM
Yes. There is enough laser out there now that I gave up and sold my nice Passport 8500. I keep thinking abouy buying a new cheaper one just because I do so much highway driving now.
Laser is always used from a stationary car, most commonly in the daylight, and almost always in the line of sight to approaching traffic. Your best indicator of radar being used up ahead is the brakelights from traffic in front of you.
Quote from: Soup DeVille on September 06, 2011, 04:03:11 PM
Laser is always used from a stationary car, most commonly in the daylight, and almost always in the line of sight to approaching traffic. Your best indicator of radar being used up ahead is the brakelights from traffic in front of you.
Yes, the brake light radar detector is pretty good, but sometimes they hode in the damn woods where you can't see them unless you look in your mirror.
Quote from: Eye of the Tiger on September 06, 2011, 04:05:03 PM
Yes, the brake light radar detector is pretty good, but sometimes they hode in the damn woods where you can't see them unless you look in your mirror.
Rarely is that laser though. I'm not sure why, but I doubt its a technical reason.
The prevalence of laser is why I have never bothered to get a radar detector. I might go for it if I had a map of the west with jurisdictions that use laser noted. Coming through Douglas County, they use laser, slow down... kind of thing.
Quote from: Soup DeVille on September 06, 2011, 04:13:45 PM
Rarely is that laser though. I'm not sure why, but I doubt its a technical reason.
An officer told me he hates using Lidar from behind because it takes longer to chase the speeder down.
Quote from: Soup DeVille on September 06, 2011, 04:03:11 PM
Laser is always used from a stationary car, most commonly in the daylight, and almost always in the line of sight to approaching traffic. Your best indicator of radar being used up ahead is the brakelights from traffic in front of you.
Around here they either lurk just over the hill (or where the freeway rises to cross a surface street) on the median so youhave very little warning or they pull over on a drive, cross street or whatever and stand by an obstruction like a tree or whatever and nail you. In light traffic the brake lights are often a poor indicator especially when the cop is lurking becasue likely the other guy, probably going the speed limit, didn't see them either.
Quote from: Gotta-Qik-C6 on September 07, 2011, 05:27:46 AM
An officer told me he hates using Lidar from behind because it takes longer to chase the speeder down.
When I got a ticket from a cop using lidar, it took him 1.2 miles from where he clocked me to pull me over.
I live with a guy from Livonia. He talks a lot about how many cops and cameras there are there. But he's somehow never gotten a ticket and he drives like a complete jackass.
Quote from: MiataJohn on September 07, 2011, 06:15:45 AM
Around here they either lurk just over the hill (or where the freeway rises to cross a surface street) on the median so youhave very little warning or they pull over on a drive, cross street or whatever and stand by an obstruction like a tree or whatever and nail you. In light traffic the brake lights are often a poor indicator especially when the cop is lurking becasue likely the other guy, probably going the speed limit, didn't see them either.
99% chance they commonly use the exact same spots over and over again though, right? Right down to the point where they've worn ruts into the shoulder getting in and out of their hidey-holes.
Quote from: Soup DeVille on September 07, 2011, 03:13:06 PM
99% chance they commonly use the exact same spots over and over again though, right? Right down to the point where they've worn ruts into the shoulder getting in and out of their hidey-holes.
Yup, and they still aren't wanting for customers.
In the five or so times I've been pulled over, not once has it been by a cop using radar or laser.
The problem/good thing about laser is that you can pretty much see the cop when he's shooting the laser, because he has to point the laser gun straight at you.
With radar, cops can be sneakier because the signal widens down the road.
That said, the only time my detector has shown a laser alert is when I've been on a certain section of road next to the airport.
All my other experience is with radar, and the detector is a big help when it's dark.
My friend with the Lotus Elise has a radar/laser blocker in the front bumper. He's gotten pulled over before and the cop just said he couldn't get any reading at all (knew he was speeding, though). They talked about it for a while and the cop was thinking it might be because it's such a low and kind of stealthy car, plus it's all black. My friend went along with it for like 5 minutes until he finally told him about the jammer. :lol:
(I'll have to ask him about what kind of jammer it is. Most google searches say they don't work or that they're a federal offense..)
Yeah... Jammers aren't legal. Either the cop was ignorant, or your friend is full of shit.
Quote from: Rupert on September 08, 2011, 08:21:43 PM
Yeah... Jammers aren't legal. Either the cop was ignorant, or your friend is full of shit.
Eh, don't think he's the type of guy to lie about that. (he's over 35, not some young gun. engineer, making bank, has done tons of custom work to his Elise, etc.) And I saw a radar detector system built into the dash/instrument panel when I was in the car a couple of months ago. If I remember I'll ask him next time I see him.
He is British, so maybe he's just got that arrogant Brit attitude about American laws. :lol:
Laser jammers are legal.
Active radar jammers are too and although passive ones arent, they are minimally effective
Laser jammers are legal?! Since when?
Quote from: Rupert on September 08, 2011, 09:07:29 PM
Laser jammers are legal?! Since when?
Since always.
emitted laser light is not under the purview of laws concerning the emission of radio signals, which is what makes radar jammers illegal.
Lasers fall under, of all things; Food and Drug administration regs.
But, whether the device itself is legal is only part of it: it is still illegal in every place I know of to interfere with an officer in the legal conduct of his duties (or something to that effect); and an officer could very well consider that to be interference under that statute.
Ah.
I figured there was some law more specific to laser and radar speed measurement along the lines of the general anti-interference law. I didn't think the laws regarding jammers in cars were broad enough to fall to FDA and FCC.
Quote from: Soup DeVille on September 08, 2011, 08:34:36 PM
Laser jammers are legal.
Active radar jammers are too and although passive ones arent, they are minimally effective
Just what is an active radar jammer, as opposed to a passive one and why would one be legal and the other not be? Don't they both send out an electronic signal in the same bandwidth as police radar?