STORM2K

AAA Battles Speed Traps With Billboards

POSTED: 9:46 a.m. EDT August 13, 2003
UPDATED: 10:05 a.m. EDT August 13, 2003

WALDO, Fla. -- The auto club AAA is fighting speed traps in a big way -- with billboards.

AAA is paying for billboards outside the north Florida towns of Waldo and Starke to warn drivers of speed traps.

The organization has been battling Waldo police Chief A.W. Smith for years over his ticketing practices. Last year, the town averaged more than 500 speeding tickets a month.

Smith said the billboard idea is stupid and noted AAA didn't even put its name on the sign

As one who travels US 301 through Waldo and Starke, I can tell you believe the signs! It goes from 65 to 30 in about 200 yards. I guess it's the towns major source of income.

i have heard about smith and his speed traps. i can't remember the name of the documentary about it, but i remember watching it.

we have a few towns like that........there are atleast a good handful of towns that rely on hundreds of speeding tickets for the annual income....Northland Ave into Little Chute is one prime example (55mph down to 30mph instantly!)

Everything they could of said has to be true! I learned the hard way that 30 means 30 in those towns.... I got a ticket for 34 in a 30 coming into town....give me a break!

Small towns are the worst on speeding tickets, especially along highways ... I know someone who got a speeding ticket doing 36 mph in a 35 mph zone!!!... Ridiculous .

I drive fast so if I get caught so be it. This area though is notorios for it's speed traps. They set the signs so close that people that aren't expecting it have a tough time slowing down in time even if they aren't speeding. It's all about the money!

my brother in law got a ticket in florida by the hwy. patrol for doing 71 in a 70. go figure.

I drove through Starke once and never will again. The police in that town remind me of sharks. Literally you only drive about a mile but in that 30 mph zone I must have seen 10 cops circling the area like they were hunting down prey.

That is totally disgusting to me....sickening. I've never recieved a speeding ticket in 25 years of driving, but those "money grubbing" cops give good deputies such as my cousins Dwayne and Scott a bad name.

How can you respect officers and police departments that "set up" law abiding citizens....heck, they are as corrupt and evil as the criminals. What's occurring in Waldo and Starke is nothing short of legalized robbery

The question is then: How many miles per hour above the speed limit should be acceptable for getting a ticket?

Lindaloo wrote:my brother in law got a ticket in florida by the hwy. patrol for doing 71 in a 70. go figure.

That is disgusting... I mean how can you even see 1m over on your speed indicator if your not constatly glued to it.... AAAHHHH I think you would have to look in front of you some time!

tom, here in pascagoula the local traffic police allow you 10 miles over the limit.


i know bron. lol.

* giggleing* All I can think of is......Roscoe P. Coltrane..... LOL!! ~K

Now 1 MPH over the speed limit is not acceptable. 5 MPH - maybe. 10 MPH - yes go get 'em. IMO it is too anal (pardon the termonology) to expect someone to watch for other drivers, watch for road obstacles, listen for sirens, watch their dashboard, AND be ware of their surroundings and the weather all at the same time! :o :o :o That is just plain crazy IMHO.