First Speed Trap Ahead roadside event! - RR620, Lakeway, TX
Okay, so I finally had my first SpeedTrapAhead roadside event!
I was on my way home from work Friday evening, when I saw a cop pull up in the parking lot of the old Lake Travis Elementary. Sure enough, he turned around and poised himself to radar back toward the northbound traffic.
About 1,000 feet up the road, there was a perfect spot for me to set up. So, there I stood, holding my 2′ x 2′ hand held sign, waving my other hand and pointing at the sign.
You should have seen all the brake lights lighting up after drivers saw my sign. I am pretty confident that my alert kept several drivers from getting a speeding ticket.
You might think that speeders SHOULD get a ticket. While I would agree in many cases, that’s not what SpeedTrapAhead is all about. The average Joe doesn’t really deserve an expensive ticket, and the resulting increase in insurance premiums. We’ve all been a little heavy on the foot from time to time.
Those that ARE deserving of a ticket are probably zooming past me so quickly that they don’t even SEE my sign. They’ll get a ticket anyway — deservedly.
My sign holding causes people to slow down and think about how fast they are really driving. Most of the response I got from drivers and passengers was positive. A few folks even stopped and commented on what I was doing. I got lots of ‘honks’ and ‘thumbs-ups’. The picture in this post was taken by a supportive passerby. “Just Awesome! Thank You!”, was the response in her email. Another guy who lived in “The Hills” stopped and chatted for a bit. “You guys are AWESOME”, were the first words out of his mouth. He was concerned about unwarranted or outrageously expensive tickets as a way for cities to fatten their income and supplement their budget. Most jurisdictions have laws that set restrictions on how much of the department’s budget can be derived from traffic citations; but, those laws are rarely checked or enforced.
I’ll be out again soon! Any time, any place I see a cop blasting out radar, I’ll be not too far away, blasting out my message.
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April 23rd, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Good for you! I agree that chronic lead foots deserve what they get, but most of us got that phone call just as we were leaving for an appointment — or got stuck behind some road construction — or something else that cut into our planned time behind the wheel. Keep up the fight against those municipalities who fund their mayors’ salaries on the backs of poor road design!
April 29th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Imagine my surprise when I was researching Lakeway speed traps when I see the face of Officer DeBrow on your home page. I received an unjust ticket from him today. I am always careful in Lakeway, so I was in total shock when he pulled me over. Traffic was heavy on Lohmans Crossing. As soon as I saw the school zone sign, I decellerated immediately as safely as I could because of being tailgated, and he gave me a ticket for speeding in a school zone the second my tires crossed the school zone entrance line. He even admitted he clocked me before I entered the zone, so it appears he was getting ready to pounce. I am not a speeder, and I think his method of catching me was out of line. I will be the first to admit if I am violating the law, but I plan to fight this ticket as I did everything humanely possible to brake when necessary and even came to a complete stop less than 100 feet from the first line as traffic had stopped for a school crossing guard. My only decision will be whether to ask for a judge or jury trial. Thank you for your site.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:44 pm
How long do you stay out on the road, holding up that sign? Can’t you just stick it in the ground, and move on? I admire your efforts, but don’t you have other things to do?