Landon Wilburn, 11, has a future as a cop – a traffic cop.

The youngster, who used to shout at speeders to slow down as they drove through the Stone Lakes subdivision in Louisville, now has taken matters into his own hands.

Dressed in a reflective vest, wearing a bicycle helmet and armed with an orange Hot Wheels brand radar gun, he points and records the actual speed of passing traffic.

Landon also carries a flashlight with a built-in siren.

“When I saw it happening, I got the biggest kick out of it,” said resident George Ayers, 61. “People were locking up their brakes when they saw him.”

Many in the subdivision are frustrated that motorists tear through the neighborhood at 55 mph despite signs posting a 25 mph limit.

Officials said the city will install speed humps in the neighborhood if 70 percent of residents agree and are willing to put up half the money.

Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.

Every interstate speeding ticket issued since January 1 could be thrown out after a ruling in Coopertown, Tennessee.

A notorious Tennessee speed trap may find itself losing every penny collected from its major source of speeding ticket revenue. According to a city court judge’s ruling last week, because Coopertown had no jurisdiction to issue tickets on Interstate 24. Now lawyers involved in the case want to file a class action lawsuit to force the town to refund every dime it has collected in violation of the law.

Coopertown achieved national fame after its mayor, Danny Crosby, was first thrown out of office only to be reinstated upon appeal. According to court testimony, Crosby instructed police officers to “ticket soldier boys” from nearby Fort Campbell in addition to focusing on out-of-towners as well as hispanic drivers, because they were “mostly illegal, anyway”.

“These instances could be labeled as and could be said to range from bigotry, sexism or utter foolishness to insidious discrimination or the purposeful violation of the constitutional rights of others,” Judge Laurence M. McMillan, Jr. wrote in his 2006 decision reinstating Crosby. “How much of the facts of this case can be resolved as small town politics and how much may constitute the actual misuse of power is a decision to be made by this court, but in the future may be made by the voters of the city of Coopertown.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Officials in Beulah, Michigan improperly posted a speed limit sign for 35 mph, says Sarah Johnson.

The blue expanse of Lake Michigan looms just beyond the trees, fields and golf fairways that line Benzie County’s Sutter Road.

For motorists, it’s a stirring drive along a state-designated scenic road that between September 2006 and last week carried a 35 miles per hour speed limit posting.

Dozens of drivers who during that time traversed the nearly three-mile stretch near the northwest corner of Crystal Lake found themselves saddled with speeding tickets. Improperly so, contends one Traverse City woman.

Sarah Johnson’s research discovered that Benzie officials improperly posted the 35 mph limit, and she plans to fight a ticket recently issued to her husband.

“(The limit is) not enforceable. It wasn’t put up legally and it has no grounds,” Johnson said.

A Benzie sheriff’s deputy on July 7 ticketed Johnson’s husband for going 40 mph on the road, but she contacted the state and found the county had no authority to lower the limit from 55 mph.

The Benzie County Road Commission “misinterpreted” a Michigan Department of Natural Resources recommendation of a lower speed limit for scenic roads, said Lt. Gary Megge of the Michigan State Police traffic services unit.

State police and other agencies weren’t involved with a traffic study for Sutter Road before the change in the posted limit, Megge said, so the lower posting wasn’t binding.

Read the rest of this entry »

City police officers in one Florida county will have unrestricted authority to make traffic stops outside of their jurisdiction beginning Aug. 1.

Broward County’s new policing-without-boundaries plan would allow officers to patrol any of its cities, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.

Sheriff Al Lamberti has discreetly provided agreements to police departments giving city officers unfettered authority to enforce traffic laws countywide – even while off duty and running errands in civilian clothes.

So far, Sunrise, Coral Springs, Margate and Coconut Creek Counties have signed the plan. Fourteen cities and areas patrolled by sheriffs are also part of the policing agreement, including: Cooper City, Dania Beach, Deerfield Beach, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, unincorporated Broward, the airport and seaport, Lauderdale Lakes, North Lauderdale, Oakland Park, Parkland, Pembroke Park, West Park, Pompano Beach, Tamarac, Weston and Southwest Ranches.

According to the Sun-Sentinel, Coral Springs Police Chief Duncan Foster said the plan will help his city get tough on belligerent and careless drivers.

“Many times we’ll have officers outside their jurisdiction and people will just be flagrantly driving by,” Foster said. “There was little we could do.”

Fort Lauderdale city commissioners are entertaining the idea and considering trying the plan out for six months, limiting police intervention to only cases of drunk and reckless driving.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yea… Well, it had to come to a decision sooner or later. And that decision was that I was “Guilty” of violating Texas Transportation Code 544.006 .

You know, when I first got this ticket, I thought, “It’ll never fly!” How could they be issuing a ticket under that statute for holding a homemade cardboard sign. That part of the law is really meant to keep people from erecting their own signs that are meant to appear as a real traffic sign. For instance, the farmer who made and installed fake speed limit signs on the road by his farm. And, this sign — another example of what the law was intended to prevent.

But, when I’m being a little defiant (okay, a lot), and the cop is being… well, a COP… You can expect that things are going to get a little hairy. Ask me a question, then interrupt me mid-sentence to demand identification… Well, That’s just rude. Be rude, and expect others to treat you accordingly.

Anyway, there’s not much to say about the outcome, except that there ARE some plain and simple facts that I would like to make known about the whole thing:

The court found me guilty of violating a Texas statute;

The judge will let the prosecutor play a video and make comments and pose questions throughout; but, he won’t let the defense replay portions of the same video during cross examination;

The slower Officer DeBrow draws a sketch, the more overtime everyone gets paid;

Witnesses can outright LIE so long as the jury doesn’t know otherwise (and it’s hard to disprove some things when the judge won’t allow you to replay part of a video);

The bailiff can take catnaps while the jury deliberates;

I need more practice at being my own lawyer;

AND,

The “Thin Blue Line” DOES exist!

So, all in all, everything’s cool now. The jury cut my fine by 65%! (Because I requested the jury determine the fine amount, not the judge.) There WERE additional costs associated with the jury trial. Overall, I paid more than if I’d just rolled over and taken it. But it was worth it. I got to participate in the system — something far too few people take advantage of. And, I learned alot along the way. The main thing being: I need to redesign my sign. I’ve got some good ideas already. Obviously, it’s gotta be something that doesn’t even come close to resembling a traffic sign. Easy enough — How about the profile of a police car, with “Speed Trap Ahead.org” all in one line down the side of the car?

I’ve always found that “You almost never get PAID for learning something; You seldom learn something for FREE; and, There is usually a cost, of some sort, associated with learning.” I don’t mind paying for my education. In fact, I consider the price I paid for the multitude of things I learned to be quite a deal!

I wonder what new things I’ll learn from my next encounter?

Be careful out there! Drive safely; and, Pay attention to your surroundings.