Speed Trap Ahead

28 Responses to “About Us”

You can subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.

1. hlan says:
   November 26th, 2008 at 11:31 am

   Hey I think you’re doing an awesome thing. I see you in Lakeway and Hudson Bend all the time.
   While I don’t usually speed, sometimes I do for one reason or another. – but it certainly is not during rush hour!
   Thanks again!

2. Sheriff's Deputy says:
   January 11th, 2009 at 9:29 am

   I see nothing wrong with this type of “activism”. I do, however, have a problem when citizens get upset because they are being caught doing something that they know is wrong and get in trouble for it. The mean reason why citations are issued these days are to curve a drivers reckless behavior through what gets their attention the most, “hard earned money”. How many people have lost their lives in reference to the actions of other reckless drivers? Just because the State Of Texas says that speed does not constitute reckless driving doesn’t mean that it is not reckless to speed.

   The Texas Department of Transportation has several individuals who are way smarter in mathematics then I am, to rate the roads for speed. When you exceed those speeds by 10-20-30 miles over the posted limits, you change their calculations of how your vehicle should hold the road, and its ability to stop.

   These calculations are important for the kid that is chasing a ball, weather he is unsupervised or not doesnt make a difference, kids will be kids. Driver inattention is the leading cause of traffic collisions, even a driver not paying attention to his speed.

   I can tell you that I hate issuing citations, not just because I have received a few in my day, but because its extremely dangerous. We encounter so many different people on the road who have done things even worse then a minor traffic violation. If you had a day, to encounter half of the horrible people that we encounter, i think that you would find some respect for being stopped by the police. Unless of course you are the people that we hunt, murders, rapist, serial killers, ETC.

   I respect many persons opinions of others, but please be careful about condoning a behavior that i have to see claim the lives of good people everyday.

3. admin says:
   January 11th, 2009 at 1:52 pm

   Hello Deputy Barnes; and, thank you for your comments.

   The Texas Department of Transportation has several individuals who are way smarter in mathematics then I am, to rate the roads for speed. When you exceed those speeds by 10-20-30 miles over the posted limits, you change their calculations of how your vehicle should hold the road, and its ability to stop.

   Speed limits are determined by traffic studies on actual roads, using the 85th percentile rule, not by some master of physics doing calculations with a slide rule. It’s actually the drivers themselves that determine speed limits.

   Driver inattention is the leading cause of traffic collisions, even a driver not paying attention to his speed.

   Exactly! That’s #1 in the list of reasons behind SpeedTrapAhead.org

   …please be careful about condoning a behavior that i have to see claim the lives of good people everyday.

   I am NOT condoning ANYthing of the sort! I AM encouraging people to slow down, to pay attention, not to get a ticket, to keep their money in their pocket, and not to put themselves in the position of being pulled over in the first place.

   Again, thanks for your comments. It’s nice to hear from a law enforcement officer with a little self-restraint, who communicates clearly, without flying off the handle and ranting about anything and everything. I respect that. BTW, I have not received a ticket in many, many years. And, I have NEVER been the cause of any injury/accident. So, I’m not just some person who is unhappy about getting a ticket.

   Everyone! — Slow down, pay attention, don’t get a ticket! — especially if you’re driving through the San Jacinto County/Shepherd/Livingston, Texas area.

4. Catherine says:
   January 16th, 2009 at 12:00 pm

   I’m curious how you were able to get your data. Did you have to submit a Freedom of Information Act request?

   I just got a ticket this a.m. on Enfield Road (#10 on the list of Austin Speed Traps) and am considering fighting it. Even if I don’t, I plan on writing a nice email to the city congratulating them on ending crime across the city and being able to devote so many resources to protecting folks in West Austin from speeders.

   Thanks!

5. admin says:
   January 16th, 2009 at 5:59 pm

   Hi Catherine,

   The Freedom of Information Act allows ordinary citizens access to documents maintained by governmental agencies.

   All that is required to access this information is the submission of an “Open Records Request”. The request does not have to follow any standard format; it just has to be requested “in writing”.

   Here is a document from a Dallas lawyer that is pretty much a FAQ on Open Records Requests.

   Thanks for visiting this site; and, good luck with your ticket. I’d love to hear the outcome of whatever avenue you decide to pursue.

   Lance
   SpeedTrapAhead.org admin.

6. Beth says:
   April 22nd, 2009 at 8:09 am

   Just saw you being handcuffed and arrested in Lakeway. Hope you get out of it. I’d like to know what you are being charged with.

7. Jeff says:
   June 3rd, 2009 at 4:58 pm

   I just got a ticket for going 42 in a 25 on Upper Gap road in Coatesville, PA. I was driving my truck up the hill and was 30 feet from the entrance to my development when I was pulled over. I did not realize I was speeding but, okay, I did break the law. But a ticket for $109?! The officer said he cut me a break and did not give me points. Uh, thanks?

   I guess I feel that since I have a clean driving record, I should have received a warning. I travel the same road all the time and obey the speed limit but the one time I am in a hurry I get hammered. I can count on one hand how many times I have seen a cruiser on this road in the 11 years I have lived here.

   Anyway, how can I warn other drivers of the speed trap? Also, on the ticket he checked off “ESP” as the method of speed detection. What is ESP.

   Thanks.

   Jeff

8. Cindy says:
   June 9th, 2009 at 8:42 pm

   I find it interesting that people get mad that they were caught ‘breaking the law’ and want to blame police officers for doing their job. Police Officers take an oath to “Serve and Protect” and deserve respect. They never know if the person in the car they just stopped for a traffic violation is a dangerous person or not..thus putting their life in danger each and every time they approach a vehicle. I don’t agree with what you are doing on the STA thing and am disgusted by the way people talk about law enforcement in this and the video correspondence. I only pray that those with negative things to say about law enforcement never have to know what it feels like to be in a horrific situation that requires law enforcement assistance. Having to work an accident where children, teenagers or adults are killed from senseless acts of careless driving or family disputes is one that every officer hates to have to approach but they do their job and sometimes they even know the deceased or families of deceased on a personal level. Or what about when a man holds his wife and children as hostages at gun point. Who is suppose to try to calm the situation down so that no one is injured…including innocent bystanders? It’s easy to point your fingers at law enforcement when things don’t go your way but I can’t imagine a world without their protection. I’m PROUD to say that I am the daughter of a Law Enforcement Officer who is well respected by law abiding citizens as well as many family members and friends. He has devoted his life to doing the job that he feels God intended for him to have. Everyone should be fortunate enough to pick a career and never regret the decision they made to take it. To any Law Enforcement Officers who may read this…God Bless you and keep you safe, you are in my prayers daily.

9. shawn says:
   June 12th, 2009 at 10:02 am

   No body says they didn’t appreciate law enforcement for the things they have to do!!! In fact, I think the only thing mentiond is the abuse of power LOTS of officers use. I have plenty of friends that are officers, and family in the military, I don’t have to agree with the governments reasoning to the war, but I do support those who fight it!! There are equal shares of criminals, in law enforcement, government, you name it. But at some point you need to recognise that your father is a bad cop (not saying he is!!), just like the parents down the street realise their son is stealing car radios or candy!! They are out there, uniform or not, I can’t tell an officer I think he is wrong without him beating my ass and arressting me or giving a butt load of tickets because “HE CAN”. I can put an alarm up for criminals breaking into my business, or shoot an intruder whose in my house threatening my family, but you don’t have the ability to have free speech anymore, and you ARE guilty before innocent. This is what I meant by people like you who stand in judgement without knowing the facts. Cindy, You are a follower, this man is a pro-active leader doing SOMETHING for not just a city or state but country. It may not be much in your eyes, but it’s more than saying you had family do it for YOU. I think you should really think about what you say before you post idiotic judgements on this site, and read other posts by others (some ex-law enforcement).

10. Christian says:
    July 16th, 2009 at 1:42 pm

    Interesting opinions here. Sure, nobody feels sorry for people who break the law and get caught…unless those laws are unreasonable to begin with. How would you categorize conditions like where parts of I35 alternate between 55mph and 60mph without any obvious reason or cops that wait at those points hoping to catch people who don’t adjust their speed quickly enough? What about outdated speed limits that have not been updated to consider advances made in cars that allow them to be safely driven at higher speeds? In regards to the 85th percentile rule…is it really true that the only way to get speed limits adjusted is for enough people to get caught speeding on that stretch of road?

11. Jeff says:
    August 24th, 2009 at 6:27 pm

    Cindy, you say you respect the law. What about the constitution? Or sacrifices that were made in the name of “FREEDOM”? And if dealing with other issues you mentioned were so high on the priority list of these officers, why are they wasting so much time harrassing this guy?

    Perhaps there are no unsolved murders, rapes, arsons, or other important issues to deal with in his town? If so, then hats off to them. But for some reason, with geniuses like these enforcing the law his town, I doubt it.

12. Anonymous says:
    September 5th, 2009 at 10:51 am

    I’m sorry to hurt your feelings, but with all due respect, y’all sound like a bunch of pussy-ass cry babies. I am a local truck driver in the Austin area. I have managed to avoid traffic tickets since I earned my CDL two years ago. I do want to say that I hate traffic tickets and speed traps as much as the next guy. However, it’s not really that hard to follow traffic laws. Maybe we don’t agree with them but honestly there is nothing that can be done until they conduct a traffic survey and deciede whether or not to change a posted speed.

13. Cliff says:
    September 21st, 2009 at 8:55 am

    To the site owner, I commend you for putting up this site. After seeing you in action on YouTube, I too have occasionally placed large Speed Trap Ahead signs up in my yard, which is right beside the road. A sheriff started parking in a church parking lot two houses down from me and was using my large oak tree to shield himself from view. I didn’t appreciate either, so I put up a large Speed Trap Ahead sign on my fence. I even put a light under it at night. Soon after I started doing this, I haven’t seen him parking there at all! I’m not sure where he went, but I’m glad he’s not parking in my neighborhood anymore. As far as I know there hasn’t been an accident on this road in years, and even now that he is gone — guess what — still no accidents!

    I noticed a few things in your recent post “I got a ticket from Austin PD” and I would like to point out a few things that might be helpful. You may already know these things, and have reasons for doing otherwise. Nevertheless, I wanted to mention them. I hope they are helpful. I noticed that you signed the ticket. Some states don’t do this, and some do. One approach you may want to take with this is when the servant asks you to sign the ticket, simply state “what will you do to me if I don’t sign it?” If the officer then makes a threat of arrest or puts his hand on his gun or pepper spray, this is coercion which is a major infringement upon free will. If you can get this recorded on tape, I believe that this argument could be added to your case.

    You may also want to look into ridding yourself of your driver’s license altogether. I am learning more and more that in this unlawful system that is currently set up, we have been trapped by our contracts which we have made with the government. If you’ll study America’s history and case law, you’ll see that not unlike many of the licensing requirements in the country today, the driver’s license was originally very limited. By our organic laws, the only ones required to hold a driver’s license are, well, drivers! Only people who drive for hire and profit are required to carry licenses. This includes bus drivers, taxi drivers, etc. If you don’t fall under this category, you don’t need a license to travel. Remember, in law the words “drive” and “travel” have to very distinct meanings. I hope this is helpful to you. And again I REALLY love your website and what you are doing. I’ve bragged about you a bit in our study group. The founders would be happy to see someone keeping an eye on the servants. I encourage you to contact us sometime if you need help with these traffic cases. The leader of our study group has been studying since about 1981 and has had several traffic cases thrown out of court due to jurisdictional economy (the state didn’t want to fight him on it). He knows his stuff front and back and has been an asset to many.

    To Deputy Barnes, contrary to what you’ve been told by your superiors, speeding isn’t wrong. Nor does the act of speeding kill. What kills is the impact of a portion of your vehicle into your cranium or other parts of your body. Perhaps a shard of glass through your heart, etc. etc. Speeding is not a malum in se crime, or a crime that has an injured party. It is not inherently evil or immoral to travel at a fast pace. It is only when I infringe on another person’s liberties that the government should get involved.

    It is up to us as individuals to decide upon a safe speed to travel. When we allow the government to create preventative law in every single case where we MIGHT commit a crime, this provides them with a way to create a law for nearly anything. In such a case as this, we are totally at their mercy and our law books and law libraries fill with an incredible number of laws which are impossible for us to know about, much less follow. This is the case today. One might ask the question, “If we have so many laws, why don’t we live in a perfect world already?” What better way for us to be responsible than to determine our OWN “safe speed?” The police have no right to arrest (stop) us unless we have committed a crime. Unless, we have damaged someone’s life, liberty or property, we have the right of avoidance. That’s right, we have the right to AVOID our civil servants. I’m all for posting speed suggestions just as we post “ratings” for movies. But robbing us based solely on the possibility that we may injure someone — that is WRONG and UNLAWFUL. Not to mention that according to the Constitution, the state can only demand gold or silver as payment — they can’t demand this worthless paper that we currently use. And then there’s the part that says all branches of government shall forever remain separate. Folks, next time you get pulled, go ahead and ask the wayward servant (police officer) what branch of government they are in. Then ask him if he is giving you a summons. The only branch authorized to issue summonses is the judicial branch. Police are a function of the executive branch and are therefore not authorized for this. The speed traps, speeding tickets, etc. are so wrong on so many levels. Personal responsibility is traveling at what you determine to be a safe speed, and being totally RESPONSIBLE for your own actions.

    CarolinaLiberty.com. Aiming at the roots.

    “None are so hopelessly enslaved as those who falsely believe they are free.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

14. david tropea says:
    December 22nd, 2009 at 10:38 am

    You quote several times in your videos about a police officer requesting id, phone numbers etc. that you have the right to provide only your name address and dob. where do we find that legal right? Is it federal or state? I always thought you had to provide a valid state issued identification.

    I applaud your efforts to weed out people who believe they can exercice their authority innappropriately.

15. admin says:
    December 23rd, 2009 at 12:34 am

    Hi David!

    The law I talk about is Texas laws, as set forth in the Texas Penal Code, Section 38.02 (a) and (b). Therein, it clearly states that you commit an offense ONLY if you fail to ‘identify’ yourself (with name, address, and/or date of birth) to an officer WHO HAS LEGALY ARRESTED (or, sometimes, detained) YOU! There is NO requirement to possess ANY kind of ‘official’ identification in Texas! NONE! Most folks DO have some form of government issued form of I.D., but only out of necessity. You need one to buy alcohol, cash a check, drive a car, buy a gun, etc. If you don’t do any of those things, you have no need for an “ID”.

    To me, it’s simply a matter of personal freedom from unreasonable ‘search’. No one has a ‘right’ to know who I am, just because they say so. And further, if they DO have a need/right to know, they can take my word. And, if I’m lying, THEN I’m guilty of a crime.

16. Seymour Law Group says:
    February 8th, 2010 at 9:56 pm

    [Admin note: Although this comment is actually more of a solicitation, I'm leaving it for now. That may change later, depending on the response(s) I get from them.]

    We are a CDL Trucker Ticket Law Firm in California. If you drive for a living and need to Protect Your License and Your Job find us at http://www.truckerdefense.com.
    Trucker Tickets are all we do! Our volume keeps us way below other attorneys who say they do traffic defense. Call them all then hire us! Traffic defense is not about “Dismissals” they are rare. Judges often grant Case Continuances for No-show cops. So you are at the mercy of the cop’s schedule while you waste valuable road time making appearances to avoid a warrant. The best you can do is have skilled attorney negotiations with the officer to present to the court for a cooperative resolution. That’s reality. Cops want to get out of court and Judges want resolutions to rule on. No one wants hearsay testimony and arguments. So in the spirit of Speedtrapahead.org, get help to get a good resolution and keep driving. See our ad in 10-4 Magazine. Truckerdefense.com

17. paul says:
    July 16th, 2010 at 12:15 pm

    I think you should get a bunch of those ‘political campaign yard signs’ (like $1.00 each) and instead of standing there with a sign, just double back and stick one in the ground and get out of there, that way the zombie thug cops dont try to illegally run you in for exercising your constitutional right to petition the government. While I do understand that it should be about safety, its simply about revenue. Check out what is happening in Oakland, CA. Get ready for this in your city! http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0713/oakland-fires-80-police-officers-lists-crimes-longer-respond/

    Better yet, why dont you sell these signs on your website for everyone else to put up when they see speed traps ahead. I would buy them from you…

18. Officer Warnings says:
    December 26th, 2010 at 8:05 am

    Howdy,

    I am an officer in the central Texas area. I write many warnings because I am not a tax collector. Its not my job to fill my city’s pockets. I don’t see the difference between me being seen, unseen, or you wearing a shirt. If it slows people down, it works. I personally like the automatic signs that advise a driver’s current speed. As for city ordinances, that is the respective community’s choice. I don’t know if you have had the opportunity, but you should “ride out” with a traffic unit sometime. Not for anything else but to see the job up close. Do it for a week. If anything, it would show your genuine interest in our work. A blog/journal of what your encountered would be great! Keep up the good activism in excercising Constitutional Rights!

19. JBlack says:
    December 26th, 2010 at 8:42 am

    I got a ticket for passing a cop on the side of the road… On IH 35 overramp. The speed limit was 55, I was going 54. Is this ticket legit?

    The cop told me i was suppose to go 20 mph below the speed limit… it i would have done that, I would have gotten rear ended… thoughts?

20. bill hughes says:
    December 26th, 2010 at 11:36 am

    Tthe people that should be in jail are the thugs running around w/ badges and guns in a police costume. As you have brought out most of them are on a power trip to abuse the public and suck money out of the working people, especially in Williamson Co. I applaud you, I hope one of the bastards does not kill you on the side of a dark road. I would’nt piss on a cop if he was on fire. Thanks again and keep on keeping on!

21. admin says:
    December 26th, 2010 at 5:19 pm

    Hi JBlack,

    Yea, unfortunately for you, the ticket is probably legitimate. Texas law states that when an emergency vehicle (police, EMS, fire) is on/beside the road, with lights flashing, all drivers must either vacate the lane nearest the emergency vehicle, OR slow down to 20 mph below the posted speed limit (down to 5 mph minimum).

    The first time I was being questioned for holding my sign, a car going the speed limit passed by one of the officers and was issued a ticket for failing to “Move Over”. This law went into effect in 2003, but it seems that I’ve only heard of it being enforced as of late.

    Drive carefully!

22. Bill says:
    December 26th, 2010 at 9:49 pm

    I wonder what other laws this idiot is willing to help people break.

23. Steve says:
    December 27th, 2010 at 10:38 am

    The cops in Lakeway are a perfect example of egotistical a***** who are just trying to raise revenue for a small town. Keep up the good work – wish more people would do this. Making a donation.

24. Grant says:
    January 7th, 2011 at 4:02 pm

    you should come to Leawood KS. the Leawood PD and some surrounding areas give out rediculous citations. my buddy got a ticket for going 1 MPH over. as far as the speed kills ideal goes the only thing that could possibly cause speed to be dangerous are: other drivers who cant drive well (90% of people lol) or your inability to drive/know the limits of your car.

25. Cliff says:
    March 23rd, 2011 at 5:53 pm

    We’ve started fighting the state on more of these tickets, licenses, plates, etc. with a jurisdictional challenge. Most of our cases get thrown out because they are unable to respond to our challenge.

26. James Mapes says:
    July 1st, 2012 at 6:21 am

    Primarily its not people getting mad they got caught, its getting mad because the way that enforcement is done, the lack of application of basic speed law as the counter balance to prima facie citations and the violation of the 6th/7th Amendments to deny jury trials (the Supreme Court got it wrong about “infractins”, jurys are there for any government accusal to bulwark against tyranny, if you aren’t aware of this you need to do some real historical and philisophical searching).

    Going 75mph in a 55mph zone when traffic is 1/5th of peak flow on a highway with restricted access is NOT unsafe. Many times its literally the same road where the speed limit is 75 and drops as the highway passes thru a town. However, there is only access from on-ramps, the highway is fenced, pedestrian traffic is prohibited and I know I’ve never seen a house cross a road (save in a tornado). There is no reason to have traffic slow down other than high volume. 10pm at night that is not generally the case. In such a circumstance, I don’t blame someone for getting pissed off about getting a ticket.

    Because its not about safety at that point, its about revenue for the city, and lack of exercise of judgement by the LE officer. Such enforcement negatively impacts respect for the law, and its a virtually corrupt application of the law akin to highwayman robbing passing travellers since there is in the case type I cite, no violation of the concept “do not drive faster than is safe for the conditions.”

27. Jim says:
    July 5th, 2012 at 10:32 pm

    Hi all, I am a former police officer. I also drive a car, I also have driven many miles with other police officers. WE ALL SPEED!! I see police driving lots faster than the law abiding traffic in their cruisers and are not going to any call or emergency but are in their hurry to get where they want to go to. Or they are frustrated by the slow traffic and want to get going. Or they just can drive faster than the rest of the citizens because they are the ones that write the tickets.
    I see lots of speed zones that are way slower than needed. Often we get them set because of a complaining citizen, or there might have been an accident on that stretch of road at some time in the past. Or a town ordinance.
    I know there are many good and necessary reasons to have speed limits and have them enforced. I want the police out there enforcing them but the police could put down a much better presentation for their activity. They could first present a much better example and drive as they should and not as they want they are not above the laws either we just don’t have a ticket book or blue lights. Second they could issue warnings for first time offenders and be friendly and not full of them selves when encountering the public. If they present them selves that they are there to help the public and not there to get them and act like they just caught the public enemy number one.
    The police also warn about radar traps on many highways we see signs that tell the driving public that speed id controlled with radar, aircraft etc. So we find our selves as citizens once again not free to do what the government can and does like, driving, videoing, speaking, etc.
    We live in strange concerning times.
    This all is just the tip of the iceberg but more is coming.

28. ZJ says:
    August 10th, 2012 at 10:02 am

    I never got any speeding ticket in my life till 2 years ago at age 25 in a speed trap, right after moving into a new town. Then I recieved another and another. I also had no criminal history and very active in the community. But suddenly I was being hastled. I got my car searched a few times, nothing found, threatend I would be cuaght with something eventually, warned not to come back or I’ll be pulled over again. I didn’t know what to do, I did make a complaint once to my hometown police and they said they would tell the police department I was a good guy and to be easy on me. But then I made a huge mistake, as I was getting pulled over again for speeding, I fled and eventually got caught and now facing Felony charges. I’m not a criminal, I was just so tired of being hastled and now my life is ruined.

This page is a printout of part of Speed Trap Ahead.
URL of this printout: http://speedtrapahead.org/wordpress/about-us/comment-page-1/

All content copyright SpeedTrapAhead, 2008-2012 unless otherwise credited or sourced.
Subscribe to this site's Entries (RSS) or Comments (RSS).