Well, I’ll make it short and sweet — I’m a little busy right now. I’ll write more details when I have more time.

Jury trial is set for July 11, 2008, at 1:00 p.m.

All done!

Here’s the post about the outcome.

There ARE quite a few references to this issue on other sites; but, I thought I’d submit my perspective on the subject. Ever since I was a little kid, I can remember my dad flashing his lights at other cars for some reason or another. It’s a great communication tool, whether it’s to signal “I’m about to pass you”, “You’re clear”, “Thanks”, “Dim your lights”, or “Danger ahead”. My Granddad did it. My father did it. I do it! I think it’s just a natural way to communicate non-verbally. However, it seems to be more common lately for people to worry about whether they’re gonna get into trouble for warning others in this manner.

There is not any law in any state, that I am aware of, that proscribes telling other motorists about the presence of a police officer, whether it is one performing traffic enforcement duties, or any other officer for that matter. Drivers have always used one method or another to warn of upcoming trouble. Cell phones, CB radios, waves out the window, and flashing of the headlights are just a few of the ways one can warn motorists of something on the road ahead — including “speed traps”.

In some states, however, there ARE laws that prohibit flashing your lights or, more specifically, for failing to dim your high beams for oncoming traffic. The Texas Drivers Handbook recommends dimming your headlights when approaching traffic gets within 500 feet. So, technically, if you “flash your lights” when another vehicle is within 500 feet, you’re breaking the law. (Texas Transportation Code, Sec. 547.333, (c)(1)(A))

There is NO mention of, or regulation concerning, the use of fog lights. So, I would guess, flashing your fog lights wouldn’t be an issue.

If you WERE to flash your lights, and an officer saw it, he’d probably be annoyed because he knows the real reason you’re doing it. He may even pull you over and issue you a ticket for… well… something. Just why, though, should law enforcement dislike this kind of thing? It only enforces what the officers are trying to do in the first place — slow traffic and promote safety (even if they don’t get that revenue by issuing a ticket). Sometimes, when I see a driver who is obviously driving erratically and being an idiot, I’ll flash my lights, even when there’s no officer around, just to get them to slow down! Am I going to get in trouble for THAT?

The other side of this whole discussion is: “Why should I flash my lights at ANYone? They deserve to get a ticket!” Well, in my opinion, there’s really nothing wrong with that philosophy. Heck, if you think that way, you might want to invent a signal for “SPEED UP!”, just to assure that they get what they deserve?

The reality is: Flashing your lights usually gets people to slow down — whether there are police or not.

So, why not flash your lights at every driver you see.

The WHOLE WORLD will slow down — or not!

I have heard stories, and read some articles, of other people holding signs of this sort in other countries. Some of them made their point. Some of them attracted lots of attention, not all of it good (like Fred Zahn in the picture to the left). Some have been ticketed. And, some have gone to jail. Is that what you pictured when you were dreaming of having the fortitude to hold a SpeedTrapAhead sign yourself? The first two reactions, ‘making your point’ and ‘attracting lots of attention’, are the good parts. The rest are definitely NOT good!

I have read only about Texas law; so, I don’t know much about the laws in any other state or country. One of the things I learned while perusing through the Texas legal statutes, was that holding a sign is NOT “Hindering Apprehension or Prosecution”. Here is the part of Texas law that affirms that statement:

Texas Penal Code – Sec. 38.05. HINDERING APPREHENSION OR PROSECUTION.

(a) A person commits an offense if, with intent to hinder the arrest, prosecution, conviction, or punishment of another for an offense [...] he:

(1) harbors or conceals the other;
(2) provides or aids in providing the other with any means of avoiding arrest or effecting escape; or
(3) warns the other of impending discovery or apprehension.

(b) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(3) that the warning was given in connection with an effort to bring another into compliance with the law.

(c) [...]

I’ve omitted parts of the passage that don’t apply; but, you can clearly see from the highlighted portions, that it’s perfectly legal to hold a sign like this. You are trying ” to bring another into compliance with the law”. So, you can’t get arrested for “Hindering Apprehension or Prosecution”.

In a future post, I’ll talk about how holding a sign is not “interfering with public duties”. In the mean time, think about all the things you COULD get in trouble for (while not doing something stupid, of course); and, I’ll tell you why you’ll probably be just fine.

Keep the speed down. Pay attention to your surroundings. And, keep your hard earned money in your pocket — not in the magistrate’s!

I went to the arraignment a couple of weeks ago. The prosecutor stated that he didn’t really know what the ticket was about. But then I started explaining about SpeedTrapAhead.org… then he suddenly knew what was going on. Obviously, there had been discussion of my sign holding prior to that day.

He asked what I thought should happen. I said, “I think it should be dismissed because…” He then interrupted with, “Well, That’s not gonna happen.”

“Well, then sign me up for a jury trial“, I said. And that’s where we’re at. I have a a pre-trial hearing on June 13th.

I really don’t think that this will actually go to trial. I think this is just a delay tactic to give me a little time to “get scared” and bargain my rights away. Now, I can say, “Well, That’s not gonna happen.”

The prosecutor doesn’t want to drop it because that’ll put out the message that it was a bogus ticket and it’s okay to hold my sign. On the other hand, if it goes to trial and I win, a precedent will be set saying that it’s absolutely not against the law to hold my sign. Either way is okay, as either ruling will have basically the same effect. There is NO WAY Joe Citizen would think my sign is an official traffic control device.

Anyway, I’m just waiting, and getting my stuff together.

UPDATE: Jury Trial is set for July 11, 21008, at 1:00 p.m.

Any clicks on AdSense ads in the right column that may be of interest to you would be appreciated.

Also, Please check out THIS video of a PLEASANT encounter with a rational LEO.

I also have re-edited my existing videos to include this new footage. Now, it is much easier to understand what transpired and to hear both sides of the conversation.

You can now clearly hear Sgt. DeBrow threaten to arrest me and impound my truck for not showing him my driver’s license, even though he already had all the identification that was required by law for me to divulge.

In addition to audio/video from my webcam, and audio/video from the dashcam, I also used audio from my cell phone recording. This is really neat because the way I do it, the audio is recorded directly to the web, securely stored somewhere that can’t be confiscated, erased, or lost by law enforcement.

You can check out the original post, with the updated videos here.

(Recent updates are at the end of this post.)

There I was, just doing my thing on RR 620 in Lakeway, TX. It was just like any other event I had held, standing beside the road and holding my Speed Trap Ahead sign. As usual, I was getting honks and waves as people passed by. Then officer James DeBrow pulled up along the side of the road behind me.

He started by saying that he thought I was broke down, but he then saw that I was holding a sign. So, obviously, he didn’t decide to stop because I was causing a problem of some sort, like he would say later in his conversation.

When he asked what was going on, I stated that I was just “exercising my right to free speech, as guaranteed by the Constitu…” But then, he interrupted by asking me for some I.D. He wasn’t interested in hearing what I had to say. (Duh!) Then I threw him for a loop by reaching into my pocket and pulling out a red business-type card with my name, address, and date of birth. He said, “No! I need your I.D.” I told him that since I wasn’t operating a motor vehicle, I was not required to show him any type of I.D. He again demanded that I show him a picture I.D. And again, I refused. He told me that I was required to identify myself; I once again told him that I WAS identifying myself. “Here is my name, address, and date of birth, sir” He didn’t like it; but, he accepted it and went back to his cruiser.

Meanwhile, a couple of people approached me for a chat. One was a young man named James that had just a few days earlier posted a comment to the SpeedTrapAhead.org forum. In the forum, he stated:

“I saw you standing on RR620 just after 7 o’ clock. I completely support what you’re doing (being a victim of Lakeway police one too many times.) I appreciate it and I go to the highschool here in Lakeway. I’ll definitely promote to get your message out there.”

After a brief chat, he said that he intended on making a donation while on the site, but hadn’t yet. To my amazement, he pulled out $10 and said, “I know it doesn’t go a long way, but I just wanted to help out…” THANKS JAMES!

The other fellow was just asking general questions. I think he may actually have been an employee from the bank, coming to scope out the situation.

I could go on and on about all the details; but, In the end, I DID receive a ticket for “§ 544.006. DISPLAY OF UNAUTHORIZED SIGNS, SIGNALS, OR MARKINGS.” They were grasping at straws, and this is the ONLY statute that even possibly could be used against me. I’ve already plead not guilty and requested a jury trial. It’s VERY likely that the ticket will be dismissed because of part (d) of that statute that states: “(d) This section does not prohibit a person from placing on private property adjacent to a highway a sign that gives useful directional information and that cannot be mistaken for an official sign.” I hardly think that a guy holding a particle-board sign on the side of the road would be mistaken for an “official” sign. If it were to go to jury trial, and I were to win, that would set a precedent that they wouldn’t want. So, it’s in their best interest to dismiss the ticket. They will, however, be able to ticket me every time I hold up my sign, just to inconvenience me — which they WILL do, I’m sure. But, hell, it gets me web traffic!

I wasn’t fully prepared for the barrage of police attention, and didn’t have my video camera set up ahead of time. I DID, however, record all of the audio to the web with my phone. I later received the audio/video from the cops dashcam, and was able to re-edit the videos so that you could hear both sides of the conversation and everything was more clearly understood.

Anyway, watch the video and comment on what you think. I had to split it into three parts to be posted on YouTube.

Interesting parts are at:

Video #1 – 2:10, 6:03, 7:10

Video #2 – 4:24, 7:30, 9:11

Video #3 – 1:48, 7:30

Update (04/29/08): I recently received the dashcam video from Sgt. DeBrow’s patrol car. The videos below have been re-edited, so that everyone can more clearly understand what transpired, and to be able to hear BOTH sides of the conversation clearly.

Update: (05/22/08) I went to the arraignment a couple of weeks ago. The prosecutor stated that he didn’t really know what the ticket was about. But then I started explaining about SpeedTrapAhead.org… then he suddenly knew what was going on. Obviously, there had been discussion of my sign holding prior to that day.

He asked what I thought should happen. I said I thought it should be dismissed because… He then interrupted with, “Well, That’s not gonna happen.”

“Well, then sign me up for a jury trial“, I said. And that’s where we’re at. I have a a pre-trial hearing on June 13th.

I really don’t think that this will actually go to trial. I think this is just a delay tactic to give me a little time to “get scared” and bargain my rights away. Now, I can say, “Well, That’s not gonna happen.”

The prosecutor doesn’t want to drop it because that’ll put out the message that it was a bogus ticket and it’s okay to hold my sign. On the other hand, if it goes to trial and I win, a precedent will be set saying that it’s absolutely not against the law to hold my sign. Either way is okay, as either ruling will have basically the same effect. There is NO WAY Joe Citizen would think my sign is an official traffic control device.

Anyway, I’m just waiting, and getting my stuff together. (And, I DO have PLENTY of stuff I’m putting together.)

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UPDATE: (June 13, 2008) Jury Trial is now set for July 11th, at 1:00 pm.

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UPDATE: (July 11, 2008) See THIS POST.

Clicks on any adsense link that interest you would greatly be much appreciated.

Also, Please check out THIS video of a PLEASANT encounter with a LEO.

On my way out of Lakeway, I saw one of the new “stealth” police cars that was stopped in the median of Lohmans Crossing, front and rear radar blasting away! Well, I had plenty of spare time, so I pulled over at CVS Pharmacy and got out my sign, video camera, phone, scanner, and legal excerpts book. It was the perfect spot. Right as motorist pulled onto Lohmans, there I was — and slow down they did!

Although I was there warning motorists, I could only do so from one direction. Anyone coming at the radar from the other direction had no warning. So, the cop still managed to give out tickets –FOUR that I witnessed in about 50 minutes! Actually, I think one car got ticketed for not obeying the Texas “Move Over” law.

After being there awhile, Lakeway police began getting phone calls, telling them about the sign. They didn’t even approach me at first. They just gathered in the CVS parking lot, talking to each other. You KNOW they were talking about what they could do, probably calling their supervisor, checking legal statutes, etc.

Finally, they all left, but I guess one cop (officer Adams) drew the short straw and came over to talk to me. He did a really nice job of handling the situation by talking about safety, agreeing with the idea of me “helping them out” by holding my sign, saying that it was an “interesting idea” and all about safety, etc. I think it was all kind of tongue-in-cheek for him, though — In fact, I’m certain it was. Anyway, here’s the video. Let me know what you think.

View Larger Map with MORE Austin Speed Traps!

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.