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.

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State police embrace electronic ticket system

Many motorists know the age-old speeding ticket routine – get pulled over, wait at least 10 minutes for an officer to write a barely legible citation and hope to remember to mail a check within 15 days.

But fumbling with carbon copies and postage stamps might soon be a thing of the past. By the end of the month, the Maryland State Police, which issues a third of all speeding tickets issued in the state, plans to deploy an electronic citation system, and law enforcement agencies in almost 30 other jurisdictions have expressed interest in doing the same, police and court officials say.

The agencies are following the lead of New Carrollton, whose police department in December became the first agency in Maryland to become certified by the District Court to issue e- citations. The state police – which issues almost 500,000 of the state’s 1.5 million traffic tickets a year – received certification Wednesday, said Roberta Warnken, assistant chief clerk of the District Court.

Police and court officials say the electronic system is more accurate and efficient, and decreases the time officers spend on traffic stops, which can be time-consuming and dangerous. Advocates dismiss concerns that the new system will lead to police issuing more tickets, saying agencies can instead free officers for more productive functions.

“If we’re not taking the time to write citations, we can be more proactive and prevent why we’re giving citations out in the first place,” said Cpl. Chris Corea of the state police, who developed the agency’s software.

Maryland is catching up with much of the country. In 2003, almost 30 states had an e-citation program or had begun implementing one, according to a federal assessment.

In May, Gov. Martin O’Malley signed a bill authorizing electronic citations and removing the requirement for a violator’s signature to acknowledge receipt of a ticket. The law requires a standard form for e-citations throughout the state and certification of software programs by the District Court.

One hurdle has been cost. Local agencies keep none of the $90 million a year the state collects in traffic revenue, and instead must rely on departmental funds or grant money to make the move to e-citations. The cost of equipping a state police cruiser is about $1,000, Corea said.

“The first thing that everybody said is, ‘Who’s going to pay for it?’” said Sgt. Richard Hartnett of the New Carrollton Police Department.

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Illinois State Police have a warning for teen drivers: Slow down or expect a letter sent home to mom and dad.

Troopers in the Springfield district say they’re seeing more teens driving faster and getting into accidents. So they’re prepared to tell parents if their kids are pulled over for speeding. The reaction among teenagers is mixed with some saying they’d never tell parents they got a ticket. Other teens say they’d have to ask their parents to help pay the $75 fine, so they’d have to come forward.

State police say in the last few weeks they’ve pulled over teen drivers from Chatham and Springfield going as fast as 90 miles per hour on interstates. Last month four teens were killed on a rural Logan County road where speed is believed to be a factor. Teens say they know it’s not safe to drive fast, but it’s just now starting to sink in.

“I actually just got a speeding ticket, so it’s funny you ask me this. I didn’t realize the number one cause of fatality accidents is speeding I thought it was drunk driving,” said teen driver Rachel Wilson.

“Honestly it’s pretty easy for teenagers to get around telling their parents they’ve been stopped. A lot of the time, their parents will never know they’ve been stopped,” said Illinois State Police Trooper Christy Pullen.

State troopers say the letters will start going out April 1st, but only to parents in the Springfield area. So far the idea has not been expanded statewide, but a district in Northern Illinois is also trying out the idea.

There are some exceptions teens will have to be going 20 miles over the limit for a letter to ever be drafted.

Pennsylvania State Troopers receive monetary bounty for writing additional traffic tickets and are punished for speaking out against the system.

Pennsylvania State Police documents show that not only is there a system of monetary reward and punishment for state troopers based upon numeric ticket goals, there is a clear effort to prevent anyone from ever speaking about it. The first rule of a ticket quota is: there is no ticket quota.

The primary reason for the denial is a 1981 Pennsylvania law banning the practice of “directly or indirectly” suggesting that an individual police officer should issue “a certain number of traffic citations.”

In 2002, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette uncovered the creative methods that top police officials developed to avoid the letter of the law. The specific number of tickets that troopers must now meet is known as the “station average.” Each trooper must log the number of traffic stops and citations and if a trooper for any reason issues fewer tickets than his colleagues — the station average — he will be disciplined.

Our investigation shows that the practice continues and that those who issue more than the station average number of traffic tickets are given a fifty percent salary bonus in the form of construction overtime.

“If the station average is five tickets and you write ten, you’re getting overtime,” a trooper who requested anonymity explained to TheNewspaper.com. “The effect is to increase the average.”

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