Why speed traps?

The purpose of "hiding" as you put it isn't as much to catch speeders as it is to make people always wonder if we are there or not. They will start slowing down if they think there's a chance we might be sitting there.

Active and stationary patrol both have it's ups and downs, but stationary patrol does indeed work. I use stationary patrol in areas such as school crossings, heavily traveled roads, high pedestrian areas, etc. I may sit there all day and not catch one person speeding, and if that happens I know it's working! I'm not out to give tickets, I'm out to protect people. If people think I might be sitting there, they will automatically slow down. Even if they speed back up a mile down the road- so what- they slowed down where I needed them to and that part of the road is safe.

Just an FYI - rarely ever do you have an officer who "hides" his entire shift trying to catch speeders. Most of us rotate throughout our shift between doing both active and stationary patrol. If you are consistently seeing an officer at a particular spot, it's probably because it's a bad traffic area. We have more inside information as to how many accidents truly occur in these areas, because it's our job to watch those areas 8-12 hours a day. Citizens spend mere moments passing through these areas only occassionally throughout the day and often do not see the accidents we do.

And it's not about money either! It is illegal for departments to have quota's - which means they cannot dictate to officers as to how many citations they must write per day. I can write 20 or none and my supervisors wouldn't say anything about it either way. I certainly make no money off any citation I write, and my department gets such a small percentage from it that it barely pays for the paper the citation is written on. Most departments money comes from government grants and the like.

This part isn't for you - it's for some of your responders- I really wish people would get their facts straight before jumping the gun on issues with the police. I get really tired of people spouting off at the mouth when they don't have a clue what they are talking about. People get so angry with us when they get a speeding ticket and say it's about money or quota's - well no, actually it's about the fact that you were speeding and if you don't want a speeding ticket there's a very simple solution - DON'T SPEED!

I would question just how the officer was "hidden," however, whether an officer is "hidden" or just out of YOUR view is immaterial.

Stationary officers working traffic are observing high risk areas while patrolling officers are watching the streets in general!

Either way, despite what one person has said, it is all for the safety of ALL drivers! If it were about money...then I'd sure like to get some of the revenue generated from writing tickets! For those who claim ticket fines are about lining someones pockets...I'd disagree...they are fines which is punishment that should hurt enough to make you slow down and obey the speed laws.

What some seem to think is the speed laws don't apply to them. If I'm sharing the roadways, I'd like to drive in a safe environment not one where I'm having to wear my brakes down everytime someone pulls out in front of me...runs a red light...follows to close...or otherwise.

Rules of the road are to make the roadways safe for everyone. We don't get to pick and choose which ones to follow or not follow. You get caught...you get a ticket! Don't want a ticket...follow the rules! Pretty easy to understand!

Waiting for a speeder to pass by is more effective, because it sends people the message that they can't speed just because there is no police car in sight.

Speeding violations are always enforced. The term speed trap as you call it, makes a person wonder where they are set up. Armed with this knowledge, the driver will slow up, and make them think they beat the system. Either way, if you speed, you will eventually get caught.

It's easier than patrolling, and it's all about making money, not about safety. The thing that bothers me is that the tailgaters and other insanely aggressive drivers think they can get off scot-free now because the cameras aren't watching for them. They might still get caught for speeding, but speeding and tailgating combined should be a stiffer penalty. If it were up to me, habitual tailgaters would face felony charges for assault with a deadly weapon, because that's really what it is. They're using their vehicles as huge blunt instruments to threaten other drivers.

Likewise, red light cameras aren't set up properly to catch some of the worst offenders. Sometimes the sensors are way out in the middle of the intersection where they could catch someone who entered the intersection on green and wasn't able to complete a left turn before the light changed (perfectly legal) but they don't catch the psychopathic idiots who stop in the crosswalk and inch their way across it the whole time the light is red. These people are even more of a hazard to pedestrians than the ones who go on through the light, and a major menace to people who could turn right if the view weren't blocked, but they're not getting caught.

Speaking of red lights, I was stopped at a light one day and a motorcyclist drove up the line between two lanes of stopped cars (illegal in AZ, see below) and stopped in the crosswalk (running the red light) where he stayed until the light changed. Who do you suppose this person was who violated at least two state laws simultaneously? A police officer! I could understand this sort of behavior if he were in hot pursuit of a murderer or other felon, but he didn't have his lights flashing or siren on and did not proceed through the intersection. This is a terrible example to set for other motorists, and leads them to believe they can do the same, as many do. People who enforce the law should obey it; otherwise they come across as hypocrites.

Oh, and speaking of traps, there used to be one at an intersection in my home town. Before they changed it from a three-way intersection to a four-way intersection, there was a gravel area off the shoulder hidden by a hill. Patrol cars used to sit there waiting to catch red light runners. What's wrong with that, you might say? They set the light to stay yellow for only two seconds, in a 50 mph zone. Considering that the normal reaction time is .75 sec., that only allows 1.25 seconds to come to a stop from 50 mph! Drivers close to the intersection when the light changed had to make a split-second decision on whether to keep going and risk getting caught or slam on the brakes and screech to a stop, possibly in the middle of the intersection, which is even more dangerous. They were deliberately endangering people's lives to make more money, which is why I said in the first paragraph that cameras are usually more for money than for safety.

Justmy2cents, maybe your city doesn't have quotas, but my brother got stopped for speeding once and overheard the officers talking about meeting their quota. Different states do things different ways, and Arizona is a disgrace to law enforcement.

I used to have the utmost respect for those who enforced traffic laws, but since their work has been increasingly taken over by unmanned cameras, I've grown increasingly skeptical of the motivation. The "a picture is worth a thousand words" attitude has sidelined traditional law enforcement. It doesn't matter if the light was yellow or even green when you entered the intersection. It doesn't matter if you were speeding only briefly to take evasive action to avoid being rear-ended by a real speeder. As long as they have your picture, you get fined. That's a pretty lazy and sometimes unfair approach, and as I said before it lets some of the more dangerous violations slip through.

Patrol also allows people to speed until they get caught.

Stopping in a high accident/violation area and monitoring traffic is not a "speed trap." I did not "entrap" anyone into breaking the law by watching them do it.

I write tickets (speeding as well as other violations) both by patrolling and stopping to observe traffic. One is not always better than another.

It's to generate revenue from speeding fines. If it were a matter of only points and your insurance going up then the police would have absolulutely no interest in speed traps.

When was the last time a judge assesed points and no fine?

Speed traps, are so that the police can get bonuses on their paychecks, and extra doughnuts. They laugh so hard when you get caught. They themselves love to speed, but they are allowed to do whatever they want. We can't even complain, cause no one in charge cares. Just like if you try to change the Canadian laws on protecting our children from pervert, flashers,,sex offenders,pedophiles, the gov't is too lazy to harden laws, they must even like or be closet pedophiles/sex offenders.

cuz its an EASY!!!!!! way to catch speeders.you shouldnt speed anyway