Beware Downtown Speed-Trap Revenue Streams
We took Main up to the exercise in gluttony last night.
One street over to the east (Fannin, I think?), still in midtown south of the Pierce Elevated, we saw three cops working a speed trap. One cop was shooting cars with radar, and two more cops were waving in the traffic and writing tickets.
Sure, we have home invasions all over town, and even in midtown we have homeless people urinating and bathing themselves in public, not to mention vandalizing property.
But the biggest concentration of HPD manpower I've seen away from an accident in MONTHS in this city is focused on writing tickets to poor SOBs just trying to get out of midtown/downtown and home to their families after work.
Don't get me wrong -- I'm not a big fan of speeders, and I don't have much sympathy for lawbreakers in general. But that just seems like a ridiculous use of HPD's manpower.
It did get me thinking, though. How well do you think it would go over if I walked up a few blocks north of the speed trap next time it's in operation, stood on the sidewalk, and waved a posterboard sign that says "SPEED TRAP. SLOW DOWN!"
Would I get busted for not having a proper permit for such "protesting?"
Would the city's little guy who drives around ticketing non-permitted signs in town come plant a ticket right in the middle of MY sign?
Seriously, any thoughts on what might happen?
Because I really am inclined to do this next time I see that damn speed trap in operation and have a little time to spare.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/15/05 16:32 | Houston | Technorati
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Comments
Tell me when and where, and I'll join you.
Posted by Eric Fyre Scalf @ 21:00 on 04/15/05
If a bum can hold up a sign asking for money or food, can't you hold up a sign that provides a public service-type announcement? =)
Posted by Anne @ 07:38 on 04/16/05
I got busted on Smith St. two years ago while going with the flow of traffic. I hate speed traps.
Posted by Chris Elam @ 13:33 on 04/16/05
Ridiculous use of manpower, indeed. I wonder what all those who want to outlaw gun ownership by private citizens would say to this. After all, they do contend that the police should be the ones taking care of the lawbreakers -- never mind that by the time the cops get to the site of a home invasion in progress, it may well be too late, but that's another subject/rant entirely...
Posted by Erik @ 18:00 on 04/16/05
I wonder if http://www.speedtraps.com is still up and running-they used to keep pretty up to date about such goings on. My status as a "law and order Republican" becomes more questionable each passing day, my friend. R
Posted by The R Man @ 20:01 on 04/17/05
you should see allen parkway. people go way too fast there, and it's a dangerous road, but i got a $250 ticket for going 6 mph over the speed limit.
i saw 3 cops in a speed trap there 3/5 days last week.
Posted by TP @ 10:06 on 04/18/05
Yeah, Callie used to rant about the Allen Parkway speed trap.
6 mph?! Grr.
Posted by Kevin @ 10:09 on 04/18/05
Dunno what might happen here, but driving through Oklahoma last Thanksgiving somebody had put a trailer next to the highway (right before the Will Rogers Turnpike toll plaza) warning of a speed trap. Sure enough, just over the hill were a couple of OK state troopers. The warning trailer installation looked permament, so I suspect the guy owned the land in question and there wasn't much the police could do about it.
Other than set up somewhere else, I mean.
Posted by Pete @ 22:50 on 04/19/05
I got one in my neighborhood for "running" a stop sign. we have a speed trap set-up to no avail. our streets are under construction and no speed humps.
kinda hard to stop when there is a mound a dirt in front of your stop sign.
arghhhh!
Posted by Jaybird @ 18:34 on 04/20/05
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