[KenFL]

Years ago (20-40+) was when those areas were true speed traps... After much attention (national, and I seem to recall a Senator falling victim to the trap and leading the charge...) was brought to what they were doing, the changes were made such as better signage on speed limits, warnings and such.

Hampton was actually one of the worst, IIRC, as they actually expanded their city limits to include a small strip of 301 (like a hundred feet or so, with nothing there besides a single gas station/store) as to be able to legally write tickets there as there were accusations that they were illegally writing tickets in an area they were not authorized to... You could not even see the town of Hampton from 301, nothing more than a corner gas station in the woods... I recall reading how much revenue they generated by doing so, incredible amounts although I don't recall the exact figures, yet it was then according to law. I found a link here at C-D, scroll down and note the city limits...
http://www.city-data.com/city/Hampton-Florida.html

Lawtey was another that had much controversy, as Waldo and the larger city of Starke. Many changes were mandated from higher authority as US 301 is a federal highway...

Now a days Waldo will often leave unattended patrol cars parked in the median or by the road side so motorists can see the car and naturally slow down. That seems to be an earnest effort to slow traffic down and not merely generate more revenue... They are very strict, however they follow the laws...

It is easy to allow your speed to get a bit higher in rural areas with-out population. Even today, Bradford County, which is where all of these cities/towns are (except Waldo - Alachua County), only has 28,520. Hampton has a population of 441 and Lawtey has 673.

Unfortunately, the law doesn't make something right or wrong, good or bad, it just makes things legal or illegal, often with a huge gray area...
Corruption is corruption, and it is especially bad when it involves law enforcement. Small towns often get away with it...

So, yes, no doubt in the past it was well documented that they did do things that were a very dark shade of gray, at best. They were forced to change. This is obvious by the clearly marked signs and warnings that exist today. Would the people that recall what they did put it past them to come up with new ways to increase their revenue? I wouldn't put it past them for a second... Especially Hampton and Lawtey... I do believe Waldo and Starke are more honest now though...

I recall back in the early 1970's, my 60+ year old aunt was ticketed for going 1 mile over the limit at Hampton, so the officer said... The only ticket she ever received in her entire lifetime... She and I were returning to Tampa from Jax. It shook her up so bad that we had to sit beside the road for an hour for her to calm down... She was the classic little old lady and always went well below the speed limit. Tampa to Jax was about a 6 hour trip for her...

That does not mean that people should violate the laws though... As I said, I would not put it past Hampton and Lawtey to bait as they have a long history of it...

[Squeamish]

Where's Waldo?

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=waldo...26.03,,0,20.89

THERE HE IS!!!

[FlaTiger]

My wife and I were driving 2 cars and got lost in Waldo. We had a disagreement about the best route to take. I got mad and pulled into a fast food restaurant. Being the "classy" guy I am, I told her if she knew so much, then she should lead (and threw my cell phone on the floor of the car). She was frustrated, turned out of the fast food the wrong way on a one way street. As I frantically searched for my cell, "blue lights" started chasing her. Hey this was extremely dangerous. People could have been killed or hurt badly. We were in a city that we had never been in (and never going back if I can help it). The policeman could have given her a warning, but instead he gave her TWO tickets- one for going the wrong way on a one way street and one for disobeying the one way street sign. My wife was shaken up that she was going the wrong way and could have been killed. If the purpose was "education," she didn't need any. She was extremely remorseful without the tickets.

I've gotten a few speeding tickets in my life (that I deserved), but I have never gotten a ticket for speeding and a ticket for disobeying the speed limit. A few days later, I was in a tire store in St Augustine. I saw a policeman and asked if I could ask him a question. I explained the above. He looked incredulous. He couldn't believe that happened. When he looked at the 2 tickets, he said, "Oh, I see your problem. You were in Waldo." He went on to say that out of county marked police cars driving through Waldo have been ticketed for driving one mile over the speed limit.

I had Prepaid legal, and we called the company. The lady on the toll free number had heard of Waldo, Fl. They provided us a lawyer. He asked for a court date, but said that we'd have to pay whatever they said, but he thought that he could get one ticket thrown out.

The policeman didn't show up. Both tickets were thrown out.

This happened about 16 months ago. So "this activity" was continuing then and not some aberration from 40 years ago.

[NativeNewYorker2010]

Tried and true:

Avoid the entire Waldo speed trap area where US 301 and Waldo Rd. intersect by taking 301 south to CR 225. It's over by a bar called The Oasis. Make a right onto CR 225 and it's an easy, scenic, stress-free cruise all the way to Waldo Rd. / 53rd area by Alachua County Animal Services. Welcome to Gainesville, no tickets! I never see any cops in these rural roads that run on the west side of 301.

[KenFL]

These links back up what I was saying about Hampton, the annexation of a strip on US 301 and such. It appears they are going to dissolve the city. Lots of corruption there...

Speed trap is dirtiest little town in America - CNN.com

After audit reveals corruption, Florida town's days could be numbered

[Restrain]

Happens in large cities as well. Texas enacted this law. Within a couple of months, Houston PD began parking cars right over the top of the bridges of Loop 610, a 6-lane each way OMG freeway, bumper to bumper/cars on each side. So you come trucking over the top of the bridge, there's the cop. You have to slow down 20 MPH IMMEDIATELY (causing a rear-end collision) or move over (no, there's an 18-wheeler next to you), and you get nailed.

Was it legal? Technically. However, TDOT reamed Houston about this and they stopped it.