Where are the speed traps in Maine? (Bangor, Augusta: rental car, rental)

[ADSLubec]

Originally Posted by corgis

acadianlion - Ah, but you are wrong on one thing - there is a definite speed trap at Pleasant Point on Route 190. If you're caught going over 35 mph, you will be issued a ticket and the ticket will stay within Pleasant Point. Indian reservations do not send ticket money to Augusta. They are considered their own nation and a lot of rules don't apply to them.

Never fail to see someone caught there at least once a week or so. I drive through there very slowly as does everyone aware of the SPEED TRAP. They'll stop you for anything there!

Alan

[elston]

I agree with your point Molly. That is what I was getting at when I contrasted the motivation for money vs highway safety.

However I also believe that speeding is a significant problem-- a direct cause of death and suffering much as smoking is to cancer however the "second hand" risk to the innocent is much worse. I do think a warning is as effective as a fine...with increased consequence for repeat offenders.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by contented

i spend some time in the cold weather down in alabama and discovered that if you are a member of the state legislature you cannot be arrested for speeding while going either to or from montgomery while the legislature is in session.............and i'm guessing other states have similiar laws from back in the day when a govornor would direct the state police to hinder key legislators heading to vote on something the govornor didn't want passed.

what a hoot, but why a free pass heading home?

Karma maybe? You don't want to ticket the person who could have you fired.

On a side, my experience with California is that you will not get ticketed for speeding if you show them a military ID. Not an excuse to speed by any means, though.

[Zymer]

Originally Posted by mollysmiles

oh yeah on that one Corgis! holy cow....Joey knows what he's doing there, those tickets have brought in lots of $ I am lead-footed, but I *never* speed through the Point!! I will say too, Milbridge used to be famous for stopping people, but I'm not sure that's still true.

I've also seen speed traps on I95--one cruiser parked at the top of a hill, on the radio to the ones waiting out of view......I thought they'd put an end to that, but on a trip to southern Maine this summer there they were, somewhere between the Richmond and Freeport exits.

On a number of trips up and down 95 in the last year, and in the last 3 months I have noted numerous speed traps with radar units and chase cars. On one trip I noted 7 radar units between Augusta and the Kennebunk toll as well as a number of chase cars.

On the day I got bagged (a couple weeks ago) there were 5 north of Augusta.

[casualobserver]

Hey, just overall thanks for the link, Bewitched. This one's a keeper for travel anywhere.

[ClownShoes]

Speed Trap = Enforcement is areas where people drive to fast

Here in New Jersey there aren't any 'traps'. The speed limit near my home is 25, the average speed is 40. On major highways it's 65, average is 80. Pulaski Skyway is posted 45, average is 80.

If we had traps, NJ would be rolling in the money. Most times the cop you see on the side of the road is doing a report or reading the latest dirt magazine.

What's the rush?

Leave early if you're going to be late. I work with people that are late everyday. When I mention that they should leave early, I'm the bad guy. Their response is that there are too many slow drivers on the road

Have you ever thought that some idiot driving too fast could kill a family member?

As Americans we take things for granted. At what speed does the term 'reckless endangerment' apply?

Personally I think many motor vehicle laws should be CRIMINAL CHARGES, with jail time possible.

Shouldn't double the posted speed limit be more seroius? No, not an extra $$ fine. Time with Bubba in the pokey should do the trick.


I remember many years back, some guy in New York ( Long Island I think ) was speeding and crashed into another vehicle. He killed the female driver, ... his daughter.

[Acadianlion]

Originally Posted by ADSLubec

Never fail to see someone caught there at least once a week or so. I drive through there very slowly as does everyone aware of the SPEED TRAP. They'll stop you for anything there!

Alan

Oh, yes. Quite right, and I did forget about Pleasant Point. I have been through there quite a few times, and I indeed, do slooooooooow waaaaay down.

But then, I also think of it being a foreign country, too.

[Coaster]

Route 1 in Damariscotta, where the speed limit drops from 55 to 45. The Damariscotta police set up just off the road at the north end to catch northbound speeders, or on the side street across from the turnoff to Damariscotta village to catch southbound cars.

And I second or third or fourth the speed trap at Pleasant Point and add the highway through Indian Township land between Route 1 and Grand Lake Stream.

[Acadianlion]

Originally Posted by Zymer

On a number of trips up and down 95 in the last year, and in the last 3 months I have noted numerous speed traps with radar units and chase cars. On one trip I noted 7 radar units between Augusta and the Kennebunk toll as well as a number of chase cars.

On the day I got bagged (a couple weeks ago) there were 5 north of Augusta.

The Maine State Police do enforce the speed limit on the Interstate and on the Maine Turnpike. They do this primarily by cruisers running radar while in motion, and occasionally...VERY occasionally...by actually setting up multiple car enforcement groups.

About twenty years ago or so, there was one State Trooper who lived in the median in Carmel. At least it seemed that way, because I drove the Interstate from Falmouth to Bangor at least twice a week, and he was always sitting there, facing one way or another, his radar sending out it's friendly greeting. (Yes: I had a radar detector in those days). His name was Pushard, as I recall, and he bagged me twice, once for 90 in a 55 mile zone which earned me a drive-for-work-only suspension for 90 days.

As a practical matter it is exceedingly unwise to speed through Searsport, Bucksport, and occasionally, Belfast. Searsport especially seems to have time to place a cruiser somewhere along Route One just east of the village. But for the most part, police keep their cruisers rolling and rely on the occasional speeding violator being picked up by radar.

Oh, and that radar detector that I owned. Long gone now. There are two "modern" inventions that have made radar detectors in automobiles worthless. The first one is the newer, "instant on" radar that police use. Since the radar doesn't even send out a detection signal until the unit is either triggered manually, or by motion sensor, by the time the radar detector has detected the radar, the speeder is already in the bag.

Secondly, some time ago, there was a spate of testicular cancer among police officers across the country. It seems that they were holding the radar "gun" in their laps and when they saw a car that they wanted to "shoot" they would pick up the gun, point and fire for the recording.
Thus, hand held radar guns in police cruisers were done away with and the radar sending unit was mounted outside of the cruiser. Later, the frequency range and power of the units were all reduced considerably. Now, with the low power radar in use, and the "instant on" character of radar, by the time the speeder knows radar is there, it is too late. The only value a radar detector has is to warn of radar being used close by perhaps.

[Acadianlion]

Originally Posted by Coaster

Route 1 in Damariscotta, where the speed limit drops from 55 to 45. The Damariscotta police set up just off the road at the north end to catch northbound speeders, or on the side street across from the turnoff to Damariscotta village to catch southbound cars.

And I second or third or fourth the speed trap at Pleasant Point and add the highway through Indian Township land between Route 1 and Grand Lake Stream.

Yes, and that big rest area on the east side of Route One about five miles before you cross the river into Wiscasset used to be a favorite area for local cops to hang out. I got bagged there once by a plain clothes or off duty officer in a private vehicle, who "claimed" that I was going more than 75. He gave me a citation and I went to court.

I had gone back to the same area, and there was NO WAY that the officer could have turned out from that rest area, accelerated to 70 miles per hour, and clocked me in a non-radar equipped civilian vehicle in the distance that was there before the bridge.

The judge ended up throwing the citation out because the officer didn't show TWICE for the hearing.

But they used to be there quite a bit...that would be in the 1980's, of course.