is seguin, texas a speed trap? (Houston, San Antonio: insurance, crime, felony)

[wehotex]

i was just cruisng thru there on thanksgiving eve at night when the police claimed that i was doing 70 in a 55 mph zone. when i looked at speedometer at time of flashing light, i was doing only 60. anyone have these experiences in small town texas?

this is another example of "hidden taxes" here in texas. it seems like every municipality is out to get you. i rarely experienced this the whole 15 years that i lived in california. as a matter of fact, i only rec'd 2 citations in all of those years. i've already rec'd 2 in living here a little over 2 years.

[houguy1087]

Originally Posted by wehotex

i was just cruisng thru there on thanksgiving eve at night when the police claimed that i was doing 70 in a 55 mph zone. when i looked at speedometer at time of flashing light, i was doing only 60. anyone have these experiences in small town texas?

this is another example of "hidden taxes" here in texas. it seems like every municipality is out to get you. i rarely experienced this the whole 15 years that i lived in california. as a matter of fact, i only rec'd 2 citations in all of those years. i've already rec'd 2 in living here a little over 2 years.

If you're talking about "hidden taxes," see how many people with cars in Boston haven't gotten a parking ticket yet...

BUT, I think it's true though, some of the small town police departments take particular pleasure in giving tickets. I remember one time when my friend, her mom and I were on the way back from a trip from Corpus and were driving on the highway, passing through El Campo. We were supposedly over the speed limit, however we all knew we were not. Cars were zooming past us but my friend's mom, a hard core John Kerry fan (obvious because of the myriad of stickers on her back window and bumper) was probably a prime target. My friends 60 year old mom begged, cried and pleaded. She admitted that she drove a little faster (but not over the speed limit) because she wanted to get out of the path of 2 big 18 wheelers, however it was not enough--he gave her a ticket...with a smile and told her that he hoped she would give the "same performance" at her hearing.

[love roses]

Don't speed, even a little bit

[txstate]

Don't speed, even a little bit

Whoop there it is especially any town close to I-10 near San Antonio, includes Lockhart, Luling, Seguin, Flatonia, Sealy, and Brookshire before you get to Houston.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by wehotex

i was just cruisng thru there on thanksgiving eve at night when the police claimed that i was doing 70 in a 55 mph zone. when i looked at speedometer at time of flashing light, i was doing only 60. anyone have these experiences in small town texas?

Police or troopers?

Thanksgiving morning I was going through Luling (I-10) and got a warning from a trooper who clocked me at 77 in a 70. He was part of a 5-cop cluster that would hide behind a hill, and when a group of cars passed over they pulled all of them over, and told them to get out of their cars. My trooper just talked to me friendly, didn't ask me for my insurance, and thanked me for my courtesy. Written warning. I think they were on a drunk-driver sting is all. And that 7 minutes I could've saved by going a little faster was shot.

Thing is I just got a ticket dismissed last month. Close call!

Not trying to be an ass, but you were in a small Texas town. DUH! According the law, you were speeding... bumping it from 5 to 15 mph over the limit did what for you, add $20-30 to the ticket? Sounds like you're pretty defenseless against that hidden tax of $20-30. I don't even think a small claims court will hear a case for that little an amount!

[love roses]

Just a note of advice for anyone from out of state moving here. DO NOT speed through ANY small Texas town. They are ALL speed traps. Not even 1 mile over. This is something most natives or long time residents know by now, and something any prospective resident needs to know.

[hamjeepr]

A little late, but I second the previous comment. There is little leniency on the roads and highways in TX.

Also, local jurisdictions are allowed to keep percentages of anything confiscated during a traffic stop on the interstates. If they find drugs, they get bonus money from the feds. Therefore, they target out of state plates especially along I-10.

[love roses]

You aren't kiddin' about I10

[notmeofficer]

Contract cities and small municipalities Do make money when we write tickets.. a hard working traffic car can pay for a policeman to be out there. It costs roughly 250k a year to fund one 24 hr policecar in most areas. Without offsets like traffic paying for this our taxes would be higher for everyone.

80 percent of felony arrests come from traffic stops.. that means a lot of dirtbags, the ones that hurt you and me, are being taken out of circulation via simple stops for vehicle code violations

I let a lot of people go.. there is little pressure to write a cite (although I was a crime car and not a traffic car).. generally traffic cars are expected to write about 10 cites a week on my department.. its easy to write those in several hours...

I imagine in a small city it would be easy to see at least 100 cars per shift... out of those you got picked... congrats... thats why they give us the radar and fancy car and lights etc... would it be better they sit and eat donuts and get fat.. I think not

When people whine about law enforcements actions I always highly recommend seeing if you could go on a ride-along. Ten minutes in a radiocar will have you wishing YOU could write a cite after you see the stupidity people exhibit behind the wheel.

If you adjust your life so you don't violate (I understand that this is hard to do) the vehicle code you will reduce the stress you experience when you see the blue lights in your mirror... just imagine how a real bad guy feels knowing they might be going (back) to prison

[HappyTexan]

so when you drive along the country roads and you see 55 to 45 to 30 to 25..read and heed. It will go back up again soon enough as these towns are not that big.

I usually look at it like a sightseeing tour ... a few city blocks, a stop sign or light maybe and then that's it.