Highland Hills Speed Trap (Columbus, Cleveland: insurance, lawyer, camp)

[BillLuc1982]

The village of Highland Hills is very shady when it comes to minor speeding tickets, Harvard Road in particular. Police are always roaming the streets looking for all kinds of violations. I hadn't received a moving violation in almost 8 years until last week when I got pulled over by a Highland Hills officer-in-training sitting by Camp Forbes (formerly a 50 zone).

Harvard Road in Highland Hills can be divided into 3 sections:

1) Rt 8 to Green (was 50, changed to 35 last April)
2) Green to Tri-C (was 50, still thought was 50 when I got ticket, changed to 35 recently eastbound, and changed to 35 in Beachwood westbound yesterday)
3) Tri-C to 271 (always has been 35)

The police officer was in section 2 (I got on Harvard from Green) and when I saw the cop car, I was doing about 45 slowing down and preparing myself for the 35 zone ahead. The car pulled out behind me and pulled me over between Tri-C and Richmond. She claimed that I was doing 47 in a 35 (now when it just changed from 50 and I didn't even know about it, that's a little shady). She wrote me a ticket. I called the village and they said that the section between Green and Tri-C has been 35 since "last February". Just shows that they're out for money and not safety. I am not going to fight the ticket, but I'm going to see if they can reduce my violation since I have never had an at-fault accident and haven't had a ticket in almost 8 years. Has anyone dealt with this money trap before?

And if you ever go through Highland Hills, carefully watch the signs since they change by the day and heed what they say or else you'll fall victim to the money trap.

[Clevelander17]

So Harvard Rd. is no longer 50 MPH at any point?

Sorry about your ticket, but thanks for the heads up. Kind of pointless that it would change and it definitely looks like they're doing it for the money. The Village of Highland Hills hasn't even been around for two decades and was established simply to squeeze money out of the Figgie International, a company that was supposed to build headquarters there, but never ended up doing so. Highland Hills is pretty much a pointless entity that would be better off being absorbed by Beachwood or Shaker Heights.

[tribecavsbrowns]

New Rome, near Columbus, was like this and some people did something to wipe them off the map. It'd be nice to do the same thing here. Some lawyer out there will take up the cause, I bet.

[Clevelander17]

Originally Posted by tribecavsbrowns

New Rome, near Columbus, was like this and some people did something to wipe them off the map. It'd be nice to do the same thing here. Some lawyer out there will take up the cause, I bet.

The New Rome situation was a little different. I don't think Highland Hills has been setting up speed traps anywhere near like what NR used to do.

[BillLuc1982]

New Rome was AWFUL! They would get people for 31 in a 30 (even if they were going 30) and would check plates and insurance for expiration at 12:01 on any given day. You would basically get pulled over for driving in New Rome.

I'm not praising Highland Hills lol. Has anyone ever fought a Highland Hills ticket or tried to reduce it? I think reducing it to a non-moving violation will be win/win (they get the money, my driving record stays clean).

[xanthines]

I see cops staked out behind signs and bushes and hills all the time in Cleveland Height and Shaker Heights. They won't stop you for speeding unless you're 5mph or over, I believe. Two years ago I almost crashed when a cop with a radar gun jumped out from behind a tree as I was going down North Park (I think). I think he was supposed to tag people and radio them in to cars waiting down the road. I wasn't speeding and managed not to swerve too violently, but still. Stupid jerks...

That stinks about Highland Hills, though. Traffic tickets are also a form of taxation, you know!

-X

[AmericanMuscleTA]

Thanks for the heads up! I still thought it was a 50 mph zone from Green to Richmond.