Southmayd Grason County Speed Trap

[stillkit]

Originally Posted by grhtex

I am generally aware because I've traveled it a few times that the speed limit is 70MPH from north of Gunner to rte 56. So as I turned South on to 289 from 56 I accelerated on the ramp to merge onto 289 and took my speed up to about 70MPH. Then I got stopped abut 1/2 mile later and was issued the ticket for doing 72. The next day I went back and saw the speed limit sign. It was placed at the exact juntion of where the ramp ends and 289 begins. In otherwords the 55MPH speed limit sign is in a place where you might not see it becasue you are looking in your rear and side view mirrors and checking for other cars to make the merge onto 289. It was dark and I certainly didn't see the sign. A week or so later I went back to pay the ticket. On the way home I noticed that they had moved the 55mph speed limit sign. It was moved off the end of the ramp from where it was to a new location about 1/4 mile down the road. I should have contested it but didn't. I'm still pissed.

Several weeks later I was in Seattle for business. On the way back to the airport I decided to drive around and sightsee a little. I was in a little town along Lake Washington north of Redmond. I was in a neighboor hood with housing and light commercial and a lot of buildings in general on both sides of the road. They had signs posted saying speed limit 25 MPH when children are present. The normal limit was 40 MPH. Does when children present mean when they are on their front porch, walking the side walk playing in the yard etc. What if they are teen agers are they still considered children? I didn't see a school. It seemed very arbitrary and I wasn't sure so being paranoind and not wanting to get my second ticket in less than a month I treated it like a school zone and just slowed down to about 22MPH. I didn't know it but a motorcycle cop was behind me. He pulled me over. His reason was that I was going to slow and holding up traffic. I thought what the hell. I told him how strcit they are in Texas and that I was just being overly cautious. Thankfully he didnt give me a ticket.

Dammit, man! You're screwed no matter what you do!

I've always wondered about that "when children," or "workers are present" too. What constitutes present?

But, I long ago learned that speeding tickets aren't fatal and are usually easy to negotiate out of, if you don't mind offering them more money for a non-moving violation. Since I drove a very high speed truck for 30 years, I've probably gotten more tickets than any 50 people combined and I never once had a judge refuse an offer to pay more to keep it off my record.

[wildbill80]

Originally Posted by kazyn

Here we go Always comes down to the ol' tried and true "speeding is bad, slow down or you'll die" argument.

How about the rational and logical adults realize speeding may get you an expensive ticket so driving the speed limit is probably a good idea, argument? Or is that stupid, too?

[feife102]

I have read most of the complaints of Southmayd being a speed trap and let me assure everyone that nothing there qualifies it as such. A speed trap has a very specific definition by law. The speed limit on Hwy 289 is lowered through the city limits specifically because, despite common beliefs, there is a school bus crossing there and this is a potential death trap if people are exceeding the posted limits. On Hwy 56 the speed has been posted at 55 mph, due mainly to slow farm vehicles, for most of the last 27 years and is in no way considered a speed trap. Either drive the posted speed or pay the price.

[EDS_]

I don't know about now but Southmayd has a long earned reputation as a speed trap. At one point in the mid 2000s the little town of less than 1K had 8 or 10 police officers. That would be like Dallas having 12/15k cops.

This sort of silliness reminds me of Leonard. Not long ago Leonard had a real gem of a Chief of Police who wrote zillions of tickets. Leonard became a zenith for pedophiles and other sexual deviants.

I have sort of a mental tickler file of "speed trap" towns. I make it a point to never go to or through any of them if at all possible. And I certainly never spend any money in these towns.

My list:
Richardson
Leonard
Southmayd
Anna
Balch Springs
Arlington may be on my list soon as one of my sales people got a 38 in a 35 a couple of days ago.
The very worst speed trap town around here will always be Westlake. A few years ago PD there wrote tickets at the rate of several hundred per Westlake inhabitant - the rate was 1 to 350+ IIRC.

ETA I just looked it up in 2008 Westlake wrote 78K tickets.

[TXNGL]

Hi all. Digging up an old thread because I'm curious if there is still a speed trap in Southmayd? We've been taking 289 up to the lake almost weekly. Love that drive, BTW. Much nicer than 75!

[DitsyD]

Originally Posted by civilian done wrong

i can vouche for you. This seems to be becoming an epidemic or fad.
Being harassed by small towns like southmayd , murphy , lavon, princeton , lucas and so on and so on. Whos going to take a stand?
People like us , who have never had criminal activities.
Volunteer for meals on wheels , church volunteering, volunteering
at schools for the teachers, as well as giving money to highway
patrol donations. It goes on and on. I have been the stupid one
that supports all of these ! Not anymore ! Im sick of it !
Funny thing though, its always your word against theirs !
Guess who wins ? This system is going to ruins. I hate that
good people always get the crap ! They wonder why good people
become sour with the system. To make matters worse, i get no
protection from the law. If i have ever had to call to report a
possible crime that i have witnessed, they act as if im wasting their
precious time. How do we remain good citizens ,if they go outta
their way to break the good people down?

Don't know about the others, but the speed limit on FM 544 and Murphy Road in Murphy is set by the State of Texas DOT. Neither the city nor the police department get any say in the sped limit.

If you break the law/speed limit, you should pay the ticket.