Speed Traps By Brenda Williams At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Everyone that is old enough to drive and has that coveted driver’s license knows what it feels like to be driving at nighttime, rolling down the road, when all of a sudden the night sky is lit up with flashing red and blue lights along with deafening sirens. It always seems like police officers show up out of nowhere, especially at night, and that can be a scary thing at night. It is difficult to spot police officers at night, especially if their vehicles are painted dark colors, which the majority of jurisdictions are doing now.

Speed traps are just that; traps set up by police officers to catch motorists speeding down highways, freeways, expressways and arterial roadways. Speed traps can be set up in the woods just off the road, in between buildings or in the middle of the road in broad daylight. Some speed traps involve the placement of wires on the roadway, which calculates a driver’s speed, and is then relayed to the police officer in the vicinity.

Some speed traps use electronic radar detection machines, set up on the side of the road (usually in the shoulder), to catch speeders on a notoriously fast roadway. The sign will say ‘drive carefully. Your speed is…’ Most of the time the sign is there by itself, attached to an empty police car, but sometimes there is a police officer in that car. Usually, after the sign has been there, unoccupied for a certain length of time is when the officer will show up in the car to pull over speeders.

When police officers set up a speed trap they usually sit on the side of the road, not visible to drivers until it is too late to slam on the breaks, and hold their radar gun out the window and track the speeds of motorists. This is the most common form of speed traps used today by police officers across the United States. In every state across the country there are certain roadways that become known for being speed traps, because police are known to frequently clock speeds in that area as well as write a ton of tickets to motorists.

Speed traps become more common and more prominent during the holiday season. The night before Thanksgiving is an especially active night. A ton of traffic is on the roadways because people are traveling all over the country for the big day of giving thanks. Police officers tend to pull over out of state drivers during the holidays since they don’t know the local laws or speed regulations for certain roadways. Also, the night before Thanksgiving is a popular night for the bars and pubs, since the work week ends on Wednesday for most people. The police will camp out relatively close to bars, pubs and restaurants that serve alcohol to pull over speeders and motorists that are driving erratically, hopefully cutting down on drunk driving.

Some speed traps also include the use of traffic cameras. Some cameras on the roadway are not used for watching for accidents or other problems but are actually designed for clocking motorists’ speeds.

Published At: Isnare Free Articles Directory http://www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=328333&ca=Automotive

Important Notice DISCLAIMER: All information, content, and data in this article are sole opinions and/or findings of the individual user or organization that registered and submitted this article at Isnare.com without any fee. The article is strictly for educational or entertainment purposes only and should not be used in any way, implemented or applied without consultation from a professional. We at Isnare.com do not, in anyway, contribute or include our own findings, facts and opinions in any articles presented in this site. Publishing this article does not constitute Isnare.com's support or sponsorship for this article. Isnare.com is an article publishing service. Please read our Terms of Service for more information.