Recently, Trapster released a list of the ten top cities for speed traps. If you’re not familiar with it, Trapster is a website as well as a smartphone app that alerts drivers to traps, hazards and other traffic issues on their route. Although, 50% of the activity available on trapster involves live police speed traps, it also includes red light cameras and fixed speed cameras. Here are the top ten.
1. New York City – Wow! Number one in the nation for speeders? It’s no wonder New York is three hours ahead of California. Statistics show, they’re number one due to the high number of drivers on the road. And, apparently they list 451 camera lights in the metro area. Yikes! Big Brother is totally watching!
2. Los Angeles – I thought the traffic was so bad that it would be impossible to speed there. Perhaps it’s more of a keeping up with flow of traffic thing. And, once the traffic jam loosens, everyone’s off like a shot trying to regain the time they lost in traffic. Or, trying to catch up with New York.
3. Houston – Now we’re talkin’. No doubt! Houston is like a miniature New York City. I was wondering where Texas cities were going to “place” on the list. I say that like it’s a contest or something. Most cities in Texas are in Trapster’s top 20 list. No doubt, since Texas has a reputation of changing the speed limits on freeways from crazy highs to crazy lows. Yee-haw!
4. Las Vegas – Being such a huge vacation spot with tourists driving around, not familiar with the area, it’s a great place for losing your wallet. Either losing it to law enforcement or at the casino. Either way, vacationing in Vegas is a gamble.
5. Washington DC – “You know…the one where the President lives.” That’s what my Mom always says when she’s talking about Washington DC v.s. Washington state. I find it funny that DC is number 5. They must need the revenue pretty bad. They have over 349 camera lights. I noticed that the IRS gives you a big tax write-off if you buy a house in DC. Anyone smell desperation?
6. St. Louis – They only have 89 traffic cameras in the metro area. But they have a reputation for having a lot of small town speed traps. Small towns with lots of hillbillies, so my dad says, who is from that area.
7. Orlando – Although they only have 41 camera lights in the city, they are noted for being one of the first to install them in the nation. And, it is reputed they did so before they were even legal. Talk about ruining your vacation.
8. Chicago – I only thought Chicago was my kind of town until I found out they have possibly more red light cameras than New York City. Cold, windy and tickety? Maybe it’s not a word now, but you’ll see it on Wikipedia by tomorrow.
9. Colorado Springs – Apparently they use a lot of unmarked cars for law enforcement. When I was a teenager, all cop cars had the lights on top of the car, not in the grill. At night, if I had a car behind me with a luggage rack on top, my heart would start beating out of my chest because I’d think it was a cop…all paranoid. Speaking of…didn’t Colorado also legalize medical marijuana?
10. Austin – The capital has a reputation for people getting tickets for only a few miles over the speed limit. And, of course, like I mentioned above, with the crazy reductions in high to low speed limits…what a great place for an officer to hide behind a tree. Cha-ching!
So now, in addition to radar and laser detectors, there are other technologies available to help you to avoid getting a ticket. Or, you can just use the old fashioned method. Get up early, leave the house on time, don’t rush, and drive with both of your hands on the wheel while you’re looking out for cops.
Until next week…unleash your inner trapster.
Daun Thompson