Los Angeles One Of The Cities With The Most Speed Traps In The Nation

Cities and Speed Traps

Every driver probably thinks that his or her own city has the most speed traps. Many drivers get caught and ticketed when going through a speed trap where a police officer was hiding with a radar gun or laser. The driver may also have been caught by a speed camera, which works much like red light cameras. It seems as though every time there is a new technological advancement, cities find a new way to make money off of catching drivers violate the law by running red lights, speeding, or making an illegal u-turn. Some of these are harmless violation such as making a right turn at a red light. Drivers, even cautious ones, have had much to complain about.

Advances in Technology and Traps

But they also have something to be happy about. As technology has improved, not only have cities been able to take advantage of it, drives can now use it to their advantage too. Some of us may remember the day when many drivers had radar detectors installed in their cars. Those are now being replaced by crowd-sourced information on the local of speed traps. It is a sort of virtual warning system that can be accessed using the Internet and a mobile app. Trapster.com is one such site. It is a community platform that can be accessed online and via smartphone app. It alerts drivers to traps, hazards and other traffic issues nearby. Trapster’s list is drawn from the reports of its 15 million users. The Trapster application also takes into account other things that affect traffic such as road hazards, traffic, school zones, construction zones and locations of road kill.

Cities with the Most Active Speed Traps

Trapster.com also recently compiled a list of the 10 cities with the most active speed traps. Los Angeles, California came in at second place. Anyone who has driven in Los Angeles—or, more accurately, sat in traffic in Los Angeles—may be wondering how the city can come in at number two when so much time is spent in stop-and-go traffic. But if you are not traveling during rush hour, you also probably know that the flow of traffic is much higher than the speed limit. While a police officer is unlikely to ticket every driver for going with the flow of traffic, even if it is greater than the speed limit, because it is safer, the automated machines cannot make these judgment calls. They simply send every driver a ticket.