The legitimacy of speed traps is a long-debated issue, and if you’ve been caught in one, no matter where it was in Florida or what the circumstances were, you should contact a Florida traffic defense law firm in Miami and speak to an attorney, who may be able to mitigate the damage done to your driving record and privileges. Speed traps often trap offenders who unwittingly drove in excess of the speed limit, and most of these people just want to keep their driving record intact and get on with their lives.
Legitimacy of Speed Traps
When we think of speed traps in Florida, we often think of those long stretches of highway, like I-95 or the Florida turnpike. What we often lose sight of, however, is that speed traps are just as common, if not more common, in small areas, like just inside the city limits of a small town.
These speed traps are sometimes imposed to bring high-risk areas under control and are sometimes imposed because municipal bodies are aware of the risk of speeding and want to bring in additional revenue. For the most part though, speed traps are erected in order to act as a deterrent.
In the event that the latter is the case, there’s actually a law on the Florida books that explains that such traps that could be beneficial to the community are lawful and permissible. For instance, if you’re driving and notice that other cars are slowing down, your impulse may be to tap your brakes lightly and decrease your speed. You may even check your speedometer to see if you’re within the lawful speed limits. On the whole, speed traps, in this way, are very effective.
Common Speed Traps
School zones are hotbeds for speed traps for a number of reasons. First, these are areas that are of great importance to the community. People want to know that their children are in safe areas, and unruly driving in school zones poses a huge risk to children who may walk to or from school. School zones are also generally half the typical posted speed and are often active for only certain portions of the day. Drivers who are not familiar with the area often easily and accidentally violate the speed limit.
Other common speed traps are those set up by state patrollers. These types of traps are usually set up after statistical analysis demonstrates a growing problem of speeding and at-risk driving in a given area along one of the main highway arteries and are usually temporary.
When you’ve been ticketed, be it in a speed trap or elsewhere, you’re concerned about more than just paying fines – your concern is for your driving privileges, which may be jeopardized when you accrue too many points. If you’ve been caught in a speed trap or cited for a traffic infraction in some other way, trust your case to a hardworking traffic defense law firm in Miami that will thoroughly review the circumstances of your stop and help you better understand your options going forward.