Waldo Speed Trap Busted

[spk7951]

According to the Ocala Star Banner five police officers in Waldo alleged, in testimony to the city council, that the police chief and city manager implemented a ticket quota system, a violation of Florida law. The police chief was placed on administrative leave August 12th and FDLE is investigating. The officers, supposedly, were required to write 12 tickets per 12hr shift.
In 2012 this area, along 301, was rated the 3rd worst speed trap in the US and Canada.

[billethkid]

Right or wrongly applied doesn't matter to me.

Waldo is a text book, sterling example of what happens when it becomes known to the public ........where the laws are strictly enforced.

Amazing how well behaved folks are behind the wheel where this is done.

We could use a lot of that kind of enforcement here in TV.

[rubicon]

This is clearly an abuse of power and something we find in communist /police states. The whole thing was rigged to increase the towns revenue

LOE's rigged use of red light cameras are achieving the same result.

These abuses are going to come back and haunt police officials who are already under the gun because of issues such as Ferguson

[denise adams]

Wow, I totally agree with the other poster. It shouldn't matter if it's a camera or a speed trap or sobriety check (or whatever). If you violate the law(s) then you pay the consequences.
just my cent and a half opinion

[dewilson58]

Cameras, I don't mind.
:cryin2:

"Speed traps", I don't mind.
(not sure the definition of a speed trap....officer doing radar??)
:cryin2:

I don't like the idea of a quota if the officers are so concerned about making the quota that it hampers his other duties/roles/responsibilities.

[Bogie Shooter]

Red light cameras, revenue up.......................crashes down. What is most important? They save lives!

[Mikeod]

IIRC, the problem there was the speed limits dropped precipitously within a few hundred feet from 55 to 45 to 35 to 25. The changes were so quick, and the enforcement so strict, that it was easy for even a conscientious driver to find themselves a few mph over if they weren't aware of this situation before entering the town. Plus, there was no reason from a traffic engineering standpoint for the limits to change so rapidly and so significantly. It was done purely and specifically for revenue.

I applaud the officers for coming forth. Situations like this can erode confidence in our law enforcement and should be brought to light.

[TNLAKEPANDA]

Right or wrongly applied doesn't matter to me.

Waldo is a text book, sterling example of what happens when it becomes known to the public ........where the laws are strictly enforced.

Amazing how well behaved folks are behind the wheel where this is done.

We could use a lot of that kind of enforcement here in TV.

What didn't you understand about it being illegal in Florida? :22yikes:

[Chi-Town]

Where's Waldo?

[Bogie Shooter]

Where's Waldo?


https://maps.google.com/

[RErmer]

It's pretty bad when even AAA on it's TripTiks called out Waldo as a speed trap. I believe in obeying the law, but going through that town with the suddenly changing speed limits was ridiculous!

[janmcn]

It's pretty bad when even AAA on it's TripTiks called out Waldo as a speed trap. I believe in obeying the law, but going through that town with the suddenly changing speed limits was ridiculous!


Someone at one time (perhaps AAA) rented a billboard to warn drivers of the speed trap. Kudos to AAA.

[KayakerNC]

https://maps.google.com/

The REAL Waldo.
http://www.frugalfrigate.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/wheres-waldo.jpg

[Bogie Shooter]

What took so long for the officers to blow the whistle on the Chief?

[DDoug]

Sounds like Fruitland Park

[Shimpy]

Waldo and others on 301 such at Starke are the classical speed trap. You go from 55mph to 45 to 30 then back up to 45 thinking you are going out of that town but then suddenly back to 35 and that's where they catch you.
I hope those that think they are the almighty good drivers and wish upon everyone going 1/2 mile over the speed limit gets a ticket gets caught also.

[billethkid]

What didn't you understand about it being illegal in Florida? :22yikes:

NOTHING!

Too bad the point being made was missed!

[kittygilchrist]

I lived In Gainesville for years and years, 10 miles from Waldo. I learned it was a speed trap in the early 70s. And it never changed. Everybody who traveled 301 to Jacksonville more than once knew about it.

[shcisamax]

I was on my way to the Mayo but I had been told about it. that said, it did not prepare me for how quickly those speed limit signs change. Yikes. And there were the police just waiting as drivers attempt to adjust accordingly. I hit the brakes to lower my speed fast enough when I saw how fast the speed limit signs changed and I am lucky no one rear ended me. It is bad policing, as far as I am concerned.

[Suzi]

Where's Waldo?

Are you really kidding me? Where's Waldo? Thats a game I play with my grandkids!

[Chi-Town]

Are you really kidding me? Where's Waldo? Thats a game I play with my grandkids!
Oh.

44529

[bluedog103]

The speed changes in Waldo used to be much worse. Now you have a warning that the speed limit will change ahead so I don't have a problem with the speed limit changes. You just have to pay attention. It used to be that the speed limit would change suddenly from something like 60 to 35 and the cops would be sitting just past the lower speed limit sign. I heard that the state got involved and made them change to the current, marked, graduated changes.

[Indydealmaker]

Red light cameras, revenue up.......................crashes down. What is most important? They save lives!

:agree:
Nobody has accused these cops of issuing tickets that were not deserved. The reality is that they could do nothing at all but write speeding tickets 24/7 and still not touch but a minority of the offenders. So how is the quota system wrong?

[Regor]

I've been through Waldo 100's of times. There has always been plenty of warning and space to slow down. For the past 6 years or better the lower speed limit signs have had a bright yellow sign above the posted speed limit sign. Not hard to miss.

Driving at 35 for the approximately 4 or 5 miles it takes to get through Waldo takes about 45 seconds longer at 35 than at 40. I think they should have speeding cameras and catch everyone violating.

[BarryRX]

I've been through Waldo 100's of times. There has always been plenty of warning and space to slow down. For the past 6 years or better the lower speed limit signs have had a bright yellow sign above the posted speed limit sign. Not hard to miss.

Driving at 35 for the approximately 4 or 5 miles it takes to get through Waldo takes about 45 seconds longer at 35 than at 40. I think they should have speeding cameras and catch everyone violating.

I also make many trips through Waldo to visit family in Jacksonville. All along 301, there are signs that warn you that the speed limit will change before it actually does. I have no problem slowing down in plenty of time to stay within the speed limit. But, I do think having a quota system is wrong and may tend to push law enforcement officers to be less than truthful about tickets they give out if not meeting the quota could cost them their livelihood. If I am speeding and get a ticket, then I deserve it. But if I am doing the speed limit and an officer says he's "clocked" me over the limit because he has to make quota, that's wrong and that's why the quota system has been made illegal in Florida.

[DonH57]

We will be making the return trip through there in a few days. I dread the long slow travel down or up that part of 301. Speed up, slow down, speed up, slow down. It's the worse part of the travel. Writing tickets to
fill quotas is wrong and should be illegal. Writing tickets to guilty parties who speed, no problem.

[REDCART]

When driving 301 North (Lawtey, Starke, and Waldo) we use our cruise control to ensure that we don't exceed the speed limit. Takes some of the stress away.

[Walter123]

What took so long for the officers to blow the whistle on the Chief?



Waldo Police Department
14660 NE Waldo Rd, Waldo, FL 32694
(352) 468-1515

[Walter123]

It's only a trap if you aren't paying attention. So what if the cops have a quota. As long as they are not ticketing drivers that obey the law then what's the problem? Just like any other business.

[nitehawk]

Red light cameras, revenue up.......................crashes down. What is most important? They save lives!

Says WHO!!!!!!

[dewilson58]

Says WHO!!!!!!

The historical stat's in my home town Says.

[collie1228]

Driving through Waldo and the other speed trap towns on 301 is like driving in the old Soviet Union. You have to concentrate on your speed while looking around for the KGB. I know it's a cliche, but I find it all to be Un-American, and I was happy to see they got busted. Speed limits for safety are well and good, but speed limits simply for revenue collection are not. Lawtey and Starke are two other speed trap towns that should be ashamed of themselves.

[Walter123]

IMHO we could use the Waldo philosophy here in The Villages then maybe we wouldn't have so many fender benders and concrete trucks rolling over. Slow down, obey the law, and live happily ever after.

[buggyone]

Speed traps have nothing to do with "obeying the law." Towns that have the traps are just doing it to get money and the speed traps are not for safety reasons.

[Bobcuse]

Read this from almost 6 mos ago CNN.

Speed trap is dirtiest little town in America - CNN.com (http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/09/us/hampton-florida-corruption/)

[TheVillageChicken]

Hmmmm. Law enforcement officers were ordered to enforce the law. What a concept.

[EnglishJW]

This article may be of interest ...

http://http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/27/more-cities-putting-brakes-on-red-light-speeding-traffic-cameras/

I am in favor of red light cameras - it frees up the police from taking on this task and will, ultimately, force drivers to slow down and obey the signals at intersections. The data "appears" to show an increase in accidents. Personally, I assume this is a result of a combination of speeding, tailgating and impatience. We were t-boned by a taxi running a red light so I do have a bias.

[Walter123]

Read this from almost 6 mos ago CNN.

Speed trap is dirtiest little town in America - CNN.com (http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/09/us/hampton-florida-corruption/)

I thought we were talking about Waldo?

[Regor]

We will be making the return trip through there in a few days. I dread the long slow travel down or up that part of 301. Speed up, slow down, speed up, slow down. It's the worse part of the travel.

Easy enough to by-pass 301, take I-75, I-10. Why do something you dread?

[Walter123]

Speed traps have nothing to do with "obeying the law." Towns that have the traps are just doing it to get money and the speed traps are not for safety reasons.

You are right, speed traps have nothing to do with obeying the law but, if you obey the law then you won't get trapped. Does that make sense or am I missing something? :confused:

[buggyone]

You are right, speed traps have nothing to do with obeying the law but, if you obey the law then you won't get trapped. Does that make sense or am I missing something? :confused:

You are missing something. Figure it out. 'Nuff said.

[Walter123]

You are missing something. Figure it out. 'Nuff said.

I wonder what prompts people to be so rude? I wonder what I said that made you angry?
Please tell me what I am missing.

[yabbadu]

According to the Ocala Star Banner five police officers in Waldo alleged, in testimony to the city council, that the police chief and city manager implemented a ticket quota system, a violation of Florida law. The police chief was placed on administrative leave August 12th and FDLE is investigating. The officers, supposedly, were required to write 12 tickets per 12hr shift.
In 2012 this area, along 301, was rated the 3rd worst speed trap in the US and Canada.

Its about time...You have to hit brakes very fast to achieve the speed reductions posted every 100 feet. I always thought it was illegal!

[kittygilchrist]

Interim Waldo chief also suspended over ticket quota | Gainesville.com (http://www.gainesville.com/article/20140828/ARTICLES/140829551)

[bluedog103]

Its about time...You have to hit brakes very fast to achieve the speed reductions posted every 100 feet. I always thought it was illegal!
Maybe this is just a little bit of an exaggeration? I've driven this route many times without hitting the brakes very fast and I've yet to see speed reductions every 100 ft. You just have to pay attention. The speed reductions are well marked. If you go through there daydreaming or chatting on you phone there's a real good chance you're going to meet the Man.

[kittygilchrist]

Maybe this is just a little bit of an exaggeration? I've driven this route many times without hitting the brakes very fast and I've yet to see speed reductions every 100 ft. You just have to pay attention. The speed reductions are well marked. If you go through there daydreaming or chatting on you phone there's a real good chance you're going to meet the Man.

Waldo ranked the third worst speed trap in North America | Gainesville.com (http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120831/ARTICLES/120839872)

[bluedog103]

I understand that the Waldo police write a whole lot of tickets. I don't like seeing a cop car sitting just past a speed limit sign either. Whether it is or isn't a speed trap depends on your definition of a speed trap. I don't care one way or another. My point is that the frequent limit speed changes, which according to Waldo Police Chief Michael Szabo are set by the state, are very well marked. To avoid a ticket all you have to do is pay attention. The police chief further states that they usually only write tickets for speeds more than 10 mph over the speed limit. In my experience that's way more lenient than most local police departments.

[rubicon]

Am I alone in believing that demanding quotas creates a conflict of interest or at least the appearance of one? Have you ever been given a ticket for going over just 2 miles above the speed limit. Well I have and hired an attorney who made several contacts and came back with "it doesn't matter you were over the 55mph limit"and they won't budge.

Have you heard that one manner of setting speed limits is to ascertain the majority of drivers speed. so if the traffic movement natural inclination is 60 than 60 mph is posted.

Did you know that for years New York refused to raise the speed limit above 55mph on the Thruway because it saved lives except when they did raise it fatalities dropped.

Did you know that with just one change the need for red light cameras and the obvious money-sharing abuses would be unnecessary. It is just a slight change in extending the caution light.

did you know that the reverse of this remedy decreasing the length of time that the caution light appears is used to rig the system?

This issue is far from cut and dry. And if as suggested in a previous post some thing Waldo's tactics ought to be applied here then remember that we have far too many residents traveling in passing lanes substantial under the speed limit and some with the expression clearly signaling that all drivers should follow suit.

I am a law abiding citizen also but sometimes even in law enforcement a bad apple is found

[Bobcuse]

I thought we were talking about Waldo?


If you click on the link I provided you will read this statement:
"Hampton, Lawtey and Waldo were the three most notorious speed traps along U.S. 301 in Florida."

These three towns are all close in proximity. Waldo becomes the 2nd of the three to be accused of criminal behavior involving their speed traps.

[kittygilchrist]

Speed trap indeed: Waldo cops say they've been under ticket quotas (w/video) | Tampa Bay Times (http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/speed-trap-indeed-waldo-cops-say-theyve-been-under-ticket-quotas-wvideo/2195104)
Here's a video...

[rp001]

How convenient for some to say good job Waldo when in fact it is illegal. Which laws do you want enforced? Everyone wants to be a cow pasture cop!

[TheVillageChicken]

How convenient for some to say good job Waldo when in fact it is illegal. Which laws do you want enforced? Everyone wants to be a cow pasture cop!

Setting the quotas may be illegal, but dishing out the tickets is not.

[tommy steam]

I have read that in Waldo people have been given Speed tickets for going 1 or 2 mph over the posted limit.

[TomH]

This is why we do not travel route 301 when we come to The Villages.



Infamous speed trap town investigated over tickets | Boston Herald (http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/national/south/2014/09/infamous_speed_trap_town_investigated_over_tickets )

[ditka41]

I simply use the cruise control through that stretch of 301. I've not been ticketed, but can't recall the last time through there that a car was not pulled over for some reason, presumably "speeding". So it takes a couple of minutes longer overall. To make me feel better about the situation I make sure I don't stop for fuel or food going through the little "trap towns". If their city management believes ticket writing is the way to improve their budget, the loss of retail sales tax should be felt also. It's not hard to simply plan ahead and avoid stopping for supplies along 301.

[LndLocked]

In the past (when TV was still 98% hay fields and watermelon patches) .... Lawtey and Waldo were both big time, major league "speed traps". The speed limit would go from 55/60 mph to 30mph, with no warning, only a single, small and not very visible 30mph sign. Both cities wrote thousands and thousands of speeding tickets per month.

Then AAA and bad national pub but pressure on Fla DOT to force them to put up the "warning" signs of a speed reduction ahead. Frankly, if you get a ticket now ... it is pretty much your fault.

It was only AFTER the warning signs in Waldo and Lawtey were put up that Hamton tried to get in on the easy money, as they did not have them.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Setting the quotas may be illegal, but dishing out the tickets is not.

True. Tickets should be a way of punishing people for breaking the law NOT a way of raising revenues.

Also placing speed limit signs with declining speed limits very close together for the sole purpose of "catching" people speeding is illegal. Speed limits and speed limit signs are in place to protect the public safety. Again, they are not meant to be revenue sources. People who are caught in these types of speed traps are not endangering the lives or safety of the public which is why they are illegal.

In this case, the town has been found to have been violating the law. Which laws would you like enforced?

[MarkinMd]

There a couple of ways to handle "speed traps".
1. The state law would have to change to have the high majority of the revenue not go to the local jurisdiction but to the state. The state could then dispense the revenue how they see fit: safety, schools, etc.
This would eliminate the incentive to write tickets for revenue and only issue tickets for safety reasons.
2. Have a written policy that speeding tickets could only be written in areas that indicate a large number of vehicular crashes that have' speeding' as the primary or contributing factors as a cause. OR documented community complaints for speeding in that area.

[Indydealmaker]

For my part, I do not care how much revenue moving violation tickets generate. In fact, apparently, speeding and red light violation penalties are no where nearly as punitive as they should be. What so many conveniently forget when they complain tickets is that in order to get one, you have to break the law.

[DonH57]

We passed thru there yesterday on our return from up north. They were ready and waiting. Only seen cops on two spots on 95 where they always are, mile markers 56 and 9 in Georgia.

[Walt.]

For my part, I do not care how much revenue moving violation tickets generate. In fact, apparently, speeding and red light violation penalties are no where nearly as punitive as they should be. What so many conveniently forget when they complain tickets is that in order to get one, you have to break the law.

The revenue is often shared between the camera company and the municipality It is not uncommon for the "yellow light time" to be trimmed by 1-2 seconds. Even traveling within the limit it still makes for jamming on the brakes or "running the light" and getting ticketed. They added these in the Miami suburb I lived "pre-Villages" and even going at 25-30 MPH it was difficult. The revenue did skyrocket though. No... they never got me.

[Indydealmaker]

The revenue is often shared between the camera company and the municipality It is not uncommon for the "yellow light time" to be trimmed by 1-2 seconds. Even traveling within the limit it still makes for jamming on the brakes or "running the light" and getting ticketed. They added these in the Miami suburb I lived "pre-Villages" and even going at 25-30 MPH it was difficult. The revenue did skyrocket though. No... they never got me.

I do not advocate "rigging the game". The point should be to save lives and punish law breakers. The yellow should remain at a state-mandated statutory setting appropriate for the posted speed.

[janmcn]

The local ABC affiliate just reported that Waldo police have been relieved of their duties of writing tickets in Waldo, and that job will now fall to the Florida Highway patrol out of Alachua county. This change was necessitated because of reports of the quota system in Waldo. The report also stated that the speed limits will be strictly enforced.

[yabbadu]

Right or wrongly applied doesn't matter to me.

Waldo is a text book, sterling example of what happens when it becomes known to the public ........where the laws are strictly enforced.

Amazing how well behaved folks are behind the wheel where this is done.

We could use a lot of that kind of enforcement here in TV.

So you support illegal enforcement by police? So its OK for them to break the law ??????????????????????????????

[shcisamax]

Well you don't need to worry about the police enforcement here. I was ticketed on Buena Vista yesterday when I tried to pass and had sped up to do so. Bam. As for Waldo, there is something inherently unfair about posting speed limits that reduce in an unrealistic time frame. And just happen to have police sitting 24/7 at the end of that challenge.

[Walter123]

Well you don't need to worry about the police enforcement here. I was ticketed on Buena Vista yesterday when I tried to pass and had sped up to do so. Bam. As for Waldo, there is something inherently unfair about posting speed limits that reduce in an unrealistic time frame. And just happen to have police sitting 24/7 at the end of that challenge.

Happy to know we don't have to worry about the police here. They do a good job of catching speeders and drunks too!

[jimbo2012]

Radar detectors find all of them.