QuoteTiny town known as speed trap may disappear
HAMPTON, Fla. -
With its former mayor in jail on drug charges and after most other city employees who walked out after a state audit found missing money and possibly criminal mismanagement, the city of Hampton may not be around much longer.
To anyone who ever got a speeding ticket while passing through the two miles of U.S. 301 within the Hampton city limits, this is welcome news.
With only 477 residents, the city has brought in as much as $200,000 annually from traffic citations.
"This town exists apparently just to write speeding tickets," state Sen. Rob Bradley, who represents Bradford County, told Time magazine earlier this month.
Full article: http://www.news4jax.com/news/tiny-town-known-as-speed-trap-may-disappear/-/475880/24565012/-/kup4e2/-/index.html
The US 301 speed traps are in Waldo, Starke, and Lawtey...perhaps our state legislators need to get educated
You may want to ask one former mayoral spokesperson if he considers Hampton to be a speed trap.
^ I don't think speeding was his problem
Weren't the city limits of Hampton expanded solely so they could get a piece of 301 to write tickets?
Quote from: Josh on February 20, 2014, 02:19:18 PM
Weren't the city limits of Hampton expanded solely so they could get a piece of 301 to write tickets?
I never heard that, but it sure does look like it according to google maps. Look at how the city limit stretches over to 301:
(http://i.imgur.com/4rOHQav.jpg)
That being said, I've only seen cops with nothing to do in Waldo and Lawtey.
^Wow, that's pretty suspect.
Yes, that's pretty much the picture. All of those towns make their budget pulling over people going between Jacksonville and Gainesville, but Hampton is easily the most shameless.
Quote from: Josh on February 20, 2014, 02:19:18 PM
Weren't the city limits of Hampton expanded solely so they could get a piece of 301 to write tickets?
Yes. I don't remember it lasting very long but they did it for a while and I think they got called out for it by AAA, who also put Lawtey and Waldo and Starke in their sites as well.
Amongst other controversies, a speed trap panhandle reaching out to US-301, really? Thanks Hampton for being the shadiest town in Florida (I'm not talking about the sunlight either).
I got a ticket in Hampton for 10 over. They are definitely a speed trap. Very well-mannered and professional cop, though. In fact he was so nice and courteous that I actually just paid the ticket instead of weaseling out of it like usual.
looks like a political district...
Quote from: ChriswUfGator on February 20, 2014, 09:36:23 PM
I got a ticket in Hampton for 10 over. They are definitely a speed trap. Very well-mannered and professional cop, though. In fact he was so nice and courteous that I actually just paid the ticket instead of weaseling out of it like usual.
I've never even seen a cop pull someone over in that area....the real speed traps are Lawtey, Starke, and Waldo, where they will gladly write you a ticket for going 2-3 mph over the limit.
Quote from: coredumped on February 20, 2014, 04:36:03 PM
Quote from: Josh on February 20, 2014, 02:19:18 PM
Weren't the city limits of Hampton expanded solely so they could get a piece of 301 to write tickets?
I never heard that, but it sure does look like it according to google maps. Look at how the city limit stretches over to 301:
(http://i.imgur.com/4rOHQav.jpg)
That being said, I've only seen cops with nothing to do in Waldo and Lawtey.
I think you guys are being too harsh....obviously they expanded the boundary to capture the vast economic development potential and high propoerty values on the US 301 corridor :)
Quote from: tufsu1 on February 21, 2014, 08:57:32 AM
Quote from: ChriswUfGator on February 20, 2014, 09:36:23 PM
I got a ticket in Hampton for 10 over. They are definitely a speed trap. Very well-mannered and professional cop, though. In fact he was so nice and courteous that I actually just paid the ticket instead of weaseling out of it like usual.
I've never even seen a cop pull someone over in that area....the real speed traps are Lawtey, Starke, and Waldo, where they will gladly write you a ticket for going 2-3 mph over the limit.
You must not drive through there very often. It got bad like 6 years ago but they seemed to have eased off lately. You probably just don't notice the cops because most of their cars are random color late model undercover cars. They had a Dodge Neon and Durango for a while.
Quote from: tufsu1 on February 21, 2014, 08:57:32 AM
Quote from: ChriswUfGator on February 20, 2014, 09:36:23 PM
I got a ticket in Hampton for 10 over. They are definitely a speed trap. Very well-mannered and professional cop, though. In fact he was so nice and courteous that I actually just paid the ticket instead of weaseling out of it like usual.
I've never even seen a cop pull someone over in that area....the real speed traps are Lawtey, Starke, and Waldo, where they will gladly write you a ticket for going 2-3 mph over the limit.
Just reporting my personal experience, as I got a ticket in Hampton. Take it for whatever data point it's worth. I'm not saying Waldo and Lawtey aren't also speed traps, they are.
Good. Blow up the entire useless town. Little House On The Prairie style!
I've read that Hampton has at most 1,400 feet on 301 and yet they were taking in $200,000 a year in traffic citations mostly from 301. That's more than Lawtey which has 3 miles of 301 and a school on the road. The Bradford County sheriff doesn't even think they have enough space on 301 to properly track and pull over a vehicle in their jurisdiction. They backed off after 2012 when the sheriff called them out on it.
I've been driving US-301 pretty regularly for about 12 years, going to G-ville's VA. I only got one ticket about eight months ago going through that hellhole speed trap corridor (Waldo) for 'avoiding a traffic device'.
I cut through an abandoned gas station, because this eighteen wheeler at a weird turning angle in front of me was taking forever to make a left turn at a stop sign on the highway from that side road; A car was in front of me did the exact same thing that I was trying to do, but I got caught. It would've taken me probably ten minutes waiting on that truck.
That whole area is pathetic.
They could make more money in gas station / restaurant sales taxes and employment for locals is they got rid of the speed traps.
Most people may not speed through there but they also refuse to patronize any of those businesses there. Why give such horrible towns / people and business and tax money if they are just a bunch of backwards people who are so weak they can only have sowed traps to project pride and power.
Quote from: BoldBoyOfTheSouth on February 22, 2014, 10:13:00 PM
That whole area is pathetic.
I agree. As much as I'm not wild about Gainesville, those crappy 301 speed trap towns make G-ville look like a welcome haven.
Hampton made the national news, of course for all of the wrong reasons. It would be a freaking miracle if Hampton maintains it's existence.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kELze26IXpk
They should wipe that whole area off the map. I had to travel that stretch quite a bit when I worked at the VA in GV, before getting an apt there. Thanks for the vid.
The story is on CNN's website today
http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/09/us/hampton-florida-corruption/index.html?hpt=hp_c2
First Hampton, now Waldo, FL is facing corruption for it's speed trap. Allegations like ticket quotas among other things. As soon as actionnews releases the vid, I'll post it.
^^^Here's the article
http://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/news/waldo-police-officers-say-chief-forced-them-write-/ng98q/
You can always take hwy 121 instead. (it is just the next exit on I-10 past 301) It goes through Lake Butler, but much less traffic, and no traps.