Speed trap

Saw someone pulled over on Rte 302 Sunday morning, heading from Bretton Woods towards the Highland Center. I love to speed there, so I hope the police aren't setting up shop there.

Also met a new Forestry officer at the Greely Pond parking lot. Very nice gent. They have been short=handed for a while, and I guess they are trying to increase their presence now.

BJG

There was a ridiculous speed trap on 93 north between Plymouth and Concord Friday. They were checking speed by aircraft, and using groups of 4 Troopers to pull over packs of cars speeding in groups. Every time I head north, even if its 3:00 a.m., I always pass at least 4 NH staties.

I just stay in the right lane and do 60-65, I'm not in that much of a hurry that I want to pay $200.00 for a ticket.

I think the police presence was due to the holiday weekend. There was an inordinate amount of police going up 95 and 16 on Friday. Local Police were out as well. One Statie shined his side light on me as i was passing someone going about 75. He never pulled out though, i just let off the gas and got out of the left lane. Oddly enough, the MA Troopers that are usually hiding behind bridges were not to be seen. Just keep them off rt3 between Franconia Notch and Twin Mountain. Thats a fun road to bop about on.

Have also seen a Franconia cop running a speed trap on US3 about 3 miles north of the I93 exit on the way to Twin Mtn.

There is frequently special funding for holiday traffic enforcement. Given the recent weather conditions up north, slowing folks down is not necessarily a bad thing. Do remember that the speed limit was raised on I93 north of Canterbury from 65 to 70 recently but the state has not switched over many signs if any. There are frequently traps around twin mountain as the state police barracks is nearby so its good spot to be ready fro shift change.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/ne...speed-limit/YspXKJi4OHTrMm9UbeHG2O/story.html

Most folks report they can run 75 mph with no issues from police.

B the Hiker said:

...I love to speed there, so I hope the police aren't setting up shop there....

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If you (and others) love to speed there, then I hope the police ARE setting up shop there. I love how people use the phrase speed trap, as if the cops are somehow tricking people
into speeding. Here's a crazy idea, how about just driving at or slightly above the speed limit? The posted speed limits in and around the Whites are not unreasonable. Crunch the
numbers some day....unless you're driving A LONG LONG way, you don't really save that much time by speeding. Getting a speeding ticket is 100% avoidable...you get one, it's all
your fault. Stop whining.

Billy said:

If you (and others) love to speed there, then I hope the police ARE setting up shop there. I love how people use the phrase speed trap, as if the cops are somehow tricking people
into speeding. Here's a crazy idea, how about just driving at or slightly above the speed limit? The posted speed limits in and around the Whites are not unreasonable. Crunch the
numbers some day....unless you're driving A LONG LONG way, you don't really save that much time by speeding. Getting a speeding ticket is 100% avoidable...you get one, it's all
your fault. Stop whining.

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Without getting too philosophical, I believe that speed limits must be reasonable set taking into account the road design and different aspects of the area (e.g., school zone). Areas that have lots of people (more than 25% of drivers) breaking the speed limit likely have artificially low speed limits, or are poorly signed. A driver who is only focused on how fast they are going worries me a lot more than a driver taking into account all of their surroundings and road conditions and driving accordingly.

As for the issue at hand, cars tend to be going faster after coming down a hill. To me a 'speed trap' implies an area where one is more likely to be speeding. If the goal was to make people safer they would set up speed reduction zones in areas where people don't typically speed, then they would actually catch the troublemakers. Instead, they cast a wide net and bring is a ton of revenue (and the death-o-meter continues to climb).

Here's an interesting variation in setting speed limits - in California, the law requires that posted limits be based upon actual speeds which drivers are doing, not what the DOT or state/local police think is appropriate. The CA DOT does something called "traffic studies" to measure actual observed speeds. So ... if you get a speeding ticket in CA, first make sure that a traffic study was done for the area in question.

To me, an example of an obvious speed trap is the first mile of so southbound on I95 below the last exit on the single lane section. From that point on, the road increases to two lanes, and yet the speed limit is held artifically low, making some easy targets for troopers waiting on the right. After the exit the limit to be raised to 65. Then, if someone gets a ticket for doing 75 I don't have a problem. In all fairness I haven't seen trooper laying in the weeds for the past year or two, but not so in the not too distant past.

Billy said:

If you (and others) love to speed there, then I hope the police ARE setting up shop there. I love how people use the phrase speed trap, as if the cops are somehow tricking people
into speeding. Here's a crazy idea, how about just driving at or slightly above the speed limit? The posted speed limits in and around the Whites are not unreasonable. Crunch the
numbers some day....unless you're driving A LONG LONG way, you don't really save that much time by speeding. Getting a speeding ticket is 100% avoidable...you get one, it's all
your fault. Stop whining.

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Ditto! I live on a busy road, much, much busier than it was decades ago. It's not uncommon for people to go by my house over twice as fast as the posted limit...I've gone as far as to set my cruise control for 31 MPH just to tick the line of people behind me off...

Unless you are on an interstate, you are speeding through someone's neighborhood. Keep that in mind.

Is MA they have the same rule (that speed studies must be done to regulate the posted speed limit). They set the speed limit at the 80th percentile (so only 20% of people would be speeding). There are a few notable exceptions where the speed limit has been kept artificially low though, such as Rt 3 from 95 to NH, where it's a 55 zone (despite being designed for a 65 zone). Compliance is around 1%, so they can just about ticket at will.

As for the issue in the Whites, there aren't many places that I have an issue with the posted speeds now that is goes up to 65 right out of Franconia Notch (instead of a couple miles down the road). I usually go about 10 over on highways and I've never gotten a ticket, although I have been waved over twice on holiday weekends, both times I was given a verbal warning (and they said it was because I was honest about how fast I was going!).

thegibba said:

Just keep them off rt3 between Franconia Notch and Twin Mountain. Thats a fun road to bop about on.

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I have never seen any police when going through the notch. At the southern end of the notch, where there are 4 lanes at the limit is 55mph, I still get passed if I'm doing 65-70.

There are speed traps and there are speed traps. Some nab people who are actually speeding ... and let's face it, on most undeveloped roads there is some reasonable leeway from the posted limit while in developed areas there is often the feeling there ought to be better enforcement. I wonder if Paul Walker's family wished there were a speed trap?

Other speed traps are used to nab relatively innocent people in order to raise local "revenues". I've consulted AAA a few times on long road trips and they cautioned on the latter speed traps in specific areas, circling the areas in red on my road maps ... not exactly tourist destinations. If you're a member of such an organization, let it know about such incidents ... sometime they accumulate such info and let members know about it.

I doubt these NH "traps" fall into this latter category but thanks for the heads up. In NH, I assume there is a trooper somewhere on the interstate ... got stopped once myself late at night northbound on I-93 near the I-89 exit. Got off without even a written warning ... perhaps it was the camping gear in the back of the truck or perhaps it had something to do with Erik's charm who, upon awakening from a deep sleep to a sharply dressed trooper at the driver's window, remarked, "Hey! Nice uniform!"

Stan said:

There are speed traps and there are speed traps.

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+1

A speed trap is a poorly sign speed change where the enforcement is based on your license plate.

Brian's example is not a speed trap nor is iagreewithjamie's. Those are examples of enforcement.

I do quite a bit of driving for work and hiking (approximately 37,000 miles on the new Hyundai I bought mid-March of this year) so this may be one of the few areas of "expertise" I can bring to VFTT.

I drive North from CT for all my hikes via Rte 3 / Rte 93 (have roughly 50 trips up and down this corridor for hiking or work this year). Holiday or no holiday there is always a steady police presence along the whole length of Rte 93, including Franconia Notch. It is very rare that I do not see any speed traps. Typical count between Cannon Mt and Rte 89 split is 2-4 traps. One weekend (which I believe was a holiday) I counted 17 speed traps from Franconia Notch to Rte 89. I've found the cops to be pretty forgiving on Rte 93 though. Normally set my cruise at 70-73 mph in a 65 mph and rarely draw any interest, even when I'm the only car on the road. I too have been pulled over several times over the years on Rte 93 and always got a warning. You really have to be doing something extra special to earn a ticket in my opinion. The single lane roads like Rte 302 and especially Rte 16 tend to have the real ball busters and lowest tolerances. My luck there has not been nearly as fortunate. 10 mph over will earn you a ticket most of the time.

Quietman: The end of Franconia Notch heading South where road opens up to 2 lanes but is still 55 mph is one of the most popular spots for traps I've seen. Probably see a cop there 1 out of 3 trips to NH. Saw someone pulled over there on my last trip home FRI. I even passed a cruiser once sitting in that little gap in the guard rails with all the wildflowers where the Lafayette Place exits are. That one took me by surprise. Not a lot of room at all there. They're out there.

Gorham NH is frequently cited as speed trap as the speed limit down the long hill into town drops from 55 to 35 at the base of the hill with little notice. It does garner a fair share of tickets but I don't consider it a speed trap as the area just down the road gets quite congested with traffic coming in from a Jimtown road and numerous homes along the road and lately add in ATVs running with the traffic. I have far less respect for the speed trap on the limited access part of RT 2 in Randolph where a local trooper gets his weekend quota. There is little or no traffic from side roads, good sight lines and wide break down lanes. (of course Raven may object as his propertie's driveway is on this stretch)

I used this app for the first time the other day - it not only navigates like a typical map app, but it also integrates a social media aspect that allows users to share traffic issues of interest such as accidents, traffic cops, weather conditions etc... https://www.waze.com/

Interesting- I have not run into the speed traps mentioned on Rte 3, if anything I always wonder where they are since its easy to go 65. Rte 2 from castleview TH to gorham hill is 65 territory, but have seen statey periodically. I mostly run into them on 93 between exit 24 & 26, like 3-5 of them on most days. Rte 115 is easy to get clicking up to 65 without a run in in my experience. (Except the 40 mph section) cop sits there.

peakbagger said:

Gorham NH is frequently cited as speed trap as the speed limit down the long hill into town drops from 55 to 35 at the base of the hill with little notice. It does garner a fair share of tickets but I don't consider it a speed trap as the area just down the road gets quite congested with traffic coming in from a Jimtown road and numerous homes along the road and lately add in ATVs running with the traffic. I have far less respect for the speed trap on the limited access part of RT 2 in Randolph where a local trooper gets his weekend quota. There is little or no traffic from side roads, good sight lines and wide break down lanes. (of course Raven may object as his propertie's driveway is on this stretch)

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That's a tough spot - gets a lot of people unaware I'm sure. It's funny that the speed drops 20 mph within about 40 yards of passing an emergency runaway truck ramp which gives an idea of the speeds that can occur. If I'm not mistaken it drops to 30 at that spot (from 50?). With the homes right along that stretch I always slow right down but I usually have someone on my fender when I do.

I see people getting tickets by state troopers regularly on rte 2 in Randolph - it's a pretty common spot for them.

Regarding the Randolph trap, I don't have an issue one way or the other with it being there. The only time I ever had an issue was when I had to ask two troopers to kindly move so I could get in my driveway. To be fair, you wouldn't know there was a building there much of the year and these two seemed new at the time.

I find a cruise control set to 73 and a good audiobook are the keys to a relaxed, police-free drive. I'd also say that I nearly always see radar guns out on a Sunday afternoon in ski season on 93 south of Lincoln and north of Plymouth