NMA Speed Trap Spotlight: North Carolina

North Carolina speedtrap spotlight

North Carolina gives travelers the opportunity to drive from the highest point in the eastern United States, Mt. Mitchell in the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in a few short hours.  There’s lots of beautiful scenery along the way, but some traps as well … speed traps that is. Let’s see where you need to be on the lookout if you travel through North Carolina this summer.

This information comes from the NMA’s National Speed Trap Exchange (http://www.speedtrap.org/), a unique website that gives drivers an opportunity to report on and exchange comments about predatory speed traps they have encountered on their travels.

We encourage you to send a link to this blog to those you know who live or travel in North Carolina. Remember, an informed driver is a safer driver.

Five Highest Activity Speed Trap Locations

1.     Pinehurst:             Entirety of the historic district

68 Reports             100% Acknowledgement Rate*

“Pinehurst policemen lurk throughout. And another thing: if you plan on having more than one drink with dinner in Pinehurst and getting behind the wheel afterward, you might want to practice getting into the back seat of a sedan with your arms behind your back and your wrists close together.”

2.  Shallotte:               US Highway 17 under Route 130 overpass near State Route 130

67 Reports               100% Acknowledgement Rate

“It’s just a place where the police hang out and wait for speeders…They wait under the overpass of Route 130.”

3.  Durham:                Interstate I85 near State Highway 70

51 Reports             96% Acknowledgement Rate

“Durham PD and NC Highway Patrol will sit under the Highway 70 bridge on southbound I-85 as you round the curve from left to right. You cannot see them until it is too late. This is mostly the AM rush hour, but have seen them in the afternoons as well. They also sit under the highway 70 bridge on northbound I-85 – you can usually slow down before they hit you with the radar. They also sit on the exit from Highway 70 west to northbound I-85. You cannot see them from I-85 northbound until it is way too late.”

4.  Concord:               George w Liles Parkway between Poplar Tent Rd. and Weddington Road

50 Reports             96% Acknowledgement Rate

“The police sit closer to Weddington Road NW on an unused turnoff. They point towards Poplar Tent Rd. One officer described it as the ‘golden mile.’  ”

5.  Greenville:             14th Street near Firetower Road

49 Reports             98% Acknowledgement Rate

“Coming from Firetower and turning down 14th there will be a new church on the left. Just past that church on the left is a big old tree that over hangs the road. Motorcycle cops with radar patrol there often.”

Ten North Carolina Cities with Most Reported Speed Traps (for the Last 10 Years) 

Rank

City

Number   of Speed Traps

Acknowledgement   Rate

1

Charlotte

89

86%

2

Raleigh

85

86%

3

Winston   Salem

36

88%

4

Wilmington

34

83%

5

Greensboro

32

79%

6

Cary

26

82%

7

Hendersonville

22

87%

8

Asheville

21

68%

9

Concord

20

88%

10

Hickory

19

85%

* Acknowledgement rate is the percentage of yes votes to total votes by motorists indicating whether the reported locations, in their opinions, are actually speed traps. Data are available at the links provided.

About The National Speed Trap Exchange

With the development of The National Speed Trap Exchange (http://www.speedtrap.org/) more than 10 years ago, the National Motorists Association pioneered the use of interactive media to alert motorists to potential speed trap activity in their communities. Since then the site has reported on nearly 80,000 speed traps throughout the United States and Canada.

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