NMA Speed Trap Spotlight: Texas

Texas speedtrap spotlight

For speed trap groupies, there’s no place like Texas. Home to two of the most notorious speed trap towns (Flower Mound and Estelline), Texas also lays claim to the one city with more speed trap locations than any other in our database: Houston. Speedtrap.org users have reported on 462 speed trap locations throughout Houston, far outpacing second-place Toronto at 344.

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 Texas. Remember, an informed driver is a safer driver.

Five Highest Activity Speed Trap Locations

1.     Flower Mound:

Drivers have reported so much speed trap activity in Flower Mound, it would be difficult to narrow the list to one location. The entire city, located northwest of Dallas, appears to be blanketed with very active speed traps. To illustrate, users of speedtrap.org have recorded more than 23,000 affirmations over the last five years with an acknowledgement rate* approaching 99 percent. Here’s a sample comment from one of the most active locations at FM-3040 (Flower Mound Road):

“Just as you arrive past the city limit heading west on FM-3040 (Flower Mound Rd.) look on the north side of the road past the driving range, patrol will post up behind the bushes! Be on alert on all of 3040!” 

2.     Estelline:

Likewise, the tiny town of Estelline (population 168) in north Texas has a reputation of being one giant speed trap. User feedback from speedtrap.org backs that up, totaling more than 1,800 affirmations over the last five years and an acknowledgement rate of 97 percent. Here’s a sample comment from Either North or South on U.S. Hwy. 287:

“Speed limit drops from 70 to 50 within a couple of heartbeats. I was lucky and the officer cut me loose because of an emergency call. Been through this speed trap 100+ times and almost always seen someone getting a ticket. Keep it down or it will be an expensive drive through town.”

3.     Temple:

Temple’s speed trap activity is clustered around the VA hospital with multiple locations yielding 884 affirmative reports with an acknowledgement rate of 98 percent. A sample comment from South Of Temple VA Hospital is fairly typical:

“Motorcycle cops are hiding at apartment building south of VA hospital and pulling over vehicles leaving the hospital giving ticket for going 12 to 14 mph over the speed limit…”

4.     Los Fresnos:        N Arroyo Blvd & W Ocean Blvd

97 Reports           99% Acknowledgement Rate

“Los Fresnos extended the city limits way out of town to make people passing through to Padre Island think that they were now out of town and would go back up to highway speed. I stopped in Pt. Isabel afterwards and listened to the talk about how many extra cops were put on duty for Spring Break traffic. The idea, for the little towns, is to snag some of the money going through to Padre Island. It’s a “legal” form of armed (they have guns) robbery.”

5.     Houston:               I-10 East and West between Washington and 610

83 Reports             95% Acknowledgement Rate

“…cops out there every morning, tagging people going out and afternoons coming in, just this short stretch that has one big hill that goes down and back up. Not courteous either. Laser, unmarked white chargers and HPD blue alike.”

Ten Texas Cities with Most Reported Speed Traps (for the Last 5 Years) 

Rank

City

#   of Speed Traps

Acknowledgement   Rate

1

Houston

145

84%

2

San Antonio

79

78%

3

Austin

71

82%

4

Dallas

44

91%

5

Irving

30

82%

6

Coppell

27

84%

7

Plano

26

73%

8

Pasadena

24

86%

9

Carrollton

23

84%

10

Fort Worth

21

86%

* 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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