Posted on 03/04/2015 12:15:01 PM PST by Responsibility2nd
WALDO, Fla. (AP) - The tiny town of Waldo in north Florida has such a notorious reputation as a speed trap that AAA erected billboards to warn drivers about it, but all that may be about to change.
On Tuesday, weeks after the police chief and interim chief resigned due to state investigations into ticket quotas, mishandling of evidence and other issues, Waldo's City Council disbanded its police force.
While the Alachua County Sheriff's Office is now in charge of policing the town of 1,000, and AAA says it will consider removing its billboards, some citizens worry that the speeding problem will worsen and criminals will feel they have carte blanche.
~snip~
Officials in the town between Jacksonville and Gainesville never hid the fact that citations paid for the small police force, arguing that the speeding problem was a real public safety hazard. For years motorists cruising through the 2-square-mile town have passed the AAA's warning signs.
Trouble with Waldo's police department started in August, when Chief Mike Szabo was suspended amid a Florida Department of Law Enforcement probe into his alleged recording of conversations with fellow officers.
A couple of weeks later the town's interim chief, Cpl. Kenneth Smith, was also suspended after five of the department's officers told the City Council that he was mishandling evidence, taking city property for personal use and imposing a strict ticket quota.
Smith and Szabo later resigned, and the department crumbled.
Waldo really does have a speeding problem, officials and residents insist. They say cars and trucks regularly blow through town on U.S. 301 and Highway 24, endangering residents and school children.
(Excerpt) Read more at naplesnews.com ...
I am planning a trip to the Gainesville area next month to visit friends.
They told me to take I-10 to I-75 and down. Avoid 301 and Waldo. A little longer but faster.
I thought the Waldo ‘problem ‘ was fixed some time back.
Waldo is not presently a speed trap, which I think of as speed limit changes abruptly or without due time to react.
There’s nothing like that now. More than enough warning. The signs are fully visible. Limits go down gradually as you enter town. The speeds are also not unusually low, not any more.
The section of 24 that runs thru the old part of town is quite low speed, but then it’s also quite dangerous, narrow and with very limited sight lines.
I have no doubt Waldo’s been bad news in the past, but I’ve been through there probably hundreds of times over two decades and never once had a problem.
Just obey the speed limit scrupulously. Cruise control is your friend!
Most people who have a problem it appears to be because they don’t believe the 45 mph speed limit means what it says. They think it really means 52 or 55.
Anybody who wants to can “drive” down the highway on StreetView and see exactly what’s there.
Missouri actually passed a law limiting the % of city budget that could come from tickets due the infamous Macks Creek speed trap.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macks_Creek,_Missouri
But wait...where’s the FReepers who keep telling me that each and every law enforcement officer in America is only of the highest moral and ethical standards and that their each and every action is above reproach?
Where are they to tell us all how we’re unfairly persecuting the Waldo Police whose actions are absolutely justifiable regardless of any silly laws that say otherwise?
[/crickets]
Cuba, NM
Since you kinda started a list add Rosendale, Wi. Speed trap USA had a report of a ticket for 1 mph over. I will never go through that town again.
I’ve been through Waldo - and yeah - it’s a speed trap.
If you are adding cities, add Bridgeville, DE. They have a spot that goes from 55 to BAM! 35......1 over and you are nailed. Heavy tourist traffic going to/from beach and they try to get money from every one they can.........
“A couple of weeks later the town’s interim chief, Cpl. Kenneth Smith, was also suspended after FIVE of the department’s officers told the City Council that he was mishandling evidence, taking city property for personal use and imposing a strict ticket quota.”
Just how many PIGS does a town of 1,000 people need?
Waldo had their speed trap when I was in college. This is as old as my lifetime. Everybody in the area knows about it. LOL!
The worst speed trap ever was Ludowici, Georgia. Nearby Jesup was almost as bad. Governor Maddox threatened to have the town abolished if they didn’t straighten up.
They eventually did quit the highway robbery. Georgia also passed the “Ludowici Law” which banned local cops from issuing tickets for anything under 10 mph over the limit.
Yeah thats the answer for the person doing the speed limit,,,A busted axle.
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