Ridgeland, South Carolina Speed Traps

Standard southern small town scam.
Almost humorously stereotypical, except it’s not – it’s corruption and theft.
Ridgeland PD, not SC State Troopers. Near the state line on I95 in southern SC. Most likely looking for out of state plates to pull. Then proceed to lie about your speed and hand you a ticket.
What are you supposed to do? Come all of the way back for your court date? Hire an attorney, all of which charge an exorbitantly high fee to represent you.
Hummmm… You don’t suppose this is coordinated do you? Nah, couldn’t be.
A small town bilking I95 travelers who they know can’t afford the time to return for their kangaroo court date and will either simply pay or hire an attorney.

Drivers who paid fines after being caught on camera speeding through Ridgeland on Interstate 95 would get their money back under a bill introduced Tuesday in the S.C. Senate.

The legislation would require the town to reimburse every driver cited as a result Ridgeland’s camera ticketing system and to pay $500 per ticket to the state Treasurer’s Office. The money to the treasurer would go to the S.C. Highway Patrol, according to the bill.

If passed as written, Ridgeland would have to come up with more than $2 million.

The bill marks the legislature’s second attempt in less than a year to prevent Ridgeland from using cameras to patrol the section of the interstate running through the town. Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Bonneau, chairman of the Senate’s Transportation Committee, introduced S336, which would amend several parts of the law dictating how speeding tickets are issued across South Carolina.

Grooms’ bill bans speeding tickets "based in whole or in part upon photographic evidence … whether the camera or other electronic device capturing the photographic evidence was attended or unattended at the time."

The proposed legislation would require officers issuing tickets to stop the speeders themselves and hand the citation directly to the driver. It prohibits law enforcement agencies from using mail or any other parcel service to issue traffic tickets.

Read more: http://www.islandpacket.com/2011/01/12/1508638/drivers-ticketed-by-ridgeland.html#ixzz1AsXxc9UA

Ridgeland, SC ( pop. 2,518) uses speed cameras on tripods in the emergency lanes at sites along seven miles of I-95. This speed trap includes undeveloped areas north and south of the town. Drive less than 81 mph and look for a recreational vehicle parked on the side of the road beneath overpasses or in the median. At night a bright red flash is visible when a photo is taken. A class action lawsuit has been filed. In another recent development, one of the cameras was struck and destroyed by a vehicle. Ridgeland officials have not yet announced whether they will install cameras to monitor the cameras.

http://stromlawcriminalattorneys.com/565/strom-law-firm-files-class-action-lawsuit-over-speeding-tickets-issued-by-the-town-of-ridgeland/

http://www.islandpacket.com/2010/12/28/1492439/motorist-crashes-into-ridgeland.html#

Tripod Cameras, four, two on N and S Bound lanes. Tripods are close enough to moving traffic to hit with a baseball bat extended out of the window, they are a major traffic hazard, creates rubbernecking, anyone driving through them can see how obvious a distraction they are as you pass under the bridge. I understand fellow South Carolina citizens have started taking a detour, southbound I-95 traffic takes exit 22, to 17S southbound toward Ridgeland, my understanding is they make sure they get rid of any trash in vehicle that may be a safety hazard and get rid of it in Ridgeland, then proceed back onto I-95S at interstate entrance at mm18. I have heard that Northbound traffic is doing the reverse, taking exit 18 to 17N through Ridgeland and back on interstate at mm 22 for I-95 Northbound. Rigleland is also a convenient rest stop, local bathrooms. Be sure not to spend one penny.

Ridgeland, SC now operates speed detection devices on I-95 North and South lanes from an unmarked RV parked on the side of the road. No police officer is dispatched to cite individual drivers. Instead, a fine appears in the mail a few weeks later.

Since its introduction in August, the town’s use of automated traffic cameras on I-95 has been criticized by drivers and some state officials who say Ridgeland is intentionally skirting a state law passed in July that outlawed citations "based solely on photographic evidence."

Town officials counter that the law applies only to unmanned cameras. In Ridgeland, a police officer operates and monitors radar and camera equipment inside an RV parked along the interstate.

http://www.islandpacket.com/2010/12/18/1483738/ridgelands-i-95-traffic-camera.html