Lavon, Texas Speed Traps

Lavon has gotten themselves a Laser/Lidar gun. They sit perpendicular to the highway on either side and collect taxes. This section of 78 should be at least 55mph now that it is six lanes wide with traffic controls at all of the intersections. It is the perfect definition of a speed trap, now with the selective enforcement of a Lidar unit.

Toward the end of the month, they hide at the bottom of the hill just past the little creek bridge if you’re heading west just before 205. They also sit at 205/78.

Police often sit on side of road with all lights off, speed limits change 4-5 times in the 2 miles of highway they patrol. They will pull you over for anything-speeding, light out on your car, etc, then proceed to go over you and the car with a fine tooth comb looking for anything this crooked police force can make money on. Often they will tow your car using one of their "buddy" tow companies-who then charge you hundreds of dollars for a 24 stay in impound. The Lavon police dept has been featured on 20/20 or dateline as one of the most crooked police departments in the country and have been fined by the FBI for those practices. Drive through Lavon at your own risk!

Unmarked Ford 250 with trailer pulled me over New Year’s Eve claiming I did 60 through a 45. The truck came from behind I never seen it in the dark at 11:30pm though i was stopped less than 5 feet from a 60mph sign. I never saw a speed change, he must have been camping at a light. He ID’d all 5 of us and spent 30 min running us and writing me.

Lavon Police frequently violate the law themselves while trying to enforce the law or catch speeders, however you see if. Simply put, Texas law says that a vehicle parked on the shoulder of the road, when it is dark must have lights on, making it visible from a distance of at least 1,000 feet. It’s common practice for Lavon PD to sit on the side of the road with their lights out to catch violators. This has been brought to the attention of the Chief of Police who argues they can violate that law because they are an emergency vehicle. He is misinformed or ignorant of the law. Police vehicles are exempt from certain laws when operating as an emergency vehicle (responding to a call for service using lights and siren) not when trying to catch violators. This is a huge safety risk for the police as well as the public. Please be aware!