(a) Whenever local authorities in their respective jurisdictions determine on the basis of an engineering and traffic investigation that the maximum speed permitted under this article is greater or less than is reasonable and safe under the conditions found to exist upon a highway or part of a highway, the local authority may determine and declare a reasonable and safe maximum limit thereon which:
(1) Decreases the limit at intersections;
(2) Increases the limit within an urban district but not to more than the maximum rate of speed that may be prescribed by the Governor under subdivision (6) of Section 32-5A-171;
(3) Decreases the limit on any street, unpaved road, or highway under the jurisdiction and control of any county commission; or
(4) Increases the limit on any street, unpaved road, or highway under the jurisdiction and control of any county commission but not to more than the maximum rate of speed that is prescribed under subdivision (3) or by the Governor under subdivision (6) of Section 32-5A-171.(b) Local authorities in their respective jurisdictions shall determine by an engineering and traffic investigation the proper maximum speed for all arterial streets and shall declare a reasonable and safe maximum limit thereon which may be greater or less than the maximum speed permitted under this chapter for an urban district.
(c) Any altered limit established as hereinabove authorized shall be effective at all times or during hours of darkness or at other times as may be determined when appropriate signs giving notice thereof are erected upon the street or highway.
(d) Any alteration of maximum limits on state highways or extensions thereof in a municipality by local authorities shall not be effective until the alteration has been approved by the Department of Transportation.
(e) Not more than six alterations as hereinabove authorized shall be made per mile along a street or highway, except in the case of reduced limits at intersections, and the difference between adjacent limits shall not be more than 10 miles per hour.
(Acts 1980, No. 80-434, p. 604, §8-104; Acts 1985, 2nd Ex. Sess., No. 85-998, p. 366, §2; Acts 1994, No. 94-617, p. 1147, §2.)
(a) Except as herein otherwise provided, local authorities shall have no power to pass, enforce or maintain any ordinance, rule or regulation requiring from any owner or chauffeur or other authorized driver to whom this chapter is applicable, any additional license or permit for the use of the public highways, or excluding any such owner, chauffeur or other authorized driver from the public highway, nor to pass, enforce or maintain any ordinance, rule or regulation regulating motor vehicles or their speed contrary to the provisions of this chapter, nor shall any such law now in force or hereafter enacted have any effect.
(b) Local authorities shall have no power or authority to charge a license or tax upon any motor carrier hauling passengers or any truck hauling freight for hire, when such motor carriers in the usual course of operations enter or pass through any county, municipality or town of this state; provided, that this limitation shall not restrict the right of any municipality to charge a license for the privilege of maintaining or operating a terminal station, depot or waiting room therein.
(c) Local authorities may set aside for a given time a specified public highway for speed contests or races, to be conducted under proper restrictions for the safety of the public. Local authorities may exclude motor vehicles from any cemetery or grounds used for burial of the dead.
(d) Local authorities shall have power to provide by ordinance for the regulation of traffic by means of traffic officers or semaphores or other signaling devices on any portion of the highway where traffic is heavy or continuous and may prohibit other than one-way traffic upon certain highways and may regulate the use of the highways by processions or assemblages.
(e) Local authorities may also regulate or prohibit the parking of vehicles within the limits of their respective municipalities, and may also regulate the speed of vehicles in public parks and shall erect at all entrances to such parks adequate signs giving notice of any such special speed regulations.
(Code 1923, §6269; Acts 1927, No. 347, p. 348; Code 1940, T. 36, §32.)
Alaska
Alaska has no specific law regarding
Speed Traps. Signs and traffic regulations must conform to MUTCD,
however, communities may request speed limits lower than engineering
studies deem safe and prudent.
Information provided by NMA member Lawrence D. Wood.
Sec. 19.10.072. Procedures for determination of speed limits and zones.
(a) In determining safe speed limits and safe speed zones, the department shall consider the following factors in the order of priority listed:
(1) neighborhood safety, including the presence of children and pedestrian traffic;
(2) the presence of schools, houses, parks, and crosswalks;
(3) the presence of driveways, parked vehicles, and multiple turn locations;
(4) that speed at which safe and prudent drivers could pass through the speed zone; and
(5) the effectiveness of local enforcement of the speed zone.(b) In determining safe speed limits and safe speed zones within a municipality, the department shall consult with that municipality. In determining safe speed limits and safe speed zones on highways and other roadways under its jurisdiction, the department shall also consult with community councils or other community organizations in the affected area if the community councils or other community organizations request in writing to participate in the determination. The department shall provide notice and opportunity for a hearing before establishing a speed limit or speed zone other than as recommended by a municipality, community council or other community organization.
Arizona
28-703. Alteration of speed limits by local
authority
A. If a local authority determines on the basis of an engineering and traffic investigation that the maximum speed permitted under this article is greater or less than is reasonable or safe under the conditions found to exist on any part of a street or highway in its jurisdiction, the local authority may determine and declare a reasonable and safe maximum speed limit at the location and, based on the investigation, may:
- Decrease the limit at intersections.
- Increase the limit within any business or residence district to not more than sixty-five miles per hour.
- Decrease the limit outside any business or residence district.
- Increase or decrease the limit on streets adjacent to school grounds.
B. A local authority shall determine by an engineering and traffic investigation the proper maximum speed for all arterial streets in its jurisdiction and shall declare a reasonable and safe maximum limit on the arterial streets in its jurisdiction that may be more or less than the maximum speed permitted under this article for a business or residence district.
C. A local authority may decrease the limit to not less than fifteen miles per hour on an unpaved street or road within any district in its jurisdiction if the local authority determines that the limit is necessary to achieve or maintain national ambient air quality standards.
D. An altered limit established as provided for in this section is effective at all times, or during hours of darkness, or at other times as may be determined if appropriate signs giving notice of the altered limit are erected on the street or highway.
E. The alteration of maximum speed limits on state highways or extensions of state highways in a municipality by a local authority is not effective until the director approves the alteration.
F. A local authority shall not make more than six alterations per mile along a street or highway pursuant to this section, except for reduced limits at intersections. The difference between adjacent limits shall not be more than ten miles per hour except for school crossings.
(1) ?Abusing police power? means the exercise of police power to enforce criminal and traffic laws for the principal purpose of raising revenue for the municipality and not for the purpose of public safety and welfare;
(2) ?Affected highway? means a multilane divided highway or limited access divided highway which is part of the state highway system, or both; and
(3) ?Affected municipality? means any city of the second class or incorporated town through which passes an affected highway.
(a)(1) Upon the request of the prosecuting attorney of any judicial district in which an affected municipality is located, the Director of the Department of Arkansas State Police is authorized to call a public hearing to investigate and determine whether any municipality is abusing police power.
(2)(A) The hearing shall be conducted at a public meeting at the county courthouse in the county where the affected municipality is located.
(B) Notice of the time and place of the public meeting shall be published in a newspaper having general circulation in the county for two (2) consecutive weeks, the last publication being not more than ten (10) days prior to the meeting.(b) It shall be presumed that the affected municipality is abusing police power upon a finding that:
(1) The amount of revenue produced by fines and costs from traffic law violations for which citations were written by the police department of the affected municipality occurring on the affected highways exceeds thirty percent (30%) of the affected municipality's total expenditures, less capital expenditures and debt service, in the preceding year; or
(2) More than fifty percent (50%) of the summons written for speeding in the affected municipality are written for speed limit violations which were ten miles per hour (10 m.p.h.) or less than the posted limit.
(a) Upon a determination that the municipality is abusing police power, the Director of the Department of Arkansas State Police shall have the power to issue the following sanctions:
(1) Order that a municipality abusing police power shall cease patrolling any or all affected highways; and
(2) Order that all or any part of future fines and court costs received from traffic law violations or misdemeanor cases where the location of the offense is an affected highway shall be paid over to the county general fund of the county in which the municipality is located.
(b) Any violation of the sanction ordered under subdivision (a)(1) of this section by any police officer shall constitute a Class A misdemeanor for each citation, summons, or misdemeanor arrest made in violation of the director's order.
CALIFORNIA VEHICLE CODE SECTION:
(1) A particular section of a highway measured as to distance and with boundaries marked, designated, or otherwise determined in order that the speed of a vehicle may be calculated by securing the time it takes the vehicle to travel the known distance.
(2) A particular section of a highway with a prima facie speed limit that is provided by this code or by local ordinance under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 22352, or established under Section 22354, 22357, 22358, or 22358.3, if that prima facie speed limit is not justified by an engineering and traffic survey conducted within five years prior to the date of the alleged violation, and enforcement of the speed limit involves the use of radar or any other electronic device that measures the speed of moving objects. This paragraph does not apply to a local street, road, or school zone.
(b)
(1) For purposes of this section, a local street or road is defined by the latest functional usage and federal-aid system maps submitted to the federal Highway Administration, except that when these maps have not been submitted, or when the street or road is not
shown on the maps, a "local street or road" means a street or road that primarily provides access to abutting residential property and meets the following three conditions:(A) Roadway width of not more than 40 feet.
(B) Not more than one-half of a mile of uninterrupted length. Interruptions shall include official traffic control devices as defined in Section 445.
(C) Not more than one traffic lane in each direction.
(2) For purposes of this section "School zone" means that area of
road contiguous to a school building or the grounds thereof, and on
which is posted a standard "SCHOOL" warning sign, while children are
going to or leaving the school either during school hours or during
the noon recess period.
(c)
(1) When all the following criteria are met, paragraph (2) of this subdivision shall be applicable and subdivision (a) shall not be applicable:
(A) When radar is used, the officer issuing the citation has successfully completed a radar operator course of not less than 24 hours on the use of police traffic radar, and the course was approved and certified by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.
(B) When laser or any other electronic device is used to measure the speed of moving objects, the officer issuing the notice to appear has successfully completed the training required in subparagraph (A) and an additional training course of not less than two hours approved and certified by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.
(C)
(i) The prosecution proved that the officer complied with subparagraphs (A) and (B) and that an engineering and traffic survey has been conducted in accordance with subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2). The prosecution proved that, prior to the officer issuing the notice to appear, the officer established that the radar, laser, or other electronic device conformed to the requirements of subparagraph (D).
(ii) The prosecution proved the speed of the accused was unsafe for the conditions present at the time of alleged violation unless the citation was for a violation of Section 22349, 22356, or 22406.
(D) The radar, laser, or other electronic device used to measure the speed of the accused meets or exceeds the minimal operational standards of the National Traffic Highway Safety Administration, and has been calibrated within the three years prior to the date of the alleged violation by an independent certified laser or radar repair and testing or calibration facility.
(2) A "speed trap" is either of the following:
(A) A particular section of a highway measured as to distance and with boundaries marked, designated, or otherwise determined in order that the speed of a vehicle may be calculated by securing the time it takes the vehicle to travel the known distance.
(B)
(i) A particular section of a highway or state highway with a prima facie speed limit that is provided by this code or by local ordinance under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 22352, or established under Section 22354, 22357, 22358, or 22358.3, if that prima facie speed limit is not justified by an engineering and traffic survey conducted within one of the following time periods, prior to the date of the alleged violation, and enforcement of the speed limit involves the use of radar or any other electronic device that measures the speed of moving objects:
(I) Except as specified in subclause (II), seven years.
(II) If an engineering and traffic survey was conducted more than seven years prior to the date of the alleged violation, and a registered engineer evaluates the section of the highway and determines that no significant changes in roadway or traffic conditions have occurred, including, but not limited to, changes in adjoining property or land use, roadway width, or traffic volume, 10 years.(ii) This subparagraph does not apply to a local street, road, or school zone.
40803. (a) No evidence as to the speed of a vehicle upon a
highway shall be admitted in any court upon the trial of any person
in any prosecution under this code upon a charge involving the speed
of a vehicle when the evidence is based upon or obtained from or by
the maintenance or use of a speed trap.
(b) In any prosecution under this code of a charge involving the speed of a vehicle, where enforcement involves the use of radar or other electronic devices which measure the speed of moving objects, the prosecution shall establish, as part of its prima facie case, that the evidence or testimony presented is not based upon a speed trap as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 40802.
(c) When a traffic and engineering
survey is required pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of
Section 40802, evidence that a traffic and engineering survey has
been conducted within five years of the date of the alleged violation
or evidence that the offense was committed on a local street or road
as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 40802 shall
constitute a prima facie case that the evidence or testimony is not
based upon a speed trap as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision
(a) of Section 40802.
40804. (a) In any prosecution under this code upon a charge
involving the speed of a vehicle, any officer or other person shall
be incompetent as a witness if the testimony is based upon or obtained
from or by the maintenance or use of a speed trap.
(b) Every officer arresting, or participating or assisting in the arrest of, a person so charged while on duty for the exclusive or main purpose of enforcing the provisions of Divisions 10 and 11 is incompetent as a witness if at the time of such arrest he was not wearing a distinctive uniform, or was using a motor vehicle not painted the distinctive color specified by the commissioner. This section does not apply to an officer assigned exclusively to the duty of investigating and securing evidence in reference to any theft of a vehicle or failure of a person to stop in the event of an accident or violation of Section 23109 or in reference to any felony charge or to any officer engaged in serving any warrant when the officer is not engaged in patrolling the highways for the purpose of enforcing the traffic laws.
Massachusetts
I don't think we have any specific laws against speed traps or ticket
quotas: the legislature doesn't think there is a problem and doesn't
want to offend the police.
However, here is a useful provision of Massachusetts law. I think it's a legacy from the 1940s that every other state has since abandoned.
An instantaneous speed measurement is not sufficient for a speeding conviction when no speed limit is posted. If there is no posted limit, one must exceed the 30 MPH for 1/8 mile in a "thickly settled or business district", or exceed 40 or 50 for 1/4 mile elsewhere, to be considered speeding.
Information provided by NMA member John Carr.
Michigan
Michigan has no specific anti-speed-trap law. What it does have is
a law (Michigan Compiled Law 257.909) that directs fines for violation
of the STATE Motor Vehicle Code to ". . . be exclusively applied
to the support of public libraries and county law libraries . . ."
This was done to deny State Police and other police a cut of traffic
fines. But it only applies to violations of the STATE code.
Fines for violations of municipal ordinances go to the city and the courts, with the usual expected abuses. Further, the cities have discovered that if they adopt local versions of other than the usual traffic laws, they get to keep those fines, too, so more and more cities have ordinances against driving without a license plate, or truck-safety-equipment ordinances. The truck fines are especially huge.
Information provided by NMA member Aarne H. Frebom
Minnesota
Minnesota has no specific anti-speed-trap law.
. . . If any city, town or village receives more than forty-five percent of its total annual revenue from fines for traffic violations occurring on state highways, all revenues from such violations in excess of forty-five percent of the total annual revenue of the city, town or village shall be sent to the director of the department of revenue and shall be distributed annually to the schools of the county in the same manner that proceeds of all penalties, forfeitures and fines collected for any breach of the penal laws of the state are distributed.
4. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 304.120 or any other provision of law to the contrary, cities, towns and villages may regulate the speed of vehicles on state roads and highways within such cities?, towns? or villages? corporate limits by ordinance with the approval of the state highways and transportation commission. Any reduction of speed in cities, towns or villages shall be designed to expedite the flow of traffic on such state roads and highways to the extend consistent with public safety. The commission may declare any ordinance void if it finds that such ordinance is:
(1) Not primarily designed to expedite traffic flow; and
(2) Primarily designed to produce revenue for the city, town or village which enacted such ordinance.
If an ordinance is declared void, the city, town or village shall have any future proposed ordinance approved by the highways and transportation commission before such ordinance may take effect.
New
Jersey
There are no anti-speed trap laws in NJ. The State Police have a policy
not to set up within a mile of a speed zone change (typically our
65/55 highways).
Information provided by NJ State Coordinator Steve Carellas
Texas
TRC 542-402. Disposition of Fines
(b) In each fiscal year, a municipality having a population of less than 5,000 may retain, from fines collected for violations of highway laws in this subtitle and from special expenses collected under Article 45.54, Code of Criminal Procedure, in cases in which a violation of this subtitle is alleged, an amount equal to 30 percent of the municipality's revenue for the preceding fiscal year from all sources, other than federal funds and bond proceeds, as shown by the audit performed under Section 103.001, Local Government Code. After a municipality has retained that amount, the municipality shall send to the comptroller any portion of a fine or a special expense collected that exceeds $1.
(c) The comptroller shall enforce Subsection (b).
(d) In a fiscal year in which a municipality retains from fines and special expenses collected for violations of highway laws in this subtitle an amount equal to at least 20 percent of the municipality's revenue for the preceding fiscal year from all sources other than federal funds and bond proceeds, not later than the 120th day after the last day of the municipality's fiscal year, the municipality shall send to the comptroller:
(1) a copy of the municipality's financial statement for that fiscal year filed under Chapter 103, Local Government Code; and
(2) a report that shows the total amount collected for that fiscal year from fines and special expenses under subsection (b).
(e) If an audit is conducted by the comptroller under Subsection (c) and it is determined that the municipality is retaining more than 20 percent of the amounts under subsection
(b) and has not complied with Subsection (d), the municipality shall pay the costs incurred by the comptroller in conducting the audit.
