Harpersville, Alabama Speed Traps

THe town was written up in USA Today for being one of the number one speed traps in America. Go the speed limit the whole way through!

Six speed changes within a two mile strech. Heavy, Heavy Fines 2 tickets cost my daughter 709 dollars. They judge will put you in jail if you do not have the money the day of court. Constant harrassing even if you go the speed limit (tailgaiting, speeding past,ect.)

What made this otherwise "routine" speed trap notable is that the officer was unusually curteous and went to extreme lenghts to explain & justify the stop even using "racial profiling" to explain that if it was up to him he’d let me off but since I was white he could not, otherwise black motorists might "sue the township on the base of racial profiling". Even more surprising was the fact that he promised he could keep the ticket off my record if I would just pay it normally and allow him to "work things out with the court clerk". All I had to do was to send my check in and call him (the officer) in 2 weeks to remind him to "handle" the matter. As it turns out this was all just a ploy to make me swollow the ticket & not contest it… I did everything the officer asked and the ticket is now ON MY RECORD… another "sucker motorist" nailed … incidentally, in the meantime the officer in question was promoted to sergeant, no doubt to reward him for his contribution to the state’s & township’s coffers.

By admission of the mayor, this town relies on traffic tickets for the vast majority of it’s income. Enforcement is constant, day and night, and the speed limits are set lower than other , much more heavily used segments of 280 closer to Birmingam. A blind hill created by a railroad overpass gives you only seconds to comply with a 15 mph reduction in the speed limit. Oh. and don’t DARE try to squeeze under the town’s only red light just as it changes.

South of Harpersville, there are very few houses or businesses in that area. Speed limit is 50 mph, then 55 then 65 but you better beware. This is big revenue for this small town. Heavily patroled day and night. People are always pulled over.