Cottondale, Florida Speed Traps

This is a small town that tourist pass through in route to Panama City Beach. The speed limit drops from 65 mph all the way down to 35 mph. The small police department uses speeding tickets as a source of revenue. Out-of-state motorists are particular targets, usually because they are in a hurry to get to and from the beach.

The patrolman positions his marked patrol car at the northern edge of Cottondale, generally in a northward positon monitoring south bound traffic from Dothan, AL to Panama City, FL.

City of 3,000 depends on fines for city budget. Roadway is six lanes wide, level with 35 mph limit. Conditions would warrant higher conditions. Officer cites 55 mph in 35 mph even if speed was well below. I was at 46 (digital) and cited for 55. Although my state (Georgia) does not require auto tag registration to be physically in automobile, Florida law does. They do not care what your home state laws are. Possibly, the discussion over tag registration contributed to the increase of speed on the citation; however I believe it was revenue enhancement and nothing more. It certainly was not necessary for traffic control. Unless your route demands travel through this city, it is best to use an alternate route. If you must go through, drop to 20 mph (or less) at city limits and do not accelerate until past the outbound city limits. Better slow (and safe) than sorry. PURPLE HEART tag did not carry much weight with this county mountie.

Officer aims radar a short distance south of 45 MPH sign and writes citation based on 35 MPH speed limit.

Speed drops from 65 to 35, in a 4 lanes road. At least 2 police cars patrol this stretch of road that is no more than 2 miles long. They want to stop srping-breakers and tourists form out of state en route to Panama City. Beware!