Lawtey, Florida Speed Traps

I am always cautious in Bradford County because the whole county is a corrupt, notorious speed trap. I was in a U.S. Government vehicle, dressed in a suit, on my way to a meeting at 10AM on a Monday morning. I was coasting into town in a group of other cars watching the signs. I would have had to hit the brakes in order to get slow fast enough. I was stopped by a police car that was an elderly Ford with a single bubble on the top. The cop was slovenly dressed and unshaved. He would have been a disgrace in a Mexican border town. The ticket was $280. Pure robbery. I’m convinced they set up on during business hours and pick business people on purpose because they will pay the tickets. It’s all about revenue and it is an embarassment to law enforcement.

I saw the billboard about Lawtey being a speed trap as I left Gainesville. I carefully adjusted my speed all along 301. The speed limit changes are so close together that you can’t take you eyes off the speed limit signs. In fact, while I was so intent on checking my speed, I missed the blinking yellow lite, and was fined $290 for going 34 mph in a ghost school zone.

I travel on 301 going into Georgia for many years but I mostly used my own car with the FL plate. But since I have been unemployed, I couldn’t fix my car when it broke down and I had to borrow a car from my family with a Georgia plate.

It’s true they target out of state plates, because the first time I drove through Lawtey with my family’s Georgia plate car I got tagged. I have gone through there many times for the past 10 years and have never gotten tagged. It’s unfortunate it has to come at a time I’m most in need of funds just to survive, let alone pay for speeding ticket.

Both of the cities in Bradford County, Lawtey and Stark are known speed traps, I suppose that’s how they generate their revenue, not much else in these towns that can make anything worth while.

Unfortunately I had other things on my mind while going through this town and didn’t pay close attention to the changing signs like I usually do. But of course
that’s what they count on, to nab you when you are least aware. That’s a $266 pop, all in less than 15 minutes work.

I do wish there is another way to get to Jacksonville side of Florida than through these speed trap cities.

All the folks who say this is a speedtrap town are correct. have been driving thru here on average 3x per week for 30 years. I can count the times on one hand when someone isn’t pulled over. I wouldn’t spend a penny in this town if they were selling dollars for a quarter. Waldo is no better.

I routinely travel US Route 301 between Callahan, FL to just north of Ocala, FL Fl State Route 326. I have been driving this road for the past 15 years 4 times a year. I was warned of the LAWTEY and STARKE speed trap by a travel club the first year I planned a trip to FL. This part of 301 is almost as fast as I-75 which is a few miles to the west but has far less traffic and is mostly undeveloped. With the exceptions of driving through 6 small towns (Baldwin, Lawtey, Starke, Waldo, Citra, and Hawthorne) the speed limit is 65 MPH. However you have to be very careful to obey the speed limits around LAWTEY and STARKE. They drop with very little notice within a quarter of a mile the speed limit changes from 65 to 55 to 45 to 30. In fact you can see the 45 sign as you approach the 55 sign. Then as you leave these holes-in-the-wall the speed limits go up in similar increments. With the exception of Starke a speed limit of 45 mph would be very safe for the other 5 towns along this part of 301. There are many places within Florida which have a far higher population density then any of these towns which have a 50 or 55 mile speed limit.

It is obvious the low 30 mph speed limits especially through Starke and Lawtey are revenue enhancement speed traps and have nothing to do with safety as the crooks who run these towns would have you believe. Someone has erected several large professionally done billboards which warn that especially LAWTEY is a speed trap. The crooks which run the government in Lawtey have erected a billboard which denies they are a speed trap. I would think that if the real issue is one of safety those who run the Lawtey town would welcome the billboard warning of the SPEED TRAP since those who saw it would most likely slow down.

As part of my don’t get mad-get even philosophy I make it a point to never, ever buy anything in any of these towns. We don’t stop for gas, we don’t eat in any of their restaurants, we don’t stop to buy fruit or juice, etc.

I have noticed that one of the towns in recent years are increased the speed limit to 45 MPH but Lawtey is still being stupid.