Darien, Georgia Speed Traps

Time: ~ Approximately 10:15pm to 11:00Pm on a Monday. (
Conditions were Dark. Clear Weather ~70 degrees..
Location; Officer was parked on the Bridge. Far right shoulder (Break Down lane)
No lights/No obvious reflectors.

I was traveling in the far right, slowest lane with cruise set at 74mph. I noted the setting of the cruise as there were two officers in the south bound lanes with cars stopped. (Thinking speed trap or possible traffic issues ahead.)
There was a semi tractor/trailer approaching from my rear in the left adjacent lane, over taking me when I saw the police car with the driver’s door wide open and the officer scrambling to get into the car.
Once I saw the car and the car door, I moved left, the lane was occupied by the truck/trailer. The event was unexpected and a bit startling.
I reset the cruise and maintained traveling in the far right driving lane at 74mph.
The patrol vehicle lights were approaching from behind. As he approached, I looked for a safe spot, wide enough to get off the driving lane, placed my turn signal for a right turn maneuver, and pulled off to allow the officer to pass. The officer pulled in behind me.
he approached the right side of my car and tapped on the window. I rolled down the window. Officer stated he clocked me going 85 in a 70. He did not ask me “why I was being stopped”. He did not allow me to speak. I responded that my cruise was set on 74mph. I stated that his unlit vehicle startled me. I told him that he was not visible. He responded “I don’t have to be visible”. I asked to see the method that showed I was traveling 85 mph. he stated he did not have to show me the Laser gun. He stated “I had the laser aimed at the roof of your vehicle”. “it only sees one vehicle at a time”.

I told him that he was in error, He stated that my cruise was in error.

Georgia has a classification of SUPERSPEEDER for speeds 85 mph and greater. This adds $200.00 to all other fines.

The City Police officer was young. He was arrogant. He appeared to be on a mission.
I have no points or accidents on my current driving record. I drive approximately 40,000 miles per year as we have a home in Florida and WV. I worked in numerous different states. I drive my personal vehicle as well as many rental cars.

I was traveling South on Motorcycle in far right hand lane. Patrol sitting on left side of road car facing oncoming traffic. Traffic was heavy including semis and out of state vehicles. I am from Brunswick and am very aware of the fund raiser they have going there. It is no secret to the local community. I changed lanes to get out of the way of a truck and car that had unintentionally cut me off. The officer pulled up behind me and stated I was going 89. This item seems to be a common speed for this blog. I was not going that speed. I was asked why I was going that fast, I stated to get out of danger. Officer stated that if I was getting out of the way, it would seem that slowing down would have been more appropriate. Obviously, the officer was making a case for his video. Like the other reports I too was informed to sign and it not an admission of guilt. I was shown the 1-800 pay your fine phone line and also how to pay online. Does anyone else see anything wrong with this commercialized ticket system? I was told that they use laser to detect speed. Was told it will only detect one vehicle. That is a line of un-truths. Like a statistic; can make it say whatever you want it to say. If someone in the pack of cars is going faster, the officer can at their discretion, lock in the speed detected and pull over anyone near and say it was them. If I was indeed going 89 it was to get out of danger. By pulling over a motorcycle on a busy I95 I was again put in danger by the officer. Was this officer prepared to ram the motorcycle if he (me) didn’t pull over immediately? I would hope not, but venture to say that it could happen. Quota and speed traps are not legal in GA. However, goals and projected fines are not quotas. Speed traps are impossible to prove because they are based on a % of the money that goes to the department writing the citation. This is a speed trap and not everyone who gets fined for doing 89 was going that fast; someone was, but not necessarily the person signing the ticket. I am saddened to see city and county police on Interstate 95 writing speeding tickets to supplement their wages and city budget. That is a State Patrol function for public safety. This is what policing has come to in McIntosh County, Georgia.

Traveling on 1-95 South, which is one of the longest highways in the US and a very well traveled road from Maine to Florida and vice versa. Driving comfortable, with the flow of traffic, mind you with several cars in front of me, in the middle lane doing 77 cruise control. I noticed a car in the left lane approaching me driving fast, I spotted the white suburban style Police vehicle parked in the middle of the highway, I believe the car in the left lane did too and lane slowed down, I looked at my cruise I was fine. The traffic in front of me was not bothered either. After we passed the Police vehicle, the car in the left lane proceeded to speed up passing me, the small pickup about 2 car lengths in front of me and the cars in front of him. Then, the passing car in the left lane applied his brakes and immediately moved in front of one of the cars in front of the pickup. The other vehicles started to slow down because of the car moving in the middle lane suddenly. I moved my cruise pin to 72 mph to keep my distance. This all happened in a matter of a few minutes, since passing the traffic cop. Well, I looked in my rearview mirror and guess who was behind me with his lights….yep!! I put my brakes on lightly which automatically released my cruise, pulled over rolled down my window, my hands on the wheel, the officer comes up to the car and says, “I clocked you at 89!!!” I thought this was a joke!!! We all looked at each other with amazement.
One thing I failed to mention when I stopped…..I snapped the 72 mph at 41.0 mpg. The mpg stayed at the 77mph because it cannot drop until you are driving a certain amount of miles. Meaning if I was doing 89 my mpg on a flat highway the number would have been about 5 to 10 points higher depending on road surfaces. Being a flat road my mpg would have been in the high 40’s if not 50-51 mpg. My vehicle website mentions MPG City and Highway, and ask owners to share their recorded mph and mpg on all road surfaces. Also, other Vehicle website asks vehicle owners to share reviews regarding their speed and the MPG they record on all road surfaces as well.
Recommendation: Leave your location on your phone and If people are in your car have them snapshot or record when driving through DARIEN. This department is corrupt and something needs to be done.

Saw them Southbound then returning Northward. 3-4 local police. Seems like anyone with a badge can write a ticket in GA, even on interstates. Dry, overcast moderate to heavy traffic. Rolling in stream of cars in left lane. Local city cop across median with laser. Hides around overpasses and bridges. Now we go to court. Costs an extra $100 for a lawyer – another tax.

We were proceeding south on 1-95 on a holiday weekend and it was a fast pace traffic pattern. The traffic was so heavy the Darien officer was outside his vehicle with his radar gun. Our car was driving slower than the pact, so we became an easy target. Lots of cars were pulled over, but all were non resident. When pulled over again the magic number reported was above 85. As we feared for our life, the officer told us to be careful as we tried to merge back into the over 85 mile an hour traffic. What a shame Darien may effect sweet Georgia’ s reputation!!!