Harmony, Minnesota Speed Traps
US Highway 52
Traveling east on U. S. 52, just outside Harmony, Minnesota, early in October — a clear, sunny afternoon — I saw a westbound police car driving in the berm to the right of U. S. 52. I anticipated that he would make a U-turn and slowed down in case he turned in front of me. I was traveling 55mph or less in a 55 zone. I’m certain I wasn’t traveling faster than 55 because there had been slow moving traffic in front me through Harmony and the last car in that line had just turned right. I was about to set my cruise control. The next thing I knew, the Minnesota state patrol car was behind me with his lights on. He said I was driving 69 mph in a 55 zone. I didn’t argue with him. He said he was doing me a favor by writing the ticket for 64, not 69. I stopped a few miles later for a restroom stop and mentioned my experience to a local resident. His reply: "That’s a speed trap. It’s well known around here. And, if you’re from out of state, you are a prime target." At age 69, it is my first traffic ticket. And, I’m from Ohio — an out-of-state target, as the local man observed.