I was traveling west on route 70, at 68 mph, (2 miles below the posted speed limit) when I was suddenly confronted by a 35 mph sign as I entered the town of Elida, NM. Since there was a car fairly close behind mine, and I was far from any dwellings, crosswalks or any people in sight, I immediately knocked off the cruise control rather than jam on my brakes. Within 17 seconds, I was clocked at 51 mph and pulled over by a police officer.

My point is that had I jacked on my brakes to get within reasonable range of the posted speed limit I would have put both me, my wife, and the people in the vehicle behind mine, in great danger. In short, I correctly reacted to a highway hazard and I would do the same in that situation again.

Elida has created a situation where you are destined to fail if you use the most appropriate safety procedures. From Clovis down to Las Cruces I did not find any other community where a 70 mph speed limit changes instantly to 35 mph. Reduced speed signs are progressively posted as one enters every community, except in Elida.

Personally, after driving for 59 years and over a million miles all across the USA and NEVER having been stopped for speeding (or any other traffic violation), I was set up by a well-constructed SPEED TRAP, the kind usually associated with rural areas set up to collect revenues from out of state vehicles.

In sum, I would advise you to warn your colleagues, friends and family to avoid Elida if at all possible, not only because it is a speed trap that serves as a community fund raiser, but especially because it poses a potentially very dangerous situation.