I was given a ticket for going 44 miles and hour in a 30 mile zone. I was traveling in a caravan with a friend who was behind me who said he thought I was actually going between 35 and 40. I saw the 40 mile sign as I approached the town, but unfortunately I did not see the 30 mile one (though my friend saw it).
30 mph is lower than most of the other towns we passed through on that route, which were mostly 35. And there were a couple of very interesting follow-ups. When we got to our event, another friend told us that they had been sitting next to a woman in a restaurant in Vergennes who was complaining to her companions that she had just gotten a ticket for going 44 mph in a 30 mile zone. And then when I told another person there that I had gotten a ticket he laughed and asked "Was it for going 44 miles an hour in a 30 mile zone?" because the same thing had happened to him some months before. He said Vergennes is famous for it. So I think it is a trap.

The fine is exorbitant in my opinion, but clearly they target people from out of state because they know you won’t come back in order to go to court (The fine varies apparently from $28 to $1128, but the ‘waiver’ to avoid court is $123). A pickup truck in front of me was actually going faster than I, because it pulled away from me, (which is partly why I didn’t slow down more – I was just driving with the traffic), but it had Vermont plates. Very interesting indeed!
So watch very carefully for 30 mph signs when approaching Vergennes, so you can keep from contributing to the city budget! Or better yet, avoid Vergennes altogether. From NY you can take a ferry across from further up Lake Champlain, and spend your tourist dollars in NY instead of Vermont, which is what I’ll do if I ever go to Vermont again.