I was coming from Houston to Austin on U.S. Highway 290 in February 2010. I do not believe my vehicle being profiled as you believe in your case. I received a citation for speeding in the 2900 Block East Austin St. (U.S. Hwy 290) from a patrol officer with the Giddings Police Department. When I passed this officer, he turned on his overhead lights or cherries; I was not sure at that time whether were directed at me. Nevertheless, I immediately became alert to my speed. I kept driving and immediately came upon a new speed limit sign of 45 MPH to which I IMMEDIATELY dropped my speed to match that of the new speed limit; anyone with any common sense would have done this. This new speed limit sign was the first sign I had recognized since seeing a speed limit sign for 70 MPH that morning. The pursuing patrol officer did come up behind me and pulled me over; he claimed my speed was clocked at 68 MPH in a 45 MPH zone. My original thought after listening to him was that I might have missed another 45 MPH sign further east from the one I just passed; but officer stated or contended that I had been speeding through two speed zones (one at 45 MPH and one obviously higher). It may very well be the case that I was doing 68 MPH when he first clocked me, especially since I thought the speed limit was 70 MPH. The problem I have is that from the time the officer first clocked me, to the time he turned around, then drove back and caught up with me, I had changed to a 45 MPH speed zone where I had IMMEDIATELY corrected my speed. My assessment is that the officer errored in judgement by believing that I continued to speed into the new speed zone after passing him which I know, believe, and contend I did not; I will assume the actions and assessment of the officer were honorable to the best of his knowledge and not knowingly deliberate and false. But, one can only wonder how many other speeding ticket citations are issued in this same manner where speeding through two speed zones is alleged or contended by this officer or any other officer from the Giddings Police Department. At the time the officer turn his cherries on, and given corroberation of two speed zones by the patroling officer, I know that I was in a higher speed zone, likely 55 MPH, determined by speaking to a lieutenant from the Giddings Police Department. By the officer's own statements, and the short distance traveled from location of violation before being pulled over, there is no way I was speeding 68 MPH in a 45 MPH. That case could only exist if there was another 45 MPH speed limit sign immediately east of the one I already passed; and this is not in line with the officer's own comments when he pulled me over. A defensive driving safety course is only allowed on speeding ticket citations less than and possibly equal to 25 MPH over the posted speed limit; and driving greater than 25 MPH over the speed limit might be consider reckless driving. In other words, this officer almost made me look like a reckless driver which I am not. So, if I had been speeding just two or three miles faster, I would have had to fight this violation in court where I know, believe, and contend this officer errored in judgement; as it stands, this ticket would have been about $400.00 dollars. Fortunately, I was still able to take defensive driving and have the ticket dismissed. This court administrative costs, the cost of sending my state driving record to the court, and my driving safety course would have been the same if the violation had read 68 MPH in a 55 MPH. But, the real issue at hand here is the truth of events as they happened. Due to quick changes in posted speed limits in such a small town, it is easy to view this area as a speed trap with the cities possibly having greater focus on money and not safety. With safety the real concern, small towns like this should put up speed limit or "Reduce Speed Ahead" signs with blinking yellow lights just outside the town to warn of quick changes in speed. Signs placed overhead on the highway would be better than off to the side of the road. I have seen this done in some other states and/or possibly done in other areas of Texas. A lieutenant at the Giddings Police Department, I spoke with, said that the speed zones are controlled by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT); based on his information, complaints should be directed at the state and not the city. The way speed limits and driver safety issues therein are handled for this area on U.S. Highway 290 at Gidding, Texas, should be reviewed by both the city and the state, in my view. I think there are valid concerns here. In the meantime, all we can do as travelers is spread the word about speed limits issues in and around Giddings, Texas on U.S. Highway 290.

I drive this road frequently, and did so yesterday evening. This is just one of a number of speed traps along 290. I can't say what the status of the signs was when the previous drivers drove this road (speed limits have changed since then), but here's how it typically works on 290, and in many places in Texas. 1. Speed limit will be 75 2. As you approach a town, you'll typically encounter a "reduced speed ahead" sign 3. Speed limit drops to 70. 4. The *very next sign* you see will be it dropping to 55. That's where they typically nail you. 5. As you get closer to town (in this case Giddings), it drops to 45 and quickly drops again to 35 Heading eastbound on Thursday (4/23/2015) at around 8:00pm, My Valentine One gave me a solitary Ka band warning chirp a couple of minutes prior to it dropping from 70 to 55. When you get that wayward signal on a V1 while in Ka band, it almost always means there's trouble up ahead. Adn while I am usually wary about Giddings, I was especially cautious. When the speed limit changed to 55, I braked to get down to speed (it was extremely light traffic and no one was behind me for at least a mile or so). A few seconds later I got tagged with Instant-On Ka. The officer was sitting in a populated parking lot on a hill on the north side of the road. "Hello Mr. Officer, it's nice to meet you, I hope you have a safe and wonderful day", I thought as I drove by at 55mph, unmolested. A bit further into town, maybe 45-90 seconds later, a black Lincoln Navigator with temporary tags passed me, followed by the tell-tale sign of Christmas tree lights in the rear-view mirror. The LEO had pulled over the fellow driving the Lincoln.

Went through there twice today, didn't see anyone.