Estelline, Texas Speed Traps

You round a curve and speed limit drops to 50. Officer clocks you at the sign, if you don’t hit your brakes he nails you.

(Fact) Estelline has a reputation for being a prominent Texas speed trap. It has a one-person police force whose main purpose is to fill city coffers. From 2000 through 2009, Estelline had the second highest traffic fine revenue per citizen in Texas, more than 300% the per citizen revenue of third place Domino, Texas.

Estelline is situated at the junction of US Highway 287 and State Highway 87 in east central Hall County, approximately 14 miles southeast of Memphis and 15 miles northwest of Childress. The nearest major city is Amarillo, located 102 miles northwest of Estelline.

The population was 168 at the 2000 census. A July 1, 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 155. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.7 square miles (1.9 km), all of it land.

sources: {wikipedia ~ motorists.org ~ mysanantonio.com ~ thenewspaper.com ~ U.S. Census Bureau}

I go thru this town regularly. I go thru at about 30 MPH just to show them I know what they are up to. I have recd 2 tickets there and have relatives who also have 2 tickets there. One time I took drivers course to eliminate the ticket. One year later the woman judge called my house saying she was a clerk in the court and that the ticket was now a warrant and the fine increased. Luckily I had all of my paperwork and my son is a judge in Austin. I have seen as many as 3 cars pulled over at once. I know this is a criminal enterprise going on in this town.

I think the problems of the speed change are well described below. I’d like to share a human story about this speed trap. I grew up in Texas, my early years in Parker Co. I know well about speed traps in small towns. I was driving my Mom out of Texas to my home after my Dad died and we spent two hard months clearing out their house of forty years. We were really enjoying exploring this part of Texas again. And we were both alert to following speed limit signs. So my attitude about this was that the people of Estelline should be ashamed. My mom was so upset that she had a bad asthma attack and we had to stop at a hospital near Amarillo. This is her last memory of over sixty years in the great state. If the citizens truly want to slow drivers down they should install better signs. The existing signs can’t alert you to slow down until it’s too late. And I gather from earlier entries that the police persons’ only duty is to wait for speeders.

The speed limit signs are well posted. It has always been the terrain, a rising slope when traveling south that catches you off guard. Also the Commercial trucks block the upcoming speed limit signs if you are passing in the left lane. The Speed limit in this one horse town is 50 mph. When traveling from North to South you can easily get a speeding ticket for 70mph in a 50mph zone. Which can set you back around $200. The City is very small and has had an extremely high turnover of police officers. The City has now resorted to hiring part time officers from nearby Cities. The part time officers work on their regular days off. They are usually parked off to the side facing south and are on the right hand side of HWY 287. Traveler beware because the police car is barely visible when traveling south. The newest police car is an unmarked Black Ford Crown Victoria. The City also has a Silver Mustang and a Dark green Dodge Charger. The City of Estelline has a population of less than 200 people. Many people have said the City does not need a Police Officer. Texas DPS and the Hall County Sheriffs Department already patrol Highway 287. The only purpose for the City of Estelline to employ a Police Officer is to write speeding tickets and generate revenue for the City. The City writes on average of 100 to 200 tickets a week and primarily targets out of town travelers. This small town only has two liquor stores, a nice small town diner and a post office. Without the revenue coming in from speeding tickets the City of Estelline would be out of business. In FY 2009/2010 the City has gone through over a dozen police officers. The reason for the high turnover of Police officers is an attitude instilled by the City Council to leave the locals alone and get those out of towners that are speeding. This town has been a problem for a very long time. I’m sure any locals that are on this website defending this speed trap are city employees or city council members. Because without the massive revenue coming in from those speeding tickets they would be out of a job! Big question is..Where is all that money going to???