Roanoke, Texas Speed Traps

The Cop sits facing south the west side of Hwy. 377 just before the 50 MPH sign, on private property. At that point 4 lanes merge into two lanes, many motorists excellerate to merge into the single lane heading north out of Roanoke on Hwy. 377. Just down the road less than 1/4 mile the speed limit changes to 60 MPH. The Cop will sit there from the time the sun goes down until the shift ends around 12 midnight.

The Roanoke Police department is financed by fines issued out-of-town people traveling on Highway 114 and by people going into the town to do business. There are lots of crests and rises on 114. If you can’t see the shoulder a quarter of a mile ahead chances are there’s a radar cop waiting to extort some money from you. Watch out for flashing school zone light that mysteriously goes on an off. This town has a pursuit Mustang for the purpose of shaking down travelers.

The city of Roanoke has been running a speed trap scam for years. You’ll find that thousands of dollars of the budget is derived from fines levied on out of towners passing through on hwy 114. My own observation is that it is often hapless people moving from distant places with all their belongings in their cars.. people with no chance or means to go to court. For a year “construction zone”” signs were left up in an area where construction was finished and the safe speed would have been 70mph rather than the 45mph posted. Roanoke “”officers”” were set up there day and night running speed traps. “”Officer”” is not a proper name for them. They are extortionists. This practice has nothing to do with safety. It’s a pure and simple racket. The latest twist is this: At 7:30AM the school zone goes into effect (how many kids are going to school at 7:30?) A cop sits across from the school zone flashing light with radar but as a victim approaches the light is turned off. After the victim is stopped the cop claims the light was flashing and issues a ticket.”

Henrietta Creek Rd isn’t really a speed trap, it’s a legal shakedown racket enforced by the Roanoke police. Yes, the 30-mph speed limit is strictly enforced, but the harassment goes beyond speeders. In the last three months, I’ve gotten two tickets, one for having one burnt license plate light bulb, and one for not using my turn signal (at 1 AM with no traffic). Have since learned that dozens of my co-workers have been ticketed for similar, absurd technical offenses. As Roanoke doesn’t make money with warnings, I have never heard of anyone receiving one, only tickets. Be especially careful of where Henrietta Creek intersects Hwy 377. The police hide there and wait for people to make simple, technical mistakes, such as not using your turn signal.