Lynnwood, Washington Speed Traps

Around the area on the 405/I-5 Interchange there usually is a motorcycle WSP on the leFort He usually lurks there at night and stay in an area where the street lights don�t shine on him.He has all his lights turned off so there is a good chance you will miss him if you are not careful.

I’m aware of this speedtrap because I ride the bus through this area everyday. This is the area where 164th goes down the twisty hill and becomes 44th Ave W. An officer sits on a chair in a resident’s yard and takes note of speeding cars. At the bottom of the hill (as it turns into 44th) there is a group (usually 4 or 5) of officers standing there motioning for offending drivers to pull over. The speed limit in this area is very reasonable, and people often push the limit due to the fun curves, there have been many serious accidents in that area and this enforcment is necessary. Just obey the 35mph limit and all is well.

The police hide in the church parking lot and claim to record *YOUR* speed at 37 MPH in a 25 MPH zone, northbound on 52 street.

Here is the scam; The radar is aimed at your car as you travel through the underpass for interstate 5. The problem is the radar shoots straight ahead at the interstate traffic, not down the hill and into the underpass tunnel. Due to the cosine effect (interstate 5 intersects 52 street at a 52 degree angle) the radar reads the speed of traffic toward the radar gun, measured speed = actual speed * cosine (52 degrees) = 60 * .615 = 37 MPH. Also, the time the interstate traffic is in a 12 degree radar beam (narrow beam) is ~ 1.2 seconds, [105 feet / 88 feet per second] adequate for a good radar lock.

The problem contesting this ticket is the Lynnwood judge refuses the evidence to be admitted into court, at least for me!! He did say it was a compelling argument – but just be a good boy and pay the fine on your way out the door. If you do contest (highly recommended) , take photo from church looking toward freeway, aerial photo (from terraserver), copy of map with angles & distances measured & scale, calculations, and don’t forget to refute the officers verbal "I observed a car moving at a high rate of speed" – since it is impossible for humans to visually estimate speed accurately.

WSP waits in either direction. The can be easily seen southbound right before the Alderwood mall exit. I normally see folks pulled over in the northbound lanes. Sometimes they work simultaneously, with one car monitoring northbound lanes, and another pointing southbound.

WSP sits pointed at either direction, sometimes with 2 cars working simultaneously. You can see them easiest when heading southbound. Northbound is where motorist should be careful. I5 bends to the left at a pretty good angle, so it’s hard to see them.