Manderson, Wyoming Speed Traps

U.S. Route 20 has a posted speed of 65 mph. If you make the turn left on to county road 31 (Marshall Street) into Manderson, if you don’t slow down right away, there a Manderson police car sitting, hidden, ready to pounce. The posted speed for Manderson was not evident. I was caught, the police said, going 13 miles over the speed limit (though I wasn’t sure what that limit was.) For the penalty, I was charged $181, which seems exorbitant. My wife and I are from MN and were returning home from vacation. This certainly spoiled it. There was a car behind me going the same speed. To make the turn we both had to slow down, and we both were caught. Be very careful going through Manderson, WY.

Turning off the main road on to S Sherman the speed reduces without warning to 30mph after slowing to around 40mph to make the turn. The sign is shaded under a large tree where a driver’s focus will be mainly on the left area to be mindful of cars/trucks that may enter the highway right after turning in. Avoid the turn into Manderson and take the 2 mile longer route on your way east. Yes, we were an out of state car (rental) and have no real cost effective way to challenge the situation. If the town were serious about safety and helping drivers avoid speeding they could simply move the sign towards the turnoff to make it more obvious. This small town seems to be more interested in getting the ticket revenue than safety.

My story is like so many others. I am a 62 year old woman that has not had a speeding ticket or a warning for speeding in her life. I stopped in Manderson, even though I do not believe I was speeding and especially not 9 miles an hour over the limit. There is a twist in my story that I will ad here. After talking to a police official back in my own hometown and describing what it happened, he indicated I should write a very nice letter and ask for leniency, so it is not reported on my record and felt that was the best I could do being out of state. I follow those instructions and wrote a very kind letter and two weeks later I was contacted by the town attorney. He said they were all pleased that I had written such a kind and respectful letter, and they don’t offer this to people often unless they have a CDL and drive for work, but they were willing to offer me their deferment program if I would send them another check for $250, pay at my own expense for safe, driving course, and maintain a clean record for the next 90 days. Obviously, I didn’t take them up on their “generous” offer. I recently consulted with an attorney friend of mine, who said that is considered extortion. Needless to say, I will never return to the state of Wyoming again.

July 2023. Coming off Hwy WY433 (70mph) onto Sherman Ave i slowed down as I approached RR crossing. I rolled past RR line just as police lights started flashing. I barely had enough distance to reduce speed to this point. I immediately pulled over and was given a speeding ticket for going 38mph in a 30 mph zone. After this event my wife and I decided to turn around and return to town and petition the police for documentation on radar. as we reentered town we saw that another out of state car had been pulled over. We reenacted our entry into town filming/documenting this on our iphone. I went to the town hall/police office and waited until officer who gave us the ticket came in. he was polite to us. He said there was no documentation on radar and that they use a computer estimation system to calculate speed. Looking this up later we learned that this method depends on starting and stopping time being precise and that this method is not reliable. The head policeman (chief) came in about this time and was very gruff with us. I accused them of running a speed trap operation and that they were targeting out of state vehicles. They denied this. the office had two staff workers and we encountered two policeman with two brand new police cars. This is in a town of 88 people and about a dozen homes. After our meeting at the police station/town hall we decided to linger and witnessed another speed trap victim being pulled over. We were able to take a video of this pull over. we witnessed 3 pullovers in this speed trap with 30 minutes. Crazy corrupt! The state should do something about this corrupt activity. It is not fair. I respect all small towns and try to spend some money in each that we passed through. Maps should withdraw this 2 minute shortcut to Tensleep from their app. Also, if Manderson is serious about stopping speeding vehicles they should use this money to place rumple strips and blinking light/speed monitors at entrance to town. This is common in other Wyoming towns. Our ticket was $126.

I consider myself an very safe driver. My Uncle was a Nebraska State Trooper for 30 years. He always said ‘speed kills’ and he’s right. And I never intentionally speed. I’m a Christian. I love everyone, and never want to hurt anyone. Every time I get behind the wheel I’m thinking about the safety of others. I could not live with myself if I was negligent and caused harm or even death to someone else.

But on this particular day, I was on my way back from vacation in an area I was unfamiliar with. My son was my navigator and he was using Google Maps to guide me. I was driving the speed limit. He told me to turn on to what I thought was another highway. But it turns out it was a street about 400 yards long. I saw railroad tracks and a curve ahead, open field on the left, trees and some buildings on the right. It didn’t look like a town, it looked like the highway I just turned off. And I did not see the 30 MPH sign under the first shade tree about 200 yards down road (which I saw later via Google Earth). I was more focused on watching the road and for people/cars/dogs/chickens/etc. and didn’t even think about checking my speed since I knew I’d be going slow over the tracks ahead and wouldn’t come close to exceeding the highway speed limit. As I crossed the railroad tracks I saw lights behind me and I pulled over. The city police officer said he pulled me over for speeding. I was confused. I didn’t even know I was in a town. If someone like me gets a ticket here then I can imagine tons of other folks will as well. And if you’re reading this post, you’re likely one of them.

So don’t feel bad. And if you’re a safe driver, don’t change your driving habits because of this town. If you put more energy into looking for speed limit signs and constantly glancing down at your speedometer than focusing on driving safely, you’re more likely to endanger yourself and others. I was completely focused as I drove down Sherman Street and was ready to stop had anything crossed my path.

I don’t blame the officer who wrote my ticket. I respect and thank anyone willing to wear a badge. I’m sure he’s just doing what he’s been told to do. And I’m sure he desires to keep the citizens of Manderson safe. I’m to blame for going too fast on that street. I did not see the sign. But I could sure use some help.

There are many other small towns in Wyoming that have speed signs that are extremely visible. Some even show your speed and flash if you are going even 1 MPH over. If you speed through these towns, you have no excuse and deserve a ticket.

To the City Council of Manderson.

If you truly care about the safety of your citizens, put visible speed signs on approaches to town. It is not at all obvious to non-locals that South Sherman Street is even part of a town. If a town of 88 people can afford to fund a police force, then I’m sure you can afford one of those flashing speed signs. Those will protect the citizens of Manderson 24 hours a day, not just when an officer happens to be watching. At the very least, move your current sign out from under the shade tree. When traveling on a sunny day, it is difficult to see something in the shade. If you’re not willing to do this, then I feel you care more about funding your police force via out-of-state, involuntary tax payers than the safety of your citizens. You risk criminal charges being brought against you. You will have to live with your unethical behavior. And you will be judged by the highest of all courts when you meet your maker.