Edmonds Police Sgt. Shane Hawley explains the legal definition of a speed trap — and which law enforcement agencies use them.
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The city’s radar devices may as well be mothballed because they seem to not be utilized. They were much more visible more than 30 years ago when the city’s population was considerably less dense. I know because I twice got well-deserved tickets. The last place that I’ve seen radar somewhat regularly used was by the park on 3rd avenue, but that officer retired a number of years ago.
Ron, I know for a fact that they’ve been issuing speeding tickets on the Main Street hill in the past ten years, because I was on the receiving end of one.
As for people who go tearing through residential neighborhoods, I’d like to share a story with you from when I was a new driver. I was cruising happily along one day, not paying too much attention, thinking about where I was going and what I had to do. I came around a blind turn and just had time to glimpse one of those Big Wheel toys as it disappeared under my bumper and there was a horrible scraping noise as I brought the car to a stop.
My heart rate shot up to about 140 and I got out of the car with a worse feeling of dread than I have ever had since (which is saying a lot) — and walked around the front of the car to see what I’d done.
It turned out, thank God, that somebody had just left this thing in the street (or it had rolled down a driveway or something), and there was no kid to be found anywhere. But that moment has never quite left me.
If people think the police are giving them a hard time for driving down streets like that “for no reason”… it’s because sometimes there’s a kid on the Big Wheel.
Yes, that would have been very scary!
Anyone know why the city removed the permanent speed radar sign on Talbot Road? It was obviously installed at great cost but shortly after it started operating the electronic speed readout sign was removed. The post and solar panel remain. Just curious what happened.
Would like to see an explanation on what constitutes “when children are present” in school zones.
Is it when school is in session? If so, what hours, days or months?
Or is it when children are coming and going? Hard to figure out sometimes.
I drive through five different school zones twice a day and I’ll be damned if I can tell when this “present” applies. I will say, kids with phones has made it much more dangerous!
Had to dig through the archives for our segment on that one (we looked so much younger then). Here it is: https://myedmondsnews.com/2016/05/ask-the-edmonds-cop-driving-through-school-zones-and-yellow-lights/
I see grown adults crossing streets staring at their phones. Zero situational awareness. I agree that is more dangerous for everybody, mostly for the person with their face glued to a screen while out in public.
Idea 1: Officer Hawley looks the other way at 9-11 MPH over the limit; how about raising all limits 10 MPH, 25’s become 35’s, 30’s are now 40’s. Just like Phoenix, Palm Springs and L.A.. School zones and their issues are dealt with independently . Ticketing anything over 2 MPH the posted speed limit.
Idea 2: Stopping at stop signs is optional. This is really a no-issue already because its a fact of life here now.
Idea 3: The Fountain and other “speed inhibitors” are treated as roundabouts. First-in-first-out…..easy-peasy.
There’s a good reason for the leeway given; it is possible to challenge such tickets in court because speedometers can be off by as much as 10%. The one in my car is routinely 2-3 MPH off my measured speed by GPS. Which speed’s correct? I have no idea. I usually pay attention to the GPS because it’s in my line of sight.
I frequently walk my two dogs on 84th Ave W. Very few drivers obey the 25 mph speed limit. I wish there was a speed display sign somewhere near the Edmonds Lutheran Church. I have witnessed numerous close calls and several accidents at the 236th St intersection. The last accident involved a school bus. At the very least, the police should be enforcing the speed limit on a consistent basis until drivers habits change.
Frustrating news in this video for all of the drivers who try to obey our traffic laws. Officer Hawley’s statement that he allows drivers to exceed the posted speed limits by as much as ten miles per hour puts pedestrians, cyclists and other motorists at risk.
As the officer states, traffic engineers have set the speed limits for very specific reasons. State lawmakers have established the RCW such that law enforcement and citizens have a clear understanding of the laws and rules of the road.
We all want our police officers to have some discretion regarding enforcement as we all sometimes go a few miles per hour over the limit, but consistently allowing 10 mph over the limit is too much leeway on our local roadways.
Aggressive drivers who watch this video will feel empowered to tailgate anyone not driving 10-over, continue to blow through stop lights and stop signs, and engage in all of the other dangerous driving behaviors that put so many others at risk in our community.
Our roads, sidewalks/crosswalks, and neighborhoods are getting more dangerous every year. We need a consistent approach by our police officers to speed control, and traffic law enforcement now more than ever. Appearing on a news outlet video implying that it’s okay to drive 10 mph over the speed limit sends the wrong message.