It seems with all of the crime around these days police officers would have better use for their time. However, we have to remember that speeding is still a crime and there are still areas where a speeding ticket is a big deal. One way we can prevent a speeding ticket from falling on us is to learn how to detect a speed trap.

So, what is a speed trap anyway? Well, any area that is a frequent hang out for police and where speeding tickets are generously handed out. Many of these areas have certain common characteristics that can give you a warning of an impending speed trap and a possible speeding ticket.

Small towns, for instance, are often areas where speeding tickets are handed out freely. When a town has one main road it is inevitably where the police officers are going to be. In addition, the low crime rates in these towns may leave police officers with little else to worry about. So, in these cases, a speeding ticket is often a bid deal and a way to pass the time. You may also encounter the occasional small town cop that has his mind made up about big city folk.

In addition to small towns, an area that has a successive number of either raising speed limit signs or falling speed limits signs has the potential to be a speed trap. Often times drivers may miss a sign or they may take longer to slow down than or be faster to speed up than what the signs permit. This is the type of speed trap that really gets under people's skin.

Just as changes in the speed limit can denote upcoming speed traps, changes in the road may also signal an upcoming speed trap. Areas with sharp turns are often dangerous enough to actually warrant a speed trap, since speeders and innocent people may be in danger. Hills can also be a sign of upcoming speed traps because police cars may not be seen until you come right up on one.

One of the best ways to detect speed traps, or any police radar detection, is a radar or lidar detector. These are great at detecting speed traps where police officers have their radar guns on continuously. This is because radar detectors have time to detect the radar well in advance. However, when a police officer is not waiting for speeders and does not turn on his radar gun until he spots you, this is when a radar detector can fail.