# There are a lot of police traps these past few weeks

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-a-lot-of-police-traps-these-past-few-weeks/588870>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [July 13, 2011, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-a-lot-of-police-traps-these-past-few-weeks/588870 "2011-07-13T14:36:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-a-lot-of-police-traps-these-past-few-weeks/588870/1 "2011-07-13T14:36:03Z")

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For maybe 3 weeks now I have been seeing a far greater number of police traps on one of the highways I use for my commute.

What seems weird is that I used to only see State Police cars, but lately have been seeing local cops patrolling, too.

Frankly, it’s kinda getting out of control. Quite a few times now I have witnessed traffic pile ups because a car has been pulled over on the shoulder. There is one exit ramp that has terrible sight issues as you come to the ramp. Quite a few times I have come over the hill only to find traffic stopped to make the ramp, all because a motorist has been pulled over (and people slam their brakes when they see a cop, and the line spills onto the travel lane).

Then last night, I was driving home late from work (in the dark) and rounded a bend and found a large, dark object on the shoulder, causing me to brake until I realized it was a police cruiser with no lights on and not a bull moose looking to cross the road.

Man, talk about causing more issues than fixing.

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**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-a-lot-of-police-traps-these-past-few-weeks/588870/2 "2011-07-13T14:40:46Z")

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I saw the thread title and thought “hmmm, didn’t know trapping police was legal, is there a size limit?”

But, yeah I agree, they need some common sense about where they sit to wait. My thought is that if their goal is to slow traffic, they’ll sit where they’re visible for a long way off. If their goal is to play ‘gotcha’ and write tickets to make money, they hide in dark spaces.

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**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-a-lot-of-police-traps-these-past-few-weeks/588870/3 "2011-07-13T17:35:02Z")

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When I first opened this thread the ad under to OP showed a mean looking police cruizer and an advertisement for insurance!

The ads change all the time but I found it funny to see to police following your post.