Busting the Myth: Are Speed Traps Legal in the State of Texas?

When discussing driving, the term "speed trap" might pop up, conjuring images of officers hiding with radar guns, waiting to catch you by surprise. Here in Texas, as in many other states, there's often confusion around the legality of these "traps". I wanted to bust the myth and get to the bottom of any rumors.

Quora asked the question in black and white. Are speed traps illegal in the state of Texas? As it turns out the use of radar to measure a vehicle's speed is perfectly legal. However, there's a catch.

The law states that money generated from speeding tickets should not be a significant source of income. What this means is that a city or town cannot rely heavily on speeding tickets to fund its operations. If they do, it might be considered an illegal speed trap.

Texas law has set the bar at 30%. If more than 30% of a city's revenue comes from speeding tickets, it's potentially running against the law.

Here's another twist. While Texas law doesn't favor cities making big money off speeders, there isn't a specific rule against police officers stealthily checking speeds. Yep, you read that right. An officer can technically be concealed when monitoring traffic, as long as their primary goal isn't just to generate revenue.

What can you do if you feel you've been caught in an illegal speed trap? Document everything. Where it happened, when, and any other details that might be relevant. If a city is leaning too heavily on ticket revenue, it could be held in violation.

Speed traps don't seem like they should be legal, but they are. The trick is to understand how the revenue is being used and hold those agencies accountable. My plan is to stick to the speed limit and play it on the safe side. Be careful out there.