Speedtraps and other areas of "Enhanced Enforcement" in Las Vegas: WE are targeted.
Swenson St. leaving McCarran.
***VERY HIGH ACTIVITY***
If this is not Metro's single most lucrative speed trap in town, I'll eat my fez. Well, maybe not. In any event, you can see the scooterBears here any time of day or night, usually doing a roaring business. The speed limit here is 35 mph. Watch your speed coming downhill from the Paradise Rd. overpass. Try to let a couple of non-taxis pass you as you go by the nice officers on their pretty motorcycles.
Reno Ave. Between Giles St. & Koval Ln.
***INCREASED LATE-NIGHT ACTIVITY***
Another "candy store" for a scooterBear looking to generate a little public revenue. This is a 25 mph zone that the lads like to stake out in the P.M. right around "Sunset Stampede" time. I personally have seen as many as five bikes and a couple of 4-wheelers working this little stretch of road at the same time - and they were ALL writing tickets! If this does not clue you into how stupid some of the drivers are that we share the road with, you are probably one of those stupid drivers.
2/23/08 addendum: ScooterBears are lurking here at 1:30 A.M.!!!
3/7/08 addendum: They're still at it - and still writing tickets - to taxis! See what happens when you don't stay current and read the Fez Files?
Flamingo Rd.- L.V. Blvd
A favorite late-evening haunt of Ursa Moto-Bicyclis, if you cut a red light or especially a red arrow too close for their liking, there goes a couple of days' pay. Don't even think about doing a U-turn here.
L. V. Blvd. in front of Bellagio.
This red light is confusing - and that makes it profitable. THERE IS NO RIGHT TURN ON RED AT THIS ENTRANCE. DO NOT BE FOOLED! Also, don't get caught turning into the Bellagio from the second lane out or going around the traffic island. Bears abound here. Watch out for bears on bicycles as well.
Paradise Rd. - Harmon Ave.
The boys have been spending a fair amount of time here recently, especially before and immediately after events at Thomas and Mack. If the light is yellow, especially the left turn arrow, do not enter the intersection.
Maryland Pkwy - Tropicana to D.I.
This is a 30 mph zone from Tropicana to Oakey. A late-night lurk for the scooterBears is very profitable. Be especially vigilant around the Boulevard Mall and anywhere along the east boundary of the UNLV campus.
Paradise Rd. entering McCarran
This area is a gathering point for all the idiot drivers in Las Vegas on weekday afternoons after shift change. Usually, Metro is too busy working the collisions during the rush hour, but on a slow day...it's a 35 mph zone. Do not drive 36! Addendum 2/29/08: Metro is enforcing the FIVE (5) MPH limit between the crosswalks. Be warned! Also, the speed limit coming up the hill to the terminal is 15 MPH.
Hacienda Avenue between Arville St. & Decatur Blvd.
***VERY HIGH ACTIVITY AFTER MIDNIGHT***
It's a 35 mph zone coming down off the bridge and a 25 mph zone from Arville to Decatur. ScooterBears like to hang out here after midnight, and ostensibly nail the street racers - but will take down anyone that busts 25 mph. They are usually either in the parking lots of the businesses on the north side of the street between Arville and Cameron, or right at the Cameron/Hacienda intersection on the south side. Make certain that you come to a FULL stop at the stop sign at Cameron St.
Addendum 3/7/08: After repeated reconnaissance passes, from various vehicles with different detectors, no RADAR signal has been detected at this speed trap. Either the bears are using LIDAR (laser) or VASCAR (unlikely), or simply just "guesstimating". There MAY be a defense here. Stay tuned...
Jones Ave. between Robindale Ave. and Blue Diamond Rd.
Radio Cabs and West-side drivers pay special attention: this is a VERY poorly marked stretch of road. There is a sudden squeeze down to two lanes, simultaneous with a 20 mph reduction in speed limit. It is a major moneymaker for the scooterBears - hopefully not any of yours. 25 mph here - learn it, know it, live it! Thanks to Jack Douglas for the report.
Sahara Ave. at Las Vegas Blvd.
This is a new point of enforcement noted as of 3/1/08. The bears seem to be mainly interested in nailing drivers that ignore or refuse to acknowledge the red arrow controlling left turns from eastbound Sahara Ave. to northbound Las Vegas Blvd. They like to ambush drivers from behind the old "Lucky Cow Casino" building, across from the Cincinnati Avenue intersection. Don't cut the light too close. You read it here first.
Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean that they aren't out to get me - or you. In the general elections of 2006, a .25% increase in the sales tax assessed in Clark County was passed by voter referendum. The reason advanced by the proponents of this proposition was to raise funding to put more cops on the street. Well, LVMPD delivered on that mandate. We got 'em. It appears that most of them ride motorcycles, and are specifically tasked with traffic enforcement.
I personally overhead an exchange between a LVMPD Sergeant and an apparent friend in the Starbucks Coffee Shop at Flamingo and Paradise on 1/24/08. When the friend asked about citation quotas, the Sergeant replied that there were no monthly quotas expected of Patrol Officers as a matter of department policy. HOWEVER, (my emphasis) Motorcycle Officers were expected to generate no less than a dozen traffic citations per shift. (again, my emphasis)
Now, frankly, quite a few of the drivers in this town could stand to be cited, if not "outright smacked upside their head". Some of these drivers are driving cabs. The problem is that the cabs stand out from the typical passenger vehicle. They are specifically painted to be highly visible, and most have a large, lighted billboard on their roof. People's attention are drawn to them by design, and the billboard raises the radar profile as well. Most cops are people that use radar (the rest are large, angry, hungry canines and equines).
Pop Quiz: if a scooterBear is clocking a 25 mph zone, three cars go by in a group, one of which is a taxicab, and all are going 35 mph, which one is the cop most likely to stop?
My money's on the taxicab.
"But Officer, I was just keeping up with traffic..."
See how far that line gets you. Minimum fine for a first offense is about $190. Don't give these pricks the satisfaction, or a reason to take YOUR money. Slow down. Use the map. Learn the hotspots. Monitor your radio, and share information with your colleagues. Consider purchasing a radar detector. Forewarned is forearmed.
I write this as a cab driver that got nailed for failing to stop behind the limit line at a posted intersection. In other words, my front wheels rolled over the line. Then, the cop wrote a second ticket because he said I did not use my turn signal. It was one of the coldest nights of the year, and it was 10:40 P.M. What kind of a mood do you think that cop was in? (BTW, his last name was "Phenis". He almost certainly has issues.)
Since the "offenses" occurred within the city limits of Las Vegas, no bail was granted - I or an attorney representing me HAD to appear in court. There went a lost day of work, or a legal fee.
I took the citation to one of the attorneys that advertise in "Trip Sheet" magazine, with an offer to "take care of cabdriver's traffic tickets". They pled "Nolo Contendre" on my behalf. Courts treat that as a plea of "Guilty". I got a letter from the attorney stating that I was on the hook for $490.00 and traffic school (another $55.00). Once I fulfilled these obligations, my tickets would be reduced to parking violations.
You get what you pay for - sometimes.
Listening in on them watching us.
Obviously, in a scenario such as I described above, a radar detector will play no useful role. However, a scanner might. Be advised that it is a crime to employ a scanner in the commision of another crime. While it is not illegal to posess a scanner in your cab, the TA police have as much as said that they will ensure that anyone they catch with one in their posession while working as a cabdriver will be terminated by his or her employer. Use this information as you see fit. Personally, I think that this would not hold up in court, but who wants to go first?
For those of you that do choose to use scanners, here are some frequencies that you may find of interest. Remember, use these judiciously - the idea is to find and avoid speedtraps that the scooterBears set, NOT to blatantly hit the gas someplace that they aren't! Also, turn off the scanner in the event you are stopped by a cop and get it out of sight of prying eyes.
