Jurisdiction

Kent and Sussex County, Delaware

Speed Trap Location

All the towns in these counties

Nearest Reference Point

n/a

GPS Coordinates

n/a

Time of Day

Any time

Level of Enforcement

Moderate

Type of Enforcement

Radar

Date

8/2001

Town cops in lower delaware have nothing better to do. And I've seen corn stalks stickin out of their grills, so they aren't afraid to chase.

Comment (5/2003): Correction - Police in Sussex have plenty better to do than write speeding tickets. And we do. Read the newspapers and watch local TV news reports. By the way, we do have intelligent and liberal pursuit laws and policies.

Comment (6/2003): Maybe they do have better things to do than write tickets, but in a "blink-and-you're-past-it" Sussex County town I saw a system where two cars rotated in an out of their hiding place at the spot where the speed limit drops sharply. As soon as one town cop heads out to issue a ticket, the other pulls his car into the hiding place to be ready for the next victim. Sure looks to me like a cash-cow speed trap!

Comment (6/2003): 'Victim' is an interesting choice of words... how can you consider yourself a victim when you deliberately place yourself in a situation? Here are some hints for avoiding speeding tickets in lower Delaware: * read the big white signs posted on the side of the road (they have numbers and they TELL you when the speed limit is being reduced) * watch the tags on other vehicles ~ if most of the folks sporting Delaware tags have slowed down to 35 mph it's NOT a smart thing to blow by them at 60... from what I've seen, the cops deserve the opportunity to run a cattle drive...and, finally ~ I can vouch for the fact that they DO have better things to do... they REGULARLY show up with those of us in the fire companies to accident scenes...

Comment (7/2003): The advice in the previous comment is well-founded, but unfortunately it won't keep you from being victimized in some of small-town Delaware's pure speed traps. The town cops will lie in wait just inside the speed zone, and will ticket you for "speeding" when you're in the process of slowing down to the new limit. See the 6/2003 posting for Ellendale. The unwary non-local is easy pickings, even when driving reasonably. I suspect that these towns are systematically balancing their budgets through speed trap revenues, and that a great many of the tickets issued -- perhaps the majority -- aren't for egregious violations.