Jurisdiction

City of Florence, Kansas

Speed Trap Location

US 50 US Highway

Nearest Reference Point

US 77 US Highway

GPS Coordinates

n/a

Time of Day

Mid-day

Level of Enforcement

Some

Type of Enforcement

Unknown

Date

3/2006

We drove east through Florence and stopped to get gas at a station outside of town. We returned to the highway, proceeding east on US 50 and were just getting up to speed with the traffic when we were stopped by a Florence patrol car and fined for speeding. We protested that we couldn't possibly have been going as fast as the patrolman said we were, only just having entered the roadway after getting refueled. We expected to get only a warning but were hit with a fine of over $100.

Comment (4/2006): Nope, there are NO warnings, there is no money in a warning. Don't know if any of the patrol officers have had any training on radar useage, or any training on having a personality. I live in Florence and it is embarasing to have the Bulter County officers come to town and set on the highway all day to write tickets. Listening to my scanner, they tie up the law enforcement channel with one car stop after another, and that is dangerous for other officers. They write more tickets than all of the other towns in the county, plus the Sheriff's Department, and Troopers put together. I see where they quit putting their tickets in the paper, I guess it was sort of humiliating to them from all of the comments on this web site. Some day it will catch up with them. They will have an untrained officer get hurt stopping a vehicle on the highway. Then the city will pay for that. It is bad when you see many different officers working in a small town, and they don't wave at you, and you don't know them. You use to know the officers, but not anymore. I just make sure I use my turn signal, drive Under the speed limit, stop at the stop sign for 5 seconds, make sure all my lights are working, because I can not afford a $130 ticket for something I may not be aware of. Sometimes I hear that there is 4 officers working at a time. I wonder when they will want to buy two more patrol cars so they can double their fine money for revenue for the city. They even have a female officer now. I seen her riding in a patrol car a few days ago. Well, I just hope that people don't stop coming to Florence, or shopping here because of the talk all over Kansas about Florence and their Speed Trap for City Revenue. Florence has more comments about it, than any other city in Kansas. So there must be a problem here.

Comment (4/2006): Stop in the Town & Country Cafe in Florence at 6:00 a.m. any day and the boys drinking coffee will give you all the stories about their ticket happy town. They'll also suggest an attorney to help you fight the ticket.

Comment (8/2006): I would like to tell all of you winers that evey one of the Florence police officers are just as qualified as the Marion Co. sheriff officer or more qualified.If you people don't want too hear the officers on your scanners then turn them off thier is no scence in you having them anyway. I'll have you know that there are alot of warning tickets given if you did not get a warning then you were rude to the officer or just plane doing something wrong. If you obey the laws of the road you wouldn't get pulled overso just quit acting like a bunch of three year olds who just got scolded.

Comment (12/2006): I guess when you set in a spot all day and write tickets, you get more qualified at writing a ticket out very fast so you can get back to your little spot to get the next person that doesn't see the one speed limit sign that is at the end of the bridge with several other signs. Maybe they should get a little bit more qualified and take care of the downtown area a little bit better. I hear they are writing tickets at the round a bout for not using the turn signal. This is fine and dandy, but that stupid thing is pretty goofy to someone out of town that doesn't realize they need to turn until the last couple of feet. Probably not because they didn't want to use their turn signal, it is because the turn off comes up and you don't have time to. But, I suppose that is a hundred dollar fine that goes to the city. I have heard rumors that there is a bill floating around to make cities send most of their ticket money to the State. I wonder how many little speed trap towns this will hurt if this goes through. Sooner or later, when you do things for the wrong reason, (like writing alot of tickets to generate money for a city) it will reach up and bite ya in the bud. Just think, these towns writing tickets for safety instead of money, I doubt if they write many tickets then............

Comment (12/2006): Probably are more qualified at writing everyone a ticket, but there is more to law enforcement than writing tickets. Patroling, solving a victims crime, shaking doors, getting out and talking to the people of your town. Crime Prevention is a big part, and having citizens on your side because you are fair and care, is a big part of Law Enforcement, but we are not talking about that, we are talking about a plan to make money for a town. I just hope that all the cars they stop on the highway does not end up in one of the officers getting hurt. Then that multi-million dollar law suit will break the city.