2 Florida Towns No Longer Designated as Top U.S. Speed Traps

After being number 1 for almost a quarter of a century, the Florida towns of Waldo and Lawtey are now no longer designated “Traffic Traps” by AAA.

AAA’s Florida public affairs director Matt Nasworthy tells The Gainesville Sun they’ve removed the two cities because they’ve “made significant improvements.”

Waldo and Lawtey were first designated by AAA as Traffic Traps in August 1995, following a flurry of motorist complaints and investigation by AAA clearly demonstrating that profit, and not safety, was the primary motivation for issuing traffic citations, a AAA release says.

Waldo was long known as one of the most notorious speed traps in the country. Its police department was found to have been told to issue speeding tickets based on quotas, a practice which led to the disbanding of the force in 2014. Alachua County Sheriff’s Office now handles traffic enforcement.

The Sun reports Lawtey Mayor Jimmie Scott and others asked AAA to lift the designation because it casts a shadow on the town.