Top 5: Where do Pittsfield Township police officers write the most tickets?
You know the feeling - a police car spins around as you speed by or sneaks up from behind, lights flashing.
Traffic stops are almost never a pleasant experience for the driver being detained. So where are you most likely to be stopped when you're driving through Pittsfield Township?
The Pittsfield Township Police Department provided AnnArbor.com with a list of the Top 5 intersections where citations were written last year.
Take a look:
- Washtenaw at Golfside: 143
- Carpenter at Packard: 119
- Carpenter at Center Valley: 117
- Carpenter at Ellsworth: 95
- Carpenter at Morgan: 62
Intersections of busy Carpenter Road took four of the five top slots. Perhaps that's not surprising considering how Carpenter Road figured into two of our previous lists - scoring near the top of both the Top 20 crash-prone intersections in Washtenaw County and Top 20 busiest roads in Washtenaw County.
AnnArbor.com also has asked the Ann Arbor Police Department to provide its top intersections and roads for ticket-writing, so we'll post that list as soon as it's available.
Photo by Lon Horwedel, AnnArbor.com: Pittsfield Township Police Officer Brian Kabat uses his radar gun to check for potential speeding violations on Golfside Road between Ellsworth and Packard on a recent afternoon.
Have you gotten a ticket at any of these intersections in Pittsfield Township? Are you surprised any intersections in the township didn't make the list?
Comments
Paul the Malcontent
Sat, Jan 2, 2010 : 9:55 p.m.
Way late commenting on this, but Barb's comment that "just because cars regularly go over posted speeds doesn't mean they should be raised" is incorrect. Traffic studies have shown that accidents and fatalities are reduced when speed limits are properly set at the observed 85th-percentile speed (http://www.motorists.org/mi/85th.html). Artificially low speed limits encourage riskier driving, increased road rage, and greater variances in speeds between vehicles, all of which increase driving risks.
pseudo
Thu, Sep 17, 2009 : 8:45 a.m.
I would like to humbly suggest that traffic enforcement in this county is so inconsistent that it has become a game rather than a public safety issue. Driving the speed limit feels more like submitting to the game instead of "winning". I would like to return to the public safety stuff. Enough evidence exists to suggest putting cameras in, there are huge results and revenues to be gained by doing so. Take the game out of it. Ticket everyone consistently. Put the unneeded traffic officers(if they are qualified) back into working to protect the public instead of hiding behind hills and trees and such. And, take those that are bullies and lay them off.
GoblueBeatOSU
Wed, Sep 16, 2009 : 7:08 p.m.
tomasjulio you are so very right......
tomasjulio
Wed, Sep 16, 2009 : 8:20 a.m.
Pittsfield Township cops are the worst in Washtenaw County. They'll pull you over for looking at them the wrong way. They pull you over for the tiniest infraction (chipped windshield, under-inflated tire, streaky windshield wipers) and they are completely merciless. Treat them with disdain, that's all they deserve.
bunnyabbot
Tue, Sep 15, 2009 : 9:13 p.m.
I agree, don't speed and you won't have anything to complain about. -I lived for a time near packard and golfside. Every single drive into dt a2 and back home I was amazed by the crazy drivers. When you know where all the usual speed traps are you know where you yourself need to watch your gas pedal. -Howard Cooper area has always been a ticket area. -Speed trap at the top of the Barton Road Exit onto M14, if you are coming over the bridge heading north they'll get you if you are speeding. -A cop hangs out often at Commie High to catch people making illegal turns or driving the wrong way on 5th Ave to hop onto Detroit St by Zingermans, he'll stay 30 mins, write 5 tickets and then leave. (usually a Sun or Sat). -keep in mind that they also do speed traps if they get citizen complaints. All it takes is a phone call saying everyday on your commute people are driving like maniacs -golfside from packard to ellsworth also has limited view going up the hill, lots of residential driveways and streets that have obstructed views to turn onto the road, at ellsworth there is also a school. The right lane going south has no shoulder, mailboxes would be easy to hit if you swerved. Golfside from Packard to Washtenaw is not really a road, it's potholes with a few feet here and there of actually drivable road.
huh7891
Tue, Sep 15, 2009 : 7:49 p.m.
Why do you call it a speed trap, if you're speeding and get caught you weren't really trapped, were you? My experience driving to work today, I saw a woman reading a piece of paper while driving and swerving on State St, three different drivers that couldn't stay in their lane on 94, one almost hit me while drifting over in part of my lane and another had his cell phone glued to his ear while being interrupted by his driving. Too bad the police weren't around to witness this. Hope they continue to generate more revenue for the city, Twp, county because the speeders and bad drivers are plentiful.
torroav
Tue, Sep 15, 2009 : 4:20 p.m.
"Pittsfield Township Police Officer Brian Kabat uses his radar gun to check for potential speeding violations"...that isn't a RADAR gun. Try LIDAR gun, if accuracy matters in this story. Completely different principle.
Macabre Sunset
Tue, Sep 15, 2009 : 2:12 p.m.
It's sad that people seem more concerned about drivers breaking the law by driving faster than the posted speed than most other crimes. There are more long-term ramifications from getting a speeding ticket than from mugging a stranger on the streets. I guess the police focus on what they can do. Washtenaw County's anemic judicial system has long since left them impotent to handle real crime.
Duane Collicott
Tue, Sep 15, 2009 : 1:36 p.m.
It's really very simple: drive the speed limit and you won't get a speeding ticket. You could still get one for all that tailgating and excessive lane-changing you do, and for driving with a poodle on your lap, but you won't get one for speeding. I would also support a law that disallows holding a cell phone to your head with one hand, a cigarette in the other hand, and the steering wheel with your knee.
GoblueBeatOSU
Tue, Sep 15, 2009 : 12:09 p.m.
the real question is what donut shop are these guys hanging out at?...have you ever noticed that just before and after school when cars are racing through the residential streets these guys are no where to be found? And lets not forget the Saline Party Bus. These guys didn't even know that drinking wasn't allowed on school property....or was it these guys knew someone on the party bus so they covered it up.....
tidge
Tue, Sep 15, 2009 : 11:46 a.m.
I can't say I'm surprised about Golfside/Carpenter road tickets: over the past week I've had the need to travel the Golfside-Ellsworth-Carpenter-Packard loop almost every weeknight and I have always seen multiple marked cruisers circulating the same loop, often in opposite directions. I appreciate the nearby 'protection' on those major arteries, but there are several neighborhoods close by that could use an occasional speed patrol as well. As far as A2 'speed trap' predicitions, I'm thinking that the lower limits on certain wide roads will qualify, such as the Southern end of Main/Ann Arbor-Saline and Packard near Washtenaw.
Theo212
Tue, Sep 15, 2009 : 11 a.m.
And those dumb roundabouts will also increase the number of tickets written!! Get rid of speed limits and roundabouts, that's what I always say! If you drive in a dumb roundabout, you should be given a ticket. Plese follow my lead and join C.A.R. (Citizens Against dumb Roundabouts)!
Doug Boynton
Tue, Sep 15, 2009 : 10:24 a.m.
These haven't changed in 20 years...
Craig Lounsbury
Tue, Sep 15, 2009 : 10:22 a.m.
as to Huron Parkway between the golf course and Washtenaw I once saw 7 cars, (my adult daughter was a witness) running a speed trap. 7 police cars stacked up on the sidewalk waiting their turn while a had held radar guy stood on the sidewalk. I haven't seen them recently but they used to sit on the Geddes Rd overpass on US 23 catching people who failed to realize the speed limit wasn't 70.
TFF3
Tue, Sep 15, 2009 : 9:55 a.m.
Very simple solution here...don't break the law. Yes tickets generate revenue. Traffic stops also lead to a lot of dangerous criminals or bigger offenses. Those of you saying to find more "dangerous" people in other areas have no clue. Police departments require revenue to operate, we all know that. There are two ways to create this revenue: police work or taxes. Would you rather have the people breaking the law fund the police, or the majority of law abiding citizens pick up the bill?
Barb
Tue, Sep 15, 2009 : 9:18 a.m.
It amazes me that people fault the police when they get a ticket. Hello? If you're speeding, you deserve a ticket. 10 over is not OK. It's breaking the law. Geez. I for one wish they'd keep the speed limits lower - saves gas and is safer overall. Just because cars regularly go over posted speeds doesn't mean they should be raised. That's asinine reasoning as far as I'm concerned.
josemartin
Tue, Sep 15, 2009 : 9:07 a.m.
Every summer, poor traffic visibility happens all over because of weed overgrowth. Nothing is done at the Golfside and Packard intersection unless we make several complaints. This same intersection, however, finds Pittsfield always doing seat belt enforcement.
a2huron
Tue, Sep 15, 2009 : 8:27 a.m.
Townships don't set speed limits. The county road commission owns the roads and sets speeds in conjunction with the state police.
Alan Benard
Tue, Sep 15, 2009 : 8:09 a.m.
@ YpsiLivin "For years, Pittsfield Township deliberately mis-posted the speed limit on Golfside between Packard and Ellsworth. " Now it is 40, LOL. Just as with the stretch of Washtenaw from Stadium to Hill, the city can't illegally set any speed limit it likes anymore.
Alan Benard
Tue, Sep 15, 2009 : 8:07 a.m.
^^^ sigh, I meant use lanes properly. Thanks for the comment-editing function on your SOTA whiz-bang blog.
YpsiLivin
Tue, Sep 15, 2009 : 8:06 a.m.
For years, Pittsfield Township deliberately mis-posted the speed limit on Golfside between Packard and Ellsworth. The correct state-certified speed limit for that stretch is/was 35 miles per hour and they posted the speed limit at 25 mph. I don't drive that stretch of road, but does anybody know if Pittsfield Twp is still running that racket?
Alan Benard
Tue, Sep 15, 2009 : 8:06 a.m.
Judging by the number of cars that cut me off and speed past as I drive the speed limit and use lanes improperly, many more tickets could be written. I'm unsure why the 45 mph speed limit on Carpenter, Ellsworth and Golfside at these locations isn't fast enough for folks.
AJACK
Tue, Sep 15, 2009 : 7:40 a.m.
There's got to be one downtown.?
AJACK
Tue, Sep 15, 2009 : 7:37 a.m.
Yes. This has to be 1 or 2: Main Street at Scio Church.
David K
Tue, Sep 15, 2009 : 6:51 a.m.
Ann Arbor is EZ. My guess, in no particular rank: 1. Main Street between Scio Church/Stadium. 2. Plymouth Road near Barton. 3. Huron Parkway by University Commons. 4. Huron Parkway by Huron Hills GC. 5. Washtenaw at Platt/Arlington. 6. State Street by Howard Cooper has been under construction so long, it will not make the list.