A Small Texas Town Is America’s Most Notorious Speed Trap

One of the worst parts of traveling is coming up on speed traps. Most of them are small towns situated on a highway, and as you get close to entering the city limits the speed limit drops. If you don't slow down fast enough, you'll see the flashing lights in the review right on your tail chomping at the bit to write you the ticket that's in your immediate future. At least, that's what it feels like. The most notorious speed trap in Texas is a small town on 287 named, Estelline.

Estelline, Texas - A History Of Making Drivers Sweat

Estelline, Texas shares a familiar story with most small towns in the Texas panhandle. Early on, railroads and ranches made for good times. It's hard to imagine now, but at one time the population was around 1,000. The Great Depression hit Estelline hard, and then transportation improvements meant the railroad wasn't nearly as important. Times started getting lean for Estelline. This led to the population declining over the years to the point that now the town boasts a population of somewhere a little over 100.

The schools are gone. Several businesses moved out over the years. All that most of us know of Estelline is the one blinking traffic light and the officer who's looking for anyone driving over the speed limit. As many travelers can tell you, it's a fool's errand to speed through Estelline. The officer on duty is like a shark waiting in the shadows of the dark water for you to make one wrong move. You speed, and he'll get you.

Estelline, Texas - A Town Where Speeding Tickets Are Its Claim To Fame

Estelline is so good at giving out speeding tickets that they've been recognized nationally for their talents. Estelline, on more than one occasion, has been dubbed the "Worst Speed Trap" in the country, or "One Of The Worst Speed Traps" in the nation. Online forums are filled with stories of people traveling through Estelline and leaving with a speeding ticket.

Depending on who you ask, the number of speeding tickets written in Estelline is between 7 a day to 23. One must wonder if those estimates were given to separate news outlets in the on and off-season for travelers. There have even been reports that suggest the city makes an extreme amount of cash from all the stops. Enough that it covers almost the entirety of the city's budget.

With all of these traffic stops over the years, statistically, there's got to be some drama, and there's been plenty.

 The People Vs. Estelline; Motorists Fight Back

At least twice, there has been a headline-grabbing pushback against the town of Estelline and its ticket-writing ways. One of the most notable of these attempts was when a man from Pampa decided to buy a billboard. It's a billboard that lives forever as the stuff of legends.

The individual was so furious over the ticket he was given that he spent an insane amount of money purchasing a billboard in Estelline. The message on the billboard? It read:

Warning! Estelline Is A Speed Trap! Barney Has Zero Tolerance! Ticket Every Time!

It included a caricature of Barney Fife and an address where people could send money to help keep the billboard going. According to reports, the billboard cost $3,700 at the beginning. If people don't immediately remember the name Estelline, they remember the hilarious billboard warning people to slow down.

Another instance involved an officer, a 64-year-old woman, and tens of thousands of dollars in cash. According to reports she was pulled over for going 61 MPH in a 50 MPH zone. The officer wrote her a ticket and then asked to search her truck. She refused, so he mentioned that he smelled marijuana, and called for a K9.

They didn't find drugs, but they did find $31,000 in cash that the woman had made in a real estate deal. Her reason wasn't good enough for the officer who arrested her for "money laundering". He also seized the money. A couple of months later, the charges were dropped and some of the money was returned. According to the reports, she took the case to court and wound up being awarded over $70,000 for her ordeal when the matter was settled out of court.

If you find yourself on 287 and you're coming up on Estelline, do yourself a favor. Slow down. They'll be waiting for you.