New Facebook Page Alerts Motorists To Area Speed Traps

A new Facebook page called “El Paso Speed Traps” has become a popular place for area motorists to alert others where police are clocking speeders around the city.

ABC-7 spoke with El Paso Police Department spokesman Darrel Petry about how they feel about citizens fighting back when it comes to speed traps.

“We don’t see any negatives for us. Actually, we just see the positives. The multiplication of the department by the people putting those posts on there,” said Petry.

El Pasoans are also excited about the new website. ABC-7 asked motorists if they would use the site to avoid a speeding ticket.

“If it would tell me where the cops were, yeah, I would. Because I would slow down because I take the freeway or the border highway and that’s where all the cops are. I see a lot of cops on the side of the roads,” said motorist Ricardo Perales.

But not everyone thinks it’s a good idea.

“I’m not going to be reading or on Facebook while I’m driving so by the time I read it then they might be somewhere else. So I don’t think it’s helpful at all,” said motorist Elisa Espinoza.

Alerting drivers to the location of speed traps isn’t a new concept. ‘El Paso Speed Traps’ has been alerting motorists via Twitter for over a year.

There is also an app called “Trapster” that has been available since 2008 that puts the information in to map form.

The free app, that can be downloaded here, uses both official reports as well as user input to track local police speed trap activity as well as traffic information and even school zone alerts.

The app even uses your GPS function to calculate the driver’s current speed and displays it next to the posted speed limit for the car’s location. If you’re speeding, the icon turns red.

Petry said they would ultimately have drivers follow traffic laws than issue citations, even if that means motorists alerting others to officer’s locations.

“Anything that we can do that will help people voluntarily comply with the traffic laws that are set in place, we see it all as an asset,” said Petry.

To add the “El Paso Speed Traps” page to your Facebook, click here.