SoylentNews

gewg_ writes:

Techdirt reports:

Waldo, FL, a town of 1,000 that stretches along two miles of Highway 301, has the following for speed limits:

A small segment of highway that runs through Waldo requires drivers to speed up and slow down six times: 65 mph becomes 55 mph; 55 becomes 45; then goes back to 55; then back down to 45; to 55 again and eventually, 35 mph.

AAA itself has called out the town for its ridiculous speed limit changes and has even posted a billboard outside the town limits to warn drivers. Now, the state has stepped in to take control of Waldo's traffic enforcement.

The situation simmered for years until this month, when Police Chief Mike Szabo was suspended on 12 August, apparently in response to an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement into suspected improprieties in the way officers write tickets.

Mike Szabo, who exited with allegations of demanding officers to write 12 tickets per shift, was replaced by Corporal Kenneth Smith. Smith, however, wasn't a capable replacement.

The officers also leveled allegations at the 26 August meeting against Cpl. Kenneth Smith, who had been picked to fill in for Szabo. The officers complained that Smith had, among other things, mishandled evidence. The city council then suspended Smith.

The town appears to be finally righting years of wrongs, but only because the state is now involved.