Arcadia, Oklahoma — a speed trap?

In short, here is the answer:

It's borderline, but it appears the Route 66 town of Arcadia, Okla., is not violating the state's speed-trap law — at least not at this time.

But the evidence leaves little doubt that Arcadia is vigilant and possibly even overaggressive in enforcing the speed limit through town.

Arcadia has a population of only about 280, but its size belies its significance on the Mother Road. It is home to the historic Arcadia Round Barn, built in 1898. The popular Hillbillee's restaurant and bed-and-breakfast is in Arcadia. And Pops, a multimillion-dollar convenience store that promises to be a big roadside attraction because of its 66-foot-tall soda bottle, is scheduled to open in Arcadia next year. It's a picturesque community that likely will grow as Edmond and Oklahoma City sprawl eastward.

According to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, 4,000 vehicles a day pass through Arcadia on Route 66. Drivers encounter these additional warnings as they approach the "Speed limit 45" sign on the edge of town:

"Strictly enforced."

"No tolerance."

Those signs are not bluffs.

After hearing of complaints about Arcadia Police filed to the Oklahoma Route 66 Association and National Historic Route 66 Federation, Route 66 News investigated to see whether complaints of Arcadia being a motorist's nightmare were legitimate, or just isolated cases of sour grapes.

An examination of Arcadia's financial records and a sample of more than 500 traffic tickets issued in 2005 and 2006 revealed this:

  • Arcadia consistently receives more than $100,000 in revenue each year from traffic fines. In the 2005 fiscal year, traffic tickets generated $111,151 in revenue. The town is planning on $112,150 in ticket revenue in the next fiscal year. For a town of less than 300 people, those are impressive numbers.
  • Over 50 percent of the speeding tickets issued by Arcadia Police in the sample were for 10 mph or less over the speed limit. I saw tickets for as low as 5 mph over. So the local cops are strict.

Oklahoma's speed-trap law (see part D-4 and D-5) was enacted in November 2003. It forbids generating more than 50 percent of the "revenue needed for operation of the municipality." The same session, the Legislature also passed a law that forbid municipal police from writing a majority of tickets for 10 mph or less over the post speed limit. But the state repealed this section of the law eight months later.

If it finds a community in violation, the Department of Public Safety can stop or curtail the town's police activities. This recently happened with Big Cabin, which reportedly had more than 72 percent of its revenue from traffic tickets.

Based on recent financial records, Arcadia teeters close to the 50 percent mark on traffic-ticket revenue but doesn't appear to exceed it. The $111,151 in municipal court revenue in FY2005 represented 46 percent of the town's cash flow. In 2004, it was 48 percent. In 2003, it was 38 percent. Only in 2002 did Arcadia surpass it at 53 percent, and that was before the law took effect.

So it appears that Arcadia is a handful of traffic tickets away from breaking the law, but never quite crosses the line.

Legally or not, many do consider Arcadia to be a speed trap:

— The Speed Trap Registry listed a total of 20 posts and comments about Arcadia. That is more than any other nonmetro town in Oklahoma except for Hulbert, Rush Springs, Big Cabin, and the top vote-getter, the nearby Route 66 town of Luther.

— The Daily Oklahoman reported in 2003 that Arcadia made the state's top 10 in traffic fines on a per capita basis. The newspaper reported on complaints about the town being an alleged speed trap in 2001. In a 2002 editorial about longtime Mayor Marilyn Murrell, she was singled out for praise except for this sentence: "On a down note, the town's reputation as a speed trap is well-deserved."

— The vast majority of Arcadia businesses I talked to agreed that police were too aggressive. Molly Pace, co-owner of R.W. Pace & Co., said: "I've had customers pulled over on their way here. Their money, instead of coming to my business, goes to pay a traffic ticket."

Blaine Gideo of 2 Brothers Pizza said: "It has been a problem, and it has hurt our business. It is somewhat of a speed trap."

Norma Braxton, co-owner of Hillbillee's, said: "I always caution (customers) to go exactly the speed limit in town, and it has to be even out of city limits, because they (the police) will follow you."

Only one business owner I talked to, Jack Kelley of Jack's Custom Steel, didn't see a problem. "If people wouldn't speed, there wouldn't be a problem," he said.

— The prices of speeding tickets in Arcadia range from $94 for 1 to 10 mph over the limit to $169 for 11 mph and up over the limit. More serious offenses, like driving without insurance, no driver's license and expired tags, means a $219 ticket and the vehicle being impounded.

Those rates are high, but Luther's are worse. Speeding 10 mph and under means a $150 ticket. Speeding 11 to 15 mph over the limit is $188. Speeding 16 mph and up, or speeding in a school zone, will cost you $200.

— The complaints to the two Route 66 organizations center on Chief J.E. Franklin. Franklin oversees four other officers and wrote the majority of the tickets I examined, mostly because he's full-time.

David Jostes of Illinois and his wife were in a convertible in 100-degree heat when he was pulled over for speeding. Franklin left momentarily to chase down another car, and Jostes slowly pulled his vehicle into a shaded area at Hillbillee's. Jostes wrote that Franklin "raced back to me. He got out screaming at me. He said, 'You're not only getting a ticket for speeding; you're getting one for trying to elude an officer.' I tried to explain that I was just trying to get in the shade. He would not listen. … He just kept screaming at me.

"I'll never drive Route 66 in Oklahoma again. I'll drive the cheap toll road. He scared me."

Gerald Gaxiola of Belton, Mo., was driving east on Route 66 in Arcadia when he said he pulled off the road and stopped on a spot that appeared to be a parking area across from the Round Barn. Franklin ticketed him for improper passing.

"I asked for an explanation but was repeatedly told that pulling off the road constituted an improper pass," Gaxiola wrote. "Finally, he said, 'Either sign the citation or go to jail.'"

Gaxiola tried to see the improper-passing ordinance at city hall, but the clerk there was unable to help him. He paid the $219 fine and left.

"We are still a country of law and proper law procedures, in spite of small-town police who believe they are a law unto themselves," Gaxiola wrote. "I can only surmise that the chief was looking to fill the town's coffers with tourist money."

My observation: Jostes messed up for moving his car. That action will raise the ire of any officer, because it appears the driver is trying to flee. Perhaps Franklin was grumpy, but I'd be grumpy, too, in 100-degree heat.

I talked to Mayor Murrell about the second case. She said that according to Franklin, a vehicle had stopped to make a left turn, and Gaxiola passed it on the shoulder. I asked Gaxiola about this, and he said he couldn't recall whether there was another vehicle stopped in front of him. So there's an element of doubt there. But Franklin shouldn't have been rude.

"Franklin is a human being," Murrell told me. "I'm not saying officers don't make mistakes and they aren't as polite as they should be. But we have a lot of training with them on how to deal with the public." She also said squad cars also are equipped with a microphone and video camera so the city can check on the officer's conduct if complaints are filed.

Murrell denies her town is a speed trap. She points out that the limit is a consistent 45 mph and that it is set by the state.

"We are sworn to uphold the speed limits set by the state of Oklahoma," she said. "When the state sets a speed limit, that's what it is. The people who complain are being cited for breaking state law."

Murrell said she thinks motorists get riled up about speeding tickets in Arcadia because "it's a mentality they have about small towns."

She didn't mention it, but there's possibly another dynamic at work. Arcadia, according to the latest census, is 55 percent black, and nearly all of its city officials — including police — are black. The huge majority of Oklahoma residents and Route 66 travelers are white. To ignore the possibility of racial tensions and resentments by either side is naive.

I checked to see whether Arcadia police are targeting out-of-state drivers, i.e. tourists. Judging by the numbers from my sample, the answer is "no." Just 6 percent of the traffic tickets were issued to out-of-state drivers. To give you perspective, nearly 9 percent of the tickets were issued to Arcadia residents. So the Arcadia Police are aggressive against all traffic-law violators.

As for all of the speeding tickets for 10 and under the limit, I talked to Oklahoma state trooper Kera Philippi. She says state police have "no set tolerance" for speeding, but issuing tickets "comes down to officer discretion." She indicated she's reluctant to ticket for less than 10 over the limit because factors such as new tires, a rebuilt transmission or a malfunctioning instrument panel could cause a motorist to speed unwittingly.

"What it comes down to is that … so many are over the limit," she said. "We (ticket) so many more that are going so much faster."

So what should a Route 66 traveler do? It's easy: When entering the outskirts of Arcadia, drive at or even below the posted speed limit. Make sure your insurance card, driver's license and tags are up-to-date. Don't run a stop sign. If you do all these things, you should have a good time at the Round Barn or Hillbillee's without incident.

We'll monitor the police activity in Arcadia. There's nothing like oversight to keep public officials on their best behavior.

In the meantime, Heath Browning of the 66 Lake Stop convenience store summed it up nicely when he talked about the prickly relationship between Arcadia cops and passing motorists:

"First, they shouldn't be speeding, and second, they shouldn't be writing so many tickets."

(Photo of Arcadia Police squad car by Gerald Gaxiola.)

21 thoughts on “Arcadia, Oklahoma — a speed trap?

  1. Not a problem for me. I very definitely do not need to see anything that is not on the interstate in Oklahoma!! I went through that kind of enforcement in the early sixties, and couldn’t wait to get away from those small town enforcers. Who needs it? Plenty to see to fill a lifetime in places that welcome visitors. Some of the small towns in Ark., (my home state) are just as bad.

  2. In 2004, I recieved 4 concecutive tickets in four consecutive towns (Arcadia was one of them) for a tail light that was out on my car at 1:00 am in the morning. When I was recieving the second ticket, I said that i just recieved a ticket 10 minutes ago for the same thing in the previous county. I was informed that there were three more counties on my way to the interstate and that I would probably get three more tickets. I asked what I should do. He suggested i pull over and wait till morning. I proceeded anyway and recieved 2 more tickets. The last one was in Big Cabin along with a speeding ticket under 10 mph over the limit. I have had to travel to Texas and New Mexico over 30 times since this experience. I now go to great lengths to avoid Oklahoma alltogether. Each trip I would spend between $100-$150 on Food and Gas in OK. They will never see my money again.

  3. There shouldn’t be a question mark at the end of their title. Rt 66 sees travelers from all over the world. Those small town cops are making Oklahoma look bad. I hope the state takes a tougher stance.

  4. JERRY SAMS – AUGUST 2007

    IN LIVE IN A NEAR BY TOWN SHIP OF EDMOND,OKLA. I WORK AS ELECTRICIAN PER TRADE, AND, IN 2003 I WORKED AT THE LUTHUR,OKLA. GENERATING POWER PLANT THAT WE WHERE INSTALLING. WHILE DRIVING THRU THE ARCADIA OKLA.TOWNSHIP AT ABOUT 6:15 A.M. JUST AFEW DAYS BEFORE THANSKGIVING WEEK END, I WAS STOPPED FOR “UNDER FIVE MILES OVER” THE SPEED LIMIT OF 35 MPH WHILE COMING INTO TOWN AND,WAS GOING TO BE SITED FOR EXCESSIVE SPEEDING IN A CONSTRUCTION ZONE ( AT 6:15 A.M.) AND, HE SAID ” QUOTE ” I SURE DIDN’T WANT TO SPEND THANKSGIVNG WEEK END IN JAIL .. I STATED THAT ” I THOUGHT ,THAT CONSTRUCTION HOURS WHERE BETWEEN 8:A.M. AND 5:P.M. AND, OR,ONLY IF AND WHEN CONSTRUCTION WORKERS WHERE PRESENT ? ” ( BETWEEN THOSE HOURS ) AFTER A BRIEF PAUSE, THE OFFICER STATED THAT I COULD GO, BECAUSE I SURE DIDN’T WANT TO SPEND THE HOLIDAY WEEK END IN JAIL FOR SPEEDING IN A CONSTRUCTION ZONE.. HE SAID ,”QUOTE ” YOU JUST BE CAREFUL !!

  5. October 2, 2007
    We have just left Custer State Park, S.D. Buffalo Round-Up. We have come south on US 83 with plans to ride the Famous Route 66, see the sights, and stop at shops. After reading about the Speed Traps, or so close to Speed Traps, we will just get on the Interstate 70 and by pass Oklahoma all together.
    We had enjoyed Oklahoma in the past, but no thanks.
    There are many other places we can travel in our RV and spend our money on things we want.

  6. I uaually take the turnpike to avoid Luther and Arcadia. It’s cheaper than being in one of their speed traps. When I do go through their area I stay 10 mph under just to tick off the locals and to slow others so they don’t have to pay into their cities coffiers. I will never ever spend another dime in either town. They both got a reputation as speed traps the old fashioned way. They earned it.

  7. 7. Well here i am a very lucky man i guess. I was traveling through Arcadia on 01 24 08 aroumd 11 am. I was eyeballing Pops as i had seem it on the local news the night before. I am a slow and cautious driver and i was going slow (i thought) because i was looking to see if the intersection was Hiwassie rd.It was not .At that time i met a Arcadia cop car coming at me.He lit me up like a Christmas tree, i glanced at my speed.It was mid 40s. So i pulled over and waited for him. I was treated very nice and let go with a very stern warning to watch my speed when going through Arcadia. I thanked the cop and confirmed i would be more careful,and i WILL. So why post? Its a warning to all travelers on 66. If you speed at all in Arcadia you WILL BE STOPPED. But please dont pass up seeing the round barn because of this, it is a world wonder. Just be cautious. Clint E. Dickson

  8. I was entering Arcadia coming in from Edmond and was right by POPS, just a few feet into Arcadia and recieved a ticket. I will never go to Arcadia again. In fact, I think I can safely say, I HATE ARCADIA and feel they are definitely a speed trap.

  9. I agree. I hate Arcadia as well. I live in Edmond and thought that Edmond cops were rude, until i was pulled over in Arcadia. I have never been treated so rudly by a officer who wasnt a mall cop trying to be a bad ass.

  10. I live in the oklahoma city area and have passed thru Arcadia and Luther many times on 66.The town of Luther is off of the highway and I have never seen a luther officer on rt 66 but Arcadia is another story its a speed trap for sure.They sit on both ends of the city so drop down to below 45 as soon as you see the sign! The officers all are on power trips.We were pulled over one time on the way out of town and he pulled over two of us at the same time for speeding 48 in a 45.He told us to wait then he went up to the other car talked to them for a minute and then came back and told us we could go because the “White women” in the other suv he had pulled over was giving him lip so Beware the town is very small so they have nothing to do but issue tickets.

  11. I would agree that “Arcadia is nothing a SPEEDTRAP!” I was falsely accused of saying that by the cop who lied about my speed, stopped me outside of city limits and lied about the direction I was traveling so I would be “guilty” of speed limit violation in front of the judge, who by the way didn’t listen to a word of my witnesses’ testimony. It was late Friday February 13th. The friendless, wifeless, honorless, inconsiderate cop should have been home, but was too greedy to have a reason to be. One word REVENUE. You cannot win. Just stay away, or pay the fine, it will be the minimum amount you will have to pay PLUS you will not waste months of your life worrying about how to PROVE YOU ARE INNOCENT. Get a receipt for payment at the court. You can’t properly prepare a defense if they ALL lie trough their teeth and your prepared questions are worthless. The court clerk becomes giddy when you pay up – the alleged fine plus court costs, and it costs you to continue (delay) your trial. An appeal will cost more than the ticket! It is NOT a one day affair to go to court there! So yea, even though the beady eyed wimp cop, who goes to work 2-3 hours early to test his fabulously perfect radar, prepare for duty and eat dognuts and dream of all the tickets he will write…… said I gave him nothing but attitude, you better believe it, “ARCADIA IS NOTHING BUT A SPEEDTRAP” that makes one statement the so-called cop has stated as true. Also the judge said I didn’t prove I was not speeding. When does that BURDEN become the driver’s????? Only in ARCADIA!!!! Arcadia is a place that I hope can choke its self out. I hope sight seeing people figure out the only thing there is to see in Arcadia is cops and people being stopped, and the city revenue dries up! The rest of Oklahoma has been very good to me.

  12. Once I was unemployed, and was going to a job interview. Arcadia’s “Barney Fife” pulled me over. Turns out, my plates had expired. He ticketed me, and impounded my truck. This was before POPS, and I went to the convienence store that used to set at that location to call my wife to come and get me. I also called the interview place to postpone it. I cost us several hundred dollars we couldn’t afford to pay the ticket and get my truck back.

    It was several years before I would do ANY business in Arcadia.

    On the Route 66 Yahoo site, I always tell people to watch out in Arcadia

  13. My husband used to be a luther police officer.one night he was coming back from taking an inmate to the oklahoma county jail.while he was driving through Arcadia in his police car he actually got pulled over for speeding.if that’s not stupid I don’t know what is!

  14. I must drive through Arcadia three times a week. It is the town of Arcadia that ultimately decides whether or not it will derive most of its revenue from speed traps. Therefore, I refuse to give merchants in that town any business, although it would be very convenient for me to do so. Yes, I’ve been ticketed. Slowed down 5 feet too late. Again, it is the town citizens’ and council’s choice about how much they will depend upon highway 66 as their own toll road. Boycott the businesses if you don’t like their tollway system.

  15. My husband and I were so dumbfounded by our recent traffic ticket experience in Luther, OK, that I felt sure I would find similar complaints on the Internet. Your article confirmed all our suspicions about the officials setting up a “speed trap” to raise funds for this small Oklahoma town.
    We were traveling from Tulsa to Edmond on business and the navigation system led us to Route 66. At first we were pleased by the historic, scenic route and even found our iPod version of “Route 66” to listen to the list of cities mentioned in the lyrics. Little did we know we would soon get our “kicks” on Route 66. We will definitely plan on taking the toll road from now on, and will encourage others to do the same!
    Here’s what happened to us:
    My husband set the Toyota Camry rental car’s cruise control to 55mph, and when he saw the Luther township warnings for the reduced speed to 45mph, he began to slow down. When flashing lights appeared behind us, we pulled over assuming that the officer was on the way to an emergency. When he pulled up behind us, we were surprised. My husband figured he may have been a little over the speed limit, but figured it could only be 50 tops since he had starting braking at 55.
    Understandably, that is over the limit, but we are not accustomed to getting tickets in CA for going 5mph over the limit. Nevertheless, we were ready to accept the consequences. When my husband asked the officer what speed he thought he was going, he couldn’t believe the answer he got was 56mph. When he questioned the officer, the response he got was, “I’m not going to argue with you”. Angry or not, my husband knows better than to argue with an officer, so he handed over his license and rental car agreement and replied with, “I respectfully disagree, sir.” After we waited in the hot car for 5-10 minutes, the officer returned and explained that California is not on their “system” so we would have to follow him to the police station and pay the fine, post bail, or they would issue a warrant. We followed and ended up at the old main street of town with the police station and City Hall apparently the only buildings occupied. We followed the officer into a little white building with black letters reading “Luther Police”. The officer (possibly captain) at the front desk greeted us kindly, joked with us about being criminals, and asked if the officer had explained why we were there. (Certainly, we looked comical as villains — me wearing my white cotton dress and white summer sandals and my husband in his khaki Dockers and button-down shirt). We told him that the officer explained and then asked what the procedure to contest the ticket would entail, and if it would just be a wasted effort since it was the officer’s word against my husband’s. He explained that we would have to come back to Luther for a court date on July 7th, which was not a viable option for us as my husband has signed contracts to work that day. Not only that, the expense involved in flying back to Oklahoma would cost way more than the $188 traffic ticket. The desk officer seemed sympathetic and suggested to the ticketing officer that if he reduced the speed on the ticket by just 1mph, it would not be reported to the CA Department of Motor vehicles as a point on the driving record. The officer only replied that he had already written the ticket. (We first thought the increased speed report was a punishment for questioning the officer, but after reading your article we learned that too many tickets written for 10pmh or less above the speed limit are a special part of the “speed trap” investigations. That would explain the 11mph over!)
    Our only option was to sign the “no contest” part of the ticket, pay the fine, and continue on our way. Maybe some “Route 66” karma will set things right – if so, I feel sorry for the little town of Luther because I doubt we are the only ones who were so ill-used on that historic route.
    (I’ll send a copy to the newspaper, if you think it will help incite further investigations into their activities.)

  16. J.E. Franklin is a tyrant. I was traveling to Tulsa from OKC. I didn’t know about the speed zone until it was too late. Arcadia is hidden behind a curve on 66. I slowed down to the proper speed in the downtown area and stopped in the local convenience store. He gave me a ticket in the parking lot ($169). He did not ask me any questions that would mitigate the situation and was very rude. He followed me into the convenience store and publicly humiliated me in front of the people in the store. I feel that this kind of behavior creates animosity between the government and its citizens. The Big Round Barn is not worth it. Stay out of Arcadia!

  17. Aug 2010
    Luther is another speed trap town! Avoid this area at all costs.

    The weather was sunny and warm that day so I decided to drive my high horsepower (66hp) Suzuki Samurai from Tulsa to Edmond. I figured it would be a nice scenic drive and I wouldn’t have to worry about being run over on the toll road since my *top* speed is around 70mph. Needless to say, I ended up with a $150 speeding ticket…in a Suzuki Samurai. WTF?!!!!

    I was driving southwest (going to Edmond) and was coming down a fairly steep hill that was 55mph. As the hill bottomed out and proceeded to ascend once again, there was suddenly a speed limit sign for 45mph. I thought, “I’ll just let my manual transmission braking and the hill bring me down to 45mph.” Wrong! Less than two seconds after I passed the sign, Luther’s finest hit me with a radar. 55mph in a 45mph. Total BS. I told the cop, “I just passed the sign?! I need room to slow down.” The cop replied. “Well, here’s the court date or you can call this number and pay by credit card or debit card.” I haven’t had a ticket in over 10 years! It’s been 20 years since I had a speeding ticket.

    I plan to fight it although, I’m sure it will be a futile effort. I went back and took pictures of the area. There are 55mph and 45 mph signs within a 100 feet of each other (opposite directions though) and the westbound 45mph zone “warning sign” is obscured by trees. Barney Fife would be proud.

  18. Went to pops on the 28 of jan 2010 got stopped, officer came to the window told me I was going 55 in a 45,which would be a 94 dollar fine, then when he brought the ticket back it said I was going 56 in the 45 a 169 dollar ticket, then the moron wrote the date as 21 jan 2010 never will be back to this town ever again thanks arcadia!

  19. I quite possibly was speeding a bit and I did double back to ensure I was actually in a 45MPH zone. The part that pisses me off is I don’t believe I was going more than 50MPH when I passed the sign.
    So I find it ironic that I was cited for 56MPH in a 45 MPH zone… which is of course $169 (in lieu of $94).

    Nov 7th 2011 will be the last time I ever grace the city of Arcadia with my precence. Too bad as I was planing to take my family to Pop’s (we just moved here from KC).

  20. I was just pulled over last weekend and i am currently visiting my mother who lives in Tulsa. I have a North Carolina state license and was driving my mother’s car, which is registered in the OK. The Officer interrogated me on every little detail of who I was and what I was doing and started yelling at me that I shouldn’t be speeding in my mother’s car. He looked all around in my vehicle and made me feel like I had done something so wrong. When he gave me the ticket he made it sound like i HAD to go to court and that I couldn’t just pay the ticket. Later that night I looked at the ticket and he said I was going 56 in a 45 however he stated when he pulled me over that I was going 50. That officer really didn’t give a crap that I was extremely lost and that I am a 4.0 student in college who has never gotten in any trouble. Thanks Arcadia for pulling people over right as the speed changes, at least put some warning signs.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.