10/8/2007
Georgia Speed Trap Brings Huge ProfitPendergrass, Georgia collects $1136 in ticket revenue for every resident.
Northeast Georgia's number one speed trap for the past three years in a row is continuing to generate record profits from traffic fines. Last year, the Pendergrass Police Department collected $558,020 in fines with $312,636 in expenses leaving the department with a $245,384 net profit for the year.
The two-square-mile town, through which U.S. 129 passes, has fewer than 500 residents. Police collect $1,136 in speeding tickets for every resident -- an increase of $124 over the prior year's figure. This amount far surpasses the revenue generated by the number two speed trap town of Arcade which pulled in just $264 in per capita ticket revenue. At number three, Madison County collected $118 in ticket revenue per capita.
"You could put Stevie Wonder out there, and he'd still give out as many tickets and make as many stops as we make," Pendergrass Police Chief Rob Russell told the Athens Herald-Banner, which collected the statistics. "It's just a function of our location."