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Drivers beware: Big Iowa speed trap to resume giving tickets

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June 28th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — It’s been called the largest speed trap in the Midwest, and it will be back in business next week after a two-year hiatus. The City of Cedar Rapids says traffic cameras that enforce its 55 mile per hour speed limit at four locations on Interstate 380 will begin issuing tickets to drivers again Monday. Several additional cameras that enforce red-light running and speed violations throughout the city will also be issuing citations.

The city reactivated the cameras on June 1, and they have already issued nearly 13,600 warnings since then. Enforcement had been paused since May 2017 amid multiple legal challenges questioning the constitutionality and fairness of the program.

The tickets often hit not just local drivers but unsuspecting out-of-staters who are passing through the city on their way north or south.