State patrol increasing presence on I-75 and I-85

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Every 'mile or two' along the Gwinnett corridor, during peak traffic times, there’s a trooper watching, said Cpl. Travis Rinehart, assistant commander of Post 51 off Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth.

The story’s the same on I-75 through Cobb County, patroled since late November by the Georgia State Patrol.

Rinehart conducts traffic enforcement with a laser speed detection device in his patrol automobile on I-85 southbound near the Old Norcross Road overpass in Gwinnett Tuesday.

The GSP took over traffic enforcement from Gwinnett police on I-85 in April, and they have issued 11,296 citations and 16,189 warnings as of September 30.

It’s part of a plan, coordinated between the GSP and Georgia Department of Transportation, to alleviate traffic tie-ups with a “focus on quick response times” to accidents,” said Natalie Dale, GDOT spokeswoman.

So far, the results are mixed. The project set ambitious goals for accident clearance — under 20 minutes, on average — but a snapshot of morning and afternoon rush hours taken on two days in September on I-75 showed the clearance times ranging from 22 minutes to 56 minutes.

Reaction from commuters is decidedly mixed. “The multiple speed traps have had an overall negative effect on traffic flow as drivers often slow their vehicles to below the speed limit when passing parked troopers,” said Scott Kay, who commutes from Vinings to Kennesaw.

Added Kay, "During rush hour, they have the opposite of their intended impact. Since I’m going the opposite way of heavy traffic, I often see the parking lot effect created after a trooper stops a speeder.”

Critics say it’s all about generating revenue, but in Cobb County the increase has been minimal from last year.

Texas takes the top spot as the worst speed trap state by the numbers, followed by California, Florida, Ohio and Georgia.

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Every 'mile or two' along the Gwinnett corridor, during peak traffic times, there’s a trooper watching, said Cpl. Travis Rinehart, assistant commander of Post 51 off Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth.

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