If you have ever attended Traffic School, you learn where the speed traps are lurking in the Monterey area. Sorta too late at that point, right? And with so many people completing their traffic school courses online or by renting a video, most of us are out of the loop.

Luckily, there are some solutions to detect speed traps. One is Trapster; they have a free download app for your phone, and you get alerts to speed traps, plus you report speed traps as you find them. I had to try it first: A Google map displays green circles where traps are known to exist, so I zoomed in for a look.

After a moment of disorientation (thought I was in Canada or something), I saw Highway 101 and crept north. (Just an FYI, folks in Chualar: Watch out for the Man!) The Monterey Peninsula was… Bingo! Plenty of chances to have your day ruined.

Trapster is a crowd-driven app; users register then are encouraged to report traps, comments are allowed, and merriment ensues. Back to Monterey: there is a known spot on Carmel Valley Road near the Mid-Valley Shopping Center, one on the south side of Laureles Grade, and an early morning hideout by the cemetery across from Monterey Community College.

Be careful in Carmel and Pacific Grove at any time; if there are particular places let us know. There is a speed camera in Seaside on Broadway and Soto, and another trap on Bruce between Ramona Avenue and Airport Road.

Sniff out speed traps in Monterey! If you join Trapster you either press a button or call a toll-free number and all your Trapster buds will be tipped off, ensuring a safe and sound drive.

A newer site is Speedtrap.org. I didn’t see a mobile app so you would have to log in, but they do have lots of advice on how to fight tickets (…maybe they should use trapster too?), and like Trapster they depend on users adding info. Which is cool.

Both tools will help you find speed traps in Monterey; I just need to remember to check! These tools would be great for people to tweet to their friends or post on their social network. I’ll pop it on Facebook ASAP! Let us know how it’s working. (Images from Wikipedia)