Big Cabin OK, traffic ticket suspension

[Robbie0723]

Department of Public Safety Shuts Down Big Cabin 'Speed Trap'
Location: Big Cabin
Reporter: Burt Mummolo
Posted: July 20, 2005 10:18 PM EST
URL: [url]http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/0705/245271.html[/url]

Big Cabin - The state is putting a clamp on a speed trap. That's right Big Cabin is back in the news. The attorney general has given the town a slap on the wrist that could cost the town a quarter of a million dollars. NewsChannel 8's Burt Mummolo found out the controversy is far from over.

Each time a driver gets pulled over in Big Cabin, councilwoman Teresa Sullivan thinks overkill. It's a sentiment shared by the Big Cabin truck plaza, which put up giant signs -- bandaids to stop business loss from angry drivers vowing never to return again.

"Our revenue in general was dropping way down," says Tom Polk.

"I hate to use the term Gestapo tactics because it smacks of World War II and Hitler and Communism, but its about coming to that in the town of Big Cabin," Sullivan says.

There have been so many people stopped and ticketed that the Department of Public Safety investigated with the attorney general concluding that the Big Cabin Police Department was violating the law by earning more than 50-percent of the town's revenue from speeding tickets. Even so, the chief of police says its unfair to call it a speed trap.

"Yes, I believe the term speed trap is most definitely unfair," says Chief David Dubois.

Unfair or not, DPS has ordered Big Cabin PD to cease and desist writing speeding tickets for the next six months. As of August first, the only sheriff in town, will be the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

"We're going to open it up to where we're not going to be a speed trap, we're going to be a death trap."

Wednesday afternoon, the Big Cabin City Council decided to hire a lawyer to fight the Department of Public Safety's ruling. Last year, Big Cabin's speeding tickets brought in roughly 500-thousand dollars.

Copyright 2005 KTUL, LLC.