Remove speedtraps(, or not, or adjust them)

[Barney [CA]]

Hello ladies and gents,

its been a while since we "talked" about this and i believe more people meanwhile might share my opionion of speedtraps.
I'd just like to get an idea how many are out there and (although the main idea and poll is about removing speedtraps) have a discussion what could possibly be changed.
So i'll actually (again) start with some arguments and would appreciate if people this time actually read them before replying (nonsense).

Main argument:
-Speedtraps prevent chases and interaction
A lot of people enjoy the cops-n-robbers aspects of TC, especially chases. You !laser a civilian, !chase, he passes speedtrap and the laser gets erased.
Although this is good for the suspect, its technically preventing actual interaction between other players, eg. trafficstops, conversation, chases(with more cops) and its often hard to even find suspects when a trap is set up.
Hint to all suspects: If you get lasered in 80-zone with 200kph by a cop and are provided with a 400 Euro fine: before you fail to stop find a trap, pass it with 89kph, get fined 40 or 60 bucks, park up-> cop has no more laser. win.

-Speedtraps are (not entirely, but) mostly useless
Few people drastically reduce their speed only at the location of the trap, causing a hazard for others coming from behind,
others dont slow down at all,
and a few even try to get a "highscore" so actually are a greater danger on the roads.
You can also often do donuts in the middle of the road near a speedtrap(which is more dangerous than speeding), but the cop will just sit around and do nothing, even if hes not afk.

-Speedtraps almost always cause some arguments on the server(I plead guilty here)
Although some people claim they trap "to make the roads safer"-which i personally doubt in most cases-, alot even admit to trap to cause arguments and to annoy other drivers.
The traps are therefore completely missing their purpose.

-Speedtraps bring no plus in gameplay
Going away from keyboard or having a lunchbreak and therefore setting up a trap actually adds nothing the gameplay, to fun or interaction with others.

-Speedtraps can often not be avoided
Yes, this is a "cruising" server and traps do exist in reallife. But reallife is much bigger. I can drive for days or weeks without actually seeing any, while on TC you pass the same trap every couple of minutes.
That has become slightly better with the open configs, but its still way smaller and even on the open Blackwood map, you often pass the same spots over and over.

-Speedtraps are partially unrealistic
At least the temporary traps i know of(in germany), need to be located almost directly at the road or in the back of the car, and only measure in one direction(or even one lane only).
On TC cops hide in the bushes, 30m away from the road(or is the radius only 20m? or 50m?), sometimes even fining people on two different roads and in both directions.

-Imbalance between cops and robber
Robbers basically pay for having fun, while aswell providing fun to (in most cases) at least four cops or even way more.
They pay for speeding, pay the fines, and on top get fined by speedtraps. While cops earn money.
Also imagine a robber in a stolen car(/escaping from cops): He wont get any ticket from any speedtraps he passes.

-Speeding itself isnt the actual danger, it is the people. Alot of people speed in XFRs or FZs for hours, without causing any danger at all, while slower cars/drivers and epsecially drifters are a major problem.

---

Regardless off the outcome of the poll, here are some ideas that could be discussed:

-Disable the speedtraps for suspects. In chase aswell as before they fail to stop. As the !laser already determines whether a player is in chase or not, i guess that shouldnt be too hard to implement.

-Smaller radius of speedtraps: Make it more realistic and less unfair towards civilians/robbers.

-Only fine civilians in the same !location, eg the street the cop is parked on. No offroad traps.

-One way speedtrap: Fine civilians only behind the cops car(like the hazard is shown), like irl out of the backdoor window.

-!hazard+ could be equipped with a automatic speedtrap

-Limit speedtraps to two or three per person and day.
If any admin can be arsed, please check the chatlogs of the last like 72 hours, search for !speedtrap and share the result. Is that really how speedtraps are intended to be used?

-Extend the cooldown for speedtraps to something like an hour or whatsoever. As above, it is just too many. Some cops park near a safezone, speedtrap, drive 20m inside to recharge and come back out to trap more.


Now please, feel free to discuss, agree or disagree, but keep it reasonable. "it's your fault if you speed", "dont speed if you can't afford it"(lol eksdee) or "speedtraps exist in reallife" is not reasonable, thx.