Houston No. 5 on national speed-trap list

Between Houstonist and our friends, we've probably managed to rack up enough speeding tickets in the last year to keep city government financially solvent. And no wonder: According to the National Motorists Association, Houston is among the 10 worst cities in the U.S. for speed traps. We rank No. 5 on the list behind the Detroit suburbs, D.C., Orlando and Colorado Springs. Austin comes in 7th.

Really, this is just another arbitrary ranking, kind of like the list of the worst cities at picking up dog crap and list of the hardest cities to navigate. The speed-trap rankings are based on reports to NMA's SpeedTrap Exchange, a website where you can report speed traps in your town — so really, the list depends on how many people actually took the time to get online and write up their favorite speed traps. But hey, whatever works. Several of our favorites are on SpeedTrap Exchange's list of Houston traps, including the Studemont exit off the eastbound Katy Freeway and the Pierce/Dallas exit from 45 southbound downtown. (Our most recent ticket was on Washington Avenue, where the speed limit is inexplicably 30 mph. Look out for that one.)

According to the NMA, speed traps are the result of local governments trying to pad their coffers by giving out tickets in situations that aren't fair to drivers. Sound familiar?