That disabled-looking vehicle on the James Island connector turns out to not be so disabled after all as it overtakes you with blue lights flashing. And, watch out for golf carts in the passenger section of the new Arthur Ravenel Bridge; the driver may be packing a radar gun. In fact, forget about speeding in Mount Pleasant, period.

These findings can be found in an online database called the Speed Trap Exchange. It's interesting reading, and probably a must if you travel. The site lists all sorts of good places to avoid, and things to watch out for if you're not in a mood to collect traffic tickets.

Not from around here? That's OK. Your town may well be listed. Actually, it was kind of fun seeing which speed traps I'd fallen into, years ago. Many of them are still up and running, feeding city and county coffers everywhere. There are some speed traps in there that I recognize (and have less-than-fond memories of), like Highway 11-E from Bristol to Johnson City, Tennessee by Winged Deer Park ... I saw the white Caprice staked out on the median as I thundered over the Holston River bridge (where the speed limit dropped from 55 mph), but it just didn't register until .. well, skip the details.

Here in Charleston, the new Arthur Ravenel Bridge has become a nice hunting spot for the elusive speeder. The bridge itself is eight lanes, with a speed limit of 55 mph. As soon as you start your descent, though, better plan on losing speed very quickly. Hitting Highway 17, the limit drops to 45, and on Coleman to 40, then 35 a block later. All of this on a downhill lie. One week after the bridge opened, the pavement was already blackened by skid marks.

On your way down, be sure and wave to the police car camped on the offramp as soon as your air speed is at a safe and sane level. And watch out for golf carts on the pedestrian part of the bridge.

"Have you seen those golf carts?" a passenger asked me. "They're carrying radar. That's just wrong."

According to the speed trap site, the guy in the golf cart is also toting a two-way radio, to give a holler to whatever cop cars may be hanging around the foot of the bridge.

On the James Island Connector, a favorite tactic is to station a cop car by the Highway 61 exit, just past a bridge and incline that screens it from view. Lights are usually off, and at night it looks like a disabled vehicle. You might be impressed at how quickly this disabled vehicle can move.

Coming around the Broad/Lockwood curve, you're best to keep your speed at 25 all the way through. You might find a police car, maybe two, on the other side of the curve where you just can't see 'em until you pass.

I mentioned The Trap in a previous blog, that wonderful nocturnal red-blinking traffic light at East Bay and Calhoun Streets. To this day it still doesn't show up in the speed trap registry, but I understand a lot more people are visiting that site lately and the maintainers are having trouble keeping up. But trust me. The Trap is nothing to fool with either.

Other areas to watch your speed include Highway 17 from Mount Pleasant to Awendaw, Maybank Highway by the bridge to Johns Island, and Long Point Road in Mount Pleasant. In fact, forget about Mount Pleasant, period. I'm getting this from the horse's mouth, the Mount Pleasant Police Department website: "The Department employs 132 sworn officers and 43 civilian personnel, serving a population of 66,000."

Charleston itself, with a population of slightly over 100,000 and a spread-out community which includes West Ashley, parts of James Island, some of Johns Island, and Daniel Island, employs 382 sworn police officers, 137 civilians and 27 reserve police officers.

The North Charleston police department employs over 300 sworn officers and 100 civilian employees who proudly serve a growing population of approximately 90,000 that swells to over 200,000 during the daytime hours accommodating workers, visitors, tourists and shoppers. This is according to that city's website. However, North Charleston has a much bigger crime problem than Mount Pleasant has. Mount P by comparison is a quiet community, and the suspicion is that officers really have little to do than enforce the town's traffic laws. Listening to the locals talk, Mount Pleasant police are legendary. Get pulled over by one, and the experience can be downright un-Pleasant.

With these numbers in mind, you'll know already that your odds of keeping a clean license can really suck. So you know the deal. Watch your air speed. Keep an eye out for movement in the bushes. Develop the ability to see around corners and over bridges. And you'll be fine.

==========A self-tuning guitar?==========

OK. What'll they think of next? Here's the latest toy for techie musicians everywhere: a guitar that tunes itself.

Being a working musician, I'm not sure how to take this. I know there are a few friends who would welcome this innovation, but I'm probably not one of them.

Not long ago, I was tuning a friend's guitar. She has one of those digital tuners that are so popular these days, and she was having a rough time getting in tune. I asked to see the guitar -- I've picked at one years ago, but a guitarist I'm not. And I've never used a digital tuner in my life. This tuner kept giving me strange readings -- I understand your batteries must be up to par or accuracy is an issue. After a minute, I said "screw it," and tuned the guitar the old-fashioned way. Trusting my ear. With all the toys, to me that's still the best way to tune, provided you have the ear for it.

Ahh, there are some aspects I enjoy about this high-technology stuff. Like if it fails, the guitarist may never know.