It's vacation season, and I've already found two bloggers who are traveling Route 66.

• Sara, Jennifer and Sherrie have started a Route 66 blog. At least one of them is in Chicago now. The weeks leading up to their road trip, they posted about their itinerary and preferred stops. It looks like, at least, they've done their homework by consulting a lot of guidebooks.
• Bunnygirl of Diary of a (Slow) Triathlete is picking up Route 66 in Oklahoma City and is heading on the old road to Santa Fe with her husband, including an overnight stay at the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, N.M. 

• IGN.com took the Pixar "Cars" mobile electronic game for a spin. It was rated a 7.2 out of 10, which is "decent." The reviewer says it's good for kids, but probably will bore most adults.
• The Los Angeles Times provided a detailed listing of the inside jokes, details and other fascinating factoids about the film.
• Animation World Network posted an extensive article about the technical and design challenges of making "Cars." Again, it shows how committed Pixar was in getting the details right.
• The New Zealand Herald sat down and had a talk with "Cars" director John Lasseter.
• UPDATE: The Detroit News takes a look at "Cars" from an automotive angle.

Here's a small item from the Bloomington (Ill.) Pantagraph:

The 25th annual Illinois Statewide Preservation Conference will be June 8-10 in Bloomington.

Cost is $85 for members of the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois and $100 for non-members. One-day registration is $50. …

The conference will include a walking tour of upper-floor conversions, the Old House Society House Tour and a tour of Funks Grove. Route 66 will be the topic of the keynote address.

Joe Williams of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has written a very good article about how Route 66 inspired much of the content of the "Cars" movie. Providing most of the context for the story is Route 66 author Michael Wallis.

Highly recommended.

In short, here is the answer:

It's borderline, but it appears the Route 66 town of Arcadia, Okla., is not violating the state's speed-trap law — at least not at this time.

But the evidence leaves little doubt that Arcadia is vigilant and possibly even overaggressive in enforcing the speed limit through town.

Arcadia has a population of only about 280, but its size belies its significance on the Mother Road. It is home to the historic Arcadia Round Barn, built in 1898. The popular Hillbillee's restaurant and bed-and-breakfast is in Arcadia. And Pops, a multimillion-dollar convenience store that promises to be a big roadside attraction because of its 66-foot-tall soda bottle, is scheduled to open in Arcadia next year. It's a picturesque community that likely will grow as Edmond and Oklahoma City sprawl eastward.

According to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, 4,000 vehicles a day pass through Arcadia on Route 66. Drivers encounter these additional warnings as they approach the "Speed limit 45" sign on the edge of town:

"Strictly enforced."

"No tolerance."

Those signs are not bluffs.

After hearing of complaints about Arcadia Police filed to the Oklahoma Route 66 Association and National Historic Route 66 Federation, Route 66 News investigated to see whether complaints of Arcadia being a motorist's nightmare were legitimate, or just isolated cases of sour grapes.

An examination of Arcadia's financial records and a sample of more than 500 traffic tickets issued in 2005 and 2006 revealed this:

• Arcadia consistently receives more than $100,000 in revenue each year from traffic fines. In the 2005 fiscal year, traffic tickets generated $111,151 in revenue. The town is planning on $112,150 in ticket revenue in the next fiscal year. For a town of less than 300 people, those are impressive numbers.
• Over 50 percent of the speeding tickets issued by Arcadia Police in the sample were for 10 mph or less over the speed limit. I saw tickets for as low as 5 mph over. So the local cops are strict.

Oklahoma's speed-trap law (see part D-4 and D-5) was enacted in November 2003. It forbids generating more than 50 percent of the "revenue needed for operation of the municipality." The same session, the Legislature also passed a law that forbid municipal police from writing a majority of tickets for 10 mph or less over the post speed limit. But the state repealed this section of the law eight months later.

If it finds a community in violation, the Department of Public Safety can stop or curtail the town's police activities. This recently happened with Big Cabin, which reportedly had more than 72 percent of its revenue from traffic tickets.

Based on recent financial records, Arcadia teeters close to the 50 percent mark on traffic-ticket revenue but doesn't appear to exceed it. The $111,151 in municipal court revenue in FY2005 represented 46 percent of the town's cash flow. In 2004, it was 48 percent. In 2003, it was 38 percent. Only in 2002 did Arcadia surpass it at 53 percent, and that was before the law took effect.

So it appears that Arcadia is a handful of traffic tickets away from breaking the law, but never quite crosses the line.

Legally or not, many do consider Arcadia to be a speed trap:

– The Speed Trap Registry listed a total of 20 posts and comments about Arcadia. That is more than any other nonmetro town in Oklahoma except for Hulbert, Rush Springs, Big Cabin, and the top vote-getter, the nearby Route 66 town of Luther.

– The Daily Oklahoman reported in 2003 that Arcadia made the state's top 10 in traffic fines on a per capita basis. The newspaper reported on complaints about the town being an alleged speed trap in 2001. In a 2002 editorial about longtime Mayor Marilyn Murrell, she was singled out for praise except for this sentence: "On a down note, the town's reputation as a speed trap is well-deserved."

– The vast majority of Arcadia businesses I talked to agreed that police were too aggressive. Molly Pace, co-owner of R.W. Pace & Co., said: "I've had customers pulled over on their way here. Their money, instead of coming to my business, goes to pay a traffic ticket."

Blaine Gideo of 2 Brothers Pizza said: "It has been a problem, and it has hurt our business. It is somewhat of a speed trap."

Norma Braxton, co-owner of Hillbillee's, said: "I always caution (customers) to go exactly the speed limit in town, and it has to be even out of city limits, because they (the police) will follow you."

Only one business owner I talked to, Jack Kelley of Jack's Custom Steel, didn't see a problem. "If people wouldn't speed, there wouldn't be a problem," he said.

– The prices of speeding tickets in Arcadia range from $94 for 1 to 10 mph over the limit to $169 for 11 mph and up over the limit. More serious offenses, like driving without insurance, no driver's license and expired tags, means a $219 ticket and the vehicle being impounded.

Those rates are high, but Luther's are worse. Speeding 10 mph and under means a $150 ticket. Speeding 11 to 15 mph over the limit is $188. Speeding 16 mph and up, or speeding in a school zone, will cost you $200.

– The complaints to the two Route 66 organizations center on Chief J.E. Franklin. Franklin oversees four other officers and wrote the majority of the tickets I examined, mostly because he's full-time.

David Jostes of Illinois and his wife were in a convertible in 100-degree heat when he was pulled over for speeding. Franklin left momentarily to chase down another car, and Jostes slowly pulled his vehicle into a shaded area at Hillbillee's. Jostes wrote that Franklin "raced back to me. He got out screaming at me. He said, 'You're not only getting a ticket for speeding; you're getting one for trying to elude an officer.' I tried to explain that I was just trying to get in the shade. He would not listen. … He just kept screaming at me.

"I'll never drive Route 66 in Oklahoma again. I'll drive the cheap toll road. He scared me."

Gerald Gaxiola of Belton, Mo., was driving east on Route 66 in Arcadia when he said he pulled off the road and stopped on a spot that appeared to be a parking area across from the Round Barn. Franklin ticketed him for improper passing.

"I asked for an explanation but was repeatedly told that pulling off the road constituted an improper pass," Gaxiola wrote. "Finally, he said, 'Either sign the citation or go to jail.'"

Gaxiola tried to see the improper-passing ordinance at city hall, but the clerk there was unable to help him. He paid the $219 fine and left.

"We are still a country of law and proper law procedures, in spite of small-town police who believe they are a law unto themselves," Gaxiola wrote. "I can only surmise that the chief was looking to fill the town's coffers with tourist money."

My observation: Jostes messed up for moving his car. That action will raise the ire of any officer, because it appears the driver is trying to flee. Perhaps Franklin was grumpy, but I'd be grumpy, too, in 100-degree heat.

I talked to Mayor Murrell about the second case. She said that according to Franklin, a vehicle had stopped to make a left turn, and Gaxiola passed it on the shoulder. I asked Gaxiola about this, and he said he couldn't recall whether there was another vehicle stopped in front of him. So there's an element of doubt there. But Franklin shouldn't have been rude.

"Franklin is a human being," Murrell told me. "I'm not saying officers don't make mistakes and they aren't as polite as they should be. But we have a lot of training with them on how to deal with the public." She also said squad cars also are equipped with a microphone and video camera so the city can check on the officer's conduct if complaints are filed.

Murrell denies her town is a speed trap. She points out that the limit is a consistent 45 mph and that it is set by the state.

"We are sworn to uphold the speed limits set by the state of Oklahoma," she said. "When the state sets a speed limit, that's what it is. The people who complain are being cited for breaking state law."

Murrell said she thinks motorists get riled up about speeding tickets in Arcadia because "it's a mentality they have about small towns."

She didn't mention it, but there's possibly another dynamic at work. Arcadia, according to the latest census, is 55 percent black, and nearly all of its city officials — including police — are black. The huge majority of Oklahoma residents and Route 66 travelers are white. To ignore the possibility of racial tensions and resentments by either side is naive.

I checked to see whether Arcadia police are targeting out-of-state drivers, i.e. tourists. Judging by the numbers from my sample, the answer is "no." Just 6 percent of the traffic tickets were issued to out-of-state drivers. To give you perspective, nearly 9 percent of the tickets were issued to Arcadia residents. So the Arcadia Police are aggressive against all traffic-law violators.

As for all of the speeding tickets for 10 and under the limit, I talked to Oklahoma state trooper Kera Philippi. She says state police have "no set tolerance" for speeding, but issuing tickets "comes down to officer discretion." She indicated she's reluctant to ticket for less than 10 over the limit because factors such as new tires, a rebuilt transmission or a malfunctioning instrument panel could cause a motorist to speed unwittingly.

"What it comes down to is that … so many are over the limit," she said. "We (ticket) so many more that are going so much faster."

So what should a Route 66 traveler do? It's easy: When entering the outskirts of Arcadia, drive at or even below the posted speed limit. Make sure your insurance card, driver's license and tags are up-to-date. Don't run a stop sign. If you do all these things, you should have a good time at the Round Barn or Hillbillee's without incident.

We'll monitor the police activity in Arcadia. There's nothing like oversight to keep public officials on their best behavior.

In the meantime, Heath Browning of the 66 Lake Stop convenience store summed it up nicely when he talked about the prickly relationship between Arcadia cops and passing motorists:

"First, they shouldn't be speeding, and second, they shouldn't be writing so many tickets."

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(Photo of Arcadia Police squad car by Gerald Gaxiola.)