Traveling in the Northern Virginia or D.C. area this weekend for Memorial Day? Watch out for speed traps. Holiday traffic brings out additional law enforcement, and that means speed traps that will snare all too many drivers.

The National Motorists Association (NMA), a grassroots motorists’ rights group, has updated its 2010 rankings of the cities and states that are generally more likely to ticket speeding drivers. Among 50 states and the District of Columbia, D.C. ranks 8th and Virginia ranks 22nd. In addition, the Washington, D.C. metro area ranked 7th among the top 10 metro areas for traffic tickets.

With AAA predicting that 34.8 million people will travel 50 miles or more from home this holiday weekend, you can be sure law enforcement will be out in droves in the Northern Virginia and D.C. area.

Other than not speeding (the safest bet), the cautious driver might check out the mobile app Trapster, or a website such as the National Speed Trap Exchange (sponsored by NMA) for a bit of warning as to what lies ahead on one’s route.

If you do somehow find yourself on the receiving end of a speeding ticket this Memorial Day weekend, the traffic lawyers of Livesay & Myers, P.C. are here to help. But if you heed the old adage that “An Ounce of Prevention Beats a Pound of Cure,” you should be able to make your trip safely and ticket-free.