wildblue 7 #1 December 6, 2001 Anyone ever fight a speeding ticket? Besides the usual "fight it and hope the officer doesn't show" - any other ideas?So far it's just a complete pita. I tried to call the procescutor and just get the offense changed to something that wouldn't affect my insurance rates... after 3 days of trying to get a hold of him, he turned out to be rather rude and unhelpful. Now I need to try to get the court date changed, it's on the same day as a 4 hour exam I have to take... you'd think no one had ever asked for a continuence before they way these people act... no one seems to know how to do it...Oh, and before I get the "just don't speed" smart-ass comments - I wasn't speeding, that's why I'm fighting it. Every other ticket I've gotten, I deserved, and I just paid my fine and moved on.I ain't happy, I'm feeling gladI got sunshine, in a bag Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #2 December 6, 2001 Hey, it might not be such a bad thing if this happened now. If you're not leaving town for the holidays, try to schedule it between, say, Dec 20 & early January. Even money the cop might be on vacation during that time & won't show up. Speed RacerWhat contemptible scoundrel has stolen the cork from my lunch?!-WC Fields Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflir29 0 #3 December 6, 2001 "I wasn't speeding"No officer I only had one or two.....but the dog had a lot!!! "and I'm not easily impressed...Ooohh look...a blue car!" -Homer Simpson Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JDBoston 0 #4 December 6, 2001 The best technique I've heard, from a habitual speeder boss I had, is to schedule and reschedule the court date (at the last minute) about 5 or 6 times. Then the next time you actually go. If you're lucky, the cop won't bother going because he figures you'll duck it again. Good luck. Hopefully none of your local cops visit this forum though.Joe Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JDBoston 0 #5 December 6, 2001 I think there are also a couple of Mickey Mouse bullshit ways to frustrate the cop into letting you off - like you can demand to see the tape from the radar gun for that day, and demand documentation for the last time the tape was changed, etc. I don't know if these are urban legends or if radar guns actually have a "tape" of some kind. All I know is when I got my tickets I was guilty as shit, and too far from home to come back for a court date.Joe Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pammi 0 #6 December 6, 2001 QuoteI don't know if these are urban legends or if radar guns actually have a "tape" of some kind. Hmm..don't know about that..but I do believe they have to be routinely calibrated from having worked at the PD for a few years. Unless that's changed now..it's been a while (5 years or so).Family Photos Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflir29 0 #7 December 6, 2001 Dude.....I would just pay the damn thing and then go out and buy yourself a jammer so you never have to worry about it again. "and I'm not easily impressed...Ooohh look...a blue car!" -Homer Simpson Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
indyz 1 #8 December 6, 2001 At least in Illinois, the police are under no obligation to show you the display on the radar gun after you are pulled over.--Brian Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lummy 4 #9 December 7, 2001 Yeah, in CA the PD is supposed to calibrate like every three months or something. Also, from what I remember of traffic school, CalTRans has to rate the road for a certain speed, regardless of what the posted speed limit is. If you could prove that you were driving safely even though you were speeding, i.e everyone around you was doing 15 over the speed limit, and in order not to be a hazard, blah blah blah.....If the cop doesn't show, make SURE to ask to have it dismissed.Good luck, oh and try to talk to the court clerk for the continuance instead.One too many tickets in my time Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cloud9 0 #10 December 7, 2001 Well WildblueHaving been a police officer for 11 years. I have been out of law enforcement for 10 years so things have changed some. I can tell you that trying to screw the system is not much of a way to go about it. I used to be in traffic court every thursday because I wrote tickets every week, the only way I wasn't going to show up was if I was on a call or I was on vacation. The D A would then continue the case until I got back.Honeycutt VS the commonwealth of Kentucky was a land mark case in radar operation. If you can find it you can see what is required of the police officer. Judicial notice was taken of radar in that case which means the court no longer has to prove that radar is accurate its accepted. So you have to prove the operator was inaccurate. It can be done, but it would take a lot more time and space then I have here to tell you all the things to look for. See if you can find the Kentucky case.There is no tape in a radar unit.It does not have to be recalibrated only calibration tested before and after each shift. This is done with tuning forks. It only has to be recalibrated if it fails a test.There are many things that can cause operator error while running a radar unit.Panning: this is where you can pick up things like your blower motor.Ghosting: people who dabble in radio know this one its like a skip you just pick up a reading out of the blue.Shadowing: where the patrol car is to close to the violatorGrouping or bunching: to many cars to be sure which one is the guilty party.Cosign error: to much angle between the radar unit and the violatorFishing: running around checking every car on the road for speeding.So you see there is a lot to check for. It is possible you got an officer that is improperly trained and you can win your case but do your research. Sorry I can't tell you more but it would take pages. I think there are a couple of books out there on the subject Good luck! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freefalle 0 #11 December 7, 2001 I am a police officer assigned to a traffic unit, let me ask you a question about your ticket. Did the Officer clock you with a LASER Radar or a regular Dopplar radar? if it was a LASER RADAR, your screwed they are 100% accurate if calabrated, and trust me if he was using it, it was calabrated. If he clocked you using a Dopplar RADAR you MIGHT have an arguement, which leads to the following questions: what time of day was the citation written? was there alot of other traffic on the road way? was the traffic flowing in both directions when the officer clocked you? was there traffic in front of you as well as behind you? Was it raining? The reason I ask the aforementioned questions is because Dopplar RADAR is NOT vehicle specific, dopplar radar sends out a signal and the speed of the FASTEST vehicle in the group is returned to the radar unit the Officer then must pick out the vehicle which is speeding. If there were several vehicles on the roadway it could be successfully argued that the officer mistakenly picked your vehicle out as the violator. In comparison, if the officer was using a LASER radar gun, laser radars work on the same concept as a laser sight on a hand gun they send out a single laser which pin points a SINGLE vehicle (which the officer selects by aiming the laser) and returns the speed of that vehicle to the unit they are very very accurate and Ive NEVER seen one beat in court. if you have further questions drop me an email and Ill try to answer them PS what state are you in? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #12 December 7, 2001 Has anyone tried to use the "I just made my first skydive" excuse for speeding on you? That would be funny...AggieDave '02-------------Blue Skies and Gig'em Ags!BTHO t.u. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FallingILweenie 0 #13 December 7, 2001 A friend of mine has used successfully (cuz i've seen it) the "my girlfriend just dumped me" excuse. it works best if you have a cop of the opposite sex, tho.blue skiesTomas Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lummy 4 #14 December 7, 2001 speaking of First skydives and speeding, has anyone else noticed that they are speeding after skydiving? I had a bad habit of doing at least 100 and not only did not notice, but felt like I was going slow Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lazerq3 0 #15 December 7, 2001 I have a problem speeding to the DZ. And then speeding home to tell everyone about my jump!!!!! Its a lose lose sit for me Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites wildblue 7 #16 December 7, 2001 K, here's the rest of my story:The officer was using laser. I'm assuming the LTI 20.20 Marksman. As far as I know, laser guns are not on judicial notice in this area. The radar case in Kentucky that was refered to earlier just said that the cop doesn't need to know the inner workings of the unit, just needs to know enough to use it. I forget the hours of training agreed on, but it's something like 16 hours class room and 8 hours practical.And lasers are not deadly accurate. The experts that testified in the New Jersey case (that eventually convinced the judge that laser weren't reliable) clocked a wall moving at 4 MPH. The laser only takes .3 seconds to determine the speed, which is great, until the office holding the gun flinches. And the LTI 20.20 actually has 3 beams that emit from it (with a stronger concentration on the right side), and can never be targeted with pinpoint accuracy. If I'm in the right lane, and the office targets my driver's side headlight, he could very well be getting a reading from the car behind me and in the left lane (because he's sitting at the side of the road, targeting my car at an angle) the laser beam is about 1.5 feet in diameter at the distance he targeted me, more than enough to go past my car if he targeted a headlight.But that's not even my argument, that's just the backup in case he's solid against my first.My primary argument is that he may have in fact measured a car going 67, and though he pulled that car over, but he pulled the wrong car over. Traffic was fairly heavy, about 15 or 20 in the pack I was in. I was towards the front, the cop was sitting at a traffic light, in the right turn lane (with a car next to him) so I was approaching from his left. Before he could turn, he had to wait for the whole pack of cars to pass (turned right on red basically) and then make his way past all these cars until he finally came up behind me (about a mile or more down the road) I caught his lights come on at least once way behind me, to get a car to get out of his way. Keep in mind, this all happened at night (it was dark anyway) and I drive a rather non-descript 4-door dark color car. And (not that I'm planning on bringing this up in court, but) I have a laser detector that never went off. I know, laser detectors don't really help, in that when they do go off, you're already screwed, but mine never even sounded. I ain't happy, I'm feeling gladI got sunshine, in a bag Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites mouth 0 #17 December 7, 2001 You guys have one problem...you're guys. I've been pulled over going 89 in a 55 in town with no excuse except that the top on the convertable top was down and the wind in my hair was wonderful and the CD was blasting. He pulled me over and asked about my skydiving bumper sticker, we laughed and joked for a few then he told me to be careful. That was the end of it. No ticket at all. Of course it did help that I had on a cute sundress! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites RemiAndKaren 0 #18 December 7, 2001 Not sure that its the sundress would make the difference... Unless Wildblue has some really nice legs.. lmao!RemiMuff 914 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites AggieDave 6 #19 December 7, 2001 In Texas, the CCW will get you out of a lot of tickets. Twice now I've been pulled over and ended up bullshitting about guns to the cop for about 10 minutes only to be told to "take it slower next time" and let go with out even a written warning.AggieDave '02-------------Blue Skies and Gig'em Ags!BTHO t.u. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites jfields 0 #20 December 7, 2001 They'd probably add on an extra fine for "Reckless Endangerment" or something. JustinMy Homepage Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites wildblue 7 #21 December 7, 2001 man I wish I had boobs.... let's review what all boobs get you:Out of ticketsFree pack jobsExtra altitudeFree dinnerFree drinks at a bar (and you don't have to know the guy)A living as a playboy bunny if they're nice enoughDoors held open and people to carry your stuff for youand that's just a start... not a bad deal for just having to put up with being looked at and drooled overI ain't happy, I'm feeling gladI got sunshine, in a bag Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites ADRNALN 0 #22 December 7, 2001 My Mom has the best one. She tells them she has the runs and is about to shit herself, then she asks if they can follow her to the next exit and gas station restroom. And give her the ticket after she takes care of her business in the can.Gross but it works! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites freeflir29 0 #23 December 7, 2001 "Gross but it works!"Especially from your Mom.........."and I'm not easily impressed...Ooohh look...a blue car!" -Homer Simpson Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites rgoper 0 #24 December 7, 2001 what will work is a teqnique i learned years ago, it's called "deferred adjudacation" all you do is pay the ticket, don't get another for 90 days, they keep your money, and the ticket goes in the trash. i've gotten out of a bunch of tickets utilizing this option. you have to write the JP a letter requesting it, they either allow or dissallow it, if they do, pay your ticket, go about your "rat killing" in the end, if it goes to court, you are not going to win, trust me. good luck.Richard"Gravity Is My Friend" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites kevin922 0 #25 December 7, 2001 Humm sorry to hear - I've gotton out of most of mine, if you're under 25 in some states you can normally go to driving school. Check out these sites if you want..http://www.copradar.com/preview/chapt7/caselaw.htmlhttp://www.norman-law.com/page35.htmlhttp://www.jesbeard.com/s16.htmHave fun! Let me know how it goes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply 0
wildblue 7 #16 December 7, 2001 K, here's the rest of my story:The officer was using laser. I'm assuming the LTI 20.20 Marksman. As far as I know, laser guns are not on judicial notice in this area. The radar case in Kentucky that was refered to earlier just said that the cop doesn't need to know the inner workings of the unit, just needs to know enough to use it. I forget the hours of training agreed on, but it's something like 16 hours class room and 8 hours practical.And lasers are not deadly accurate. The experts that testified in the New Jersey case (that eventually convinced the judge that laser weren't reliable) clocked a wall moving at 4 MPH. The laser only takes .3 seconds to determine the speed, which is great, until the office holding the gun flinches. And the LTI 20.20 actually has 3 beams that emit from it (with a stronger concentration on the right side), and can never be targeted with pinpoint accuracy. If I'm in the right lane, and the office targets my driver's side headlight, he could very well be getting a reading from the car behind me and in the left lane (because he's sitting at the side of the road, targeting my car at an angle) the laser beam is about 1.5 feet in diameter at the distance he targeted me, more than enough to go past my car if he targeted a headlight.But that's not even my argument, that's just the backup in case he's solid against my first.My primary argument is that he may have in fact measured a car going 67, and though he pulled that car over, but he pulled the wrong car over. Traffic was fairly heavy, about 15 or 20 in the pack I was in. I was towards the front, the cop was sitting at a traffic light, in the right turn lane (with a car next to him) so I was approaching from his left. Before he could turn, he had to wait for the whole pack of cars to pass (turned right on red basically) and then make his way past all these cars until he finally came up behind me (about a mile or more down the road) I caught his lights come on at least once way behind me, to get a car to get out of his way. Keep in mind, this all happened at night (it was dark anyway) and I drive a rather non-descript 4-door dark color car. And (not that I'm planning on bringing this up in court, but) I have a laser detector that never went off. I know, laser detectors don't really help, in that when they do go off, you're already screwed, but mine never even sounded. I ain't happy, I'm feeling gladI got sunshine, in a bag Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mouth 0 #17 December 7, 2001 You guys have one problem...you're guys. I've been pulled over going 89 in a 55 in town with no excuse except that the top on the convertable top was down and the wind in my hair was wonderful and the CD was blasting. He pulled me over and asked about my skydiving bumper sticker, we laughed and joked for a few then he told me to be careful. That was the end of it. No ticket at all. Of course it did help that I had on a cute sundress! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RemiAndKaren 0 #18 December 7, 2001 Not sure that its the sundress would make the difference... Unless Wildblue has some really nice legs.. lmao!RemiMuff 914 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #19 December 7, 2001 In Texas, the CCW will get you out of a lot of tickets. Twice now I've been pulled over and ended up bullshitting about guns to the cop for about 10 minutes only to be told to "take it slower next time" and let go with out even a written warning.AggieDave '02-------------Blue Skies and Gig'em Ags!BTHO t.u. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jfields 0 #20 December 7, 2001 They'd probably add on an extra fine for "Reckless Endangerment" or something. JustinMy Homepage Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildblue 7 #21 December 7, 2001 man I wish I had boobs.... let's review what all boobs get you:Out of ticketsFree pack jobsExtra altitudeFree dinnerFree drinks at a bar (and you don't have to know the guy)A living as a playboy bunny if they're nice enoughDoors held open and people to carry your stuff for youand that's just a start... not a bad deal for just having to put up with being looked at and drooled overI ain't happy, I'm feeling gladI got sunshine, in a bag Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ADRNALN 0 #22 December 7, 2001 My Mom has the best one. She tells them she has the runs and is about to shit herself, then she asks if they can follow her to the next exit and gas station restroom. And give her the ticket after she takes care of her business in the can.Gross but it works! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflir29 0 #23 December 7, 2001 "Gross but it works!"Especially from your Mom.........."and I'm not easily impressed...Ooohh look...a blue car!" -Homer Simpson Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rgoper 0 #24 December 7, 2001 what will work is a teqnique i learned years ago, it's called "deferred adjudacation" all you do is pay the ticket, don't get another for 90 days, they keep your money, and the ticket goes in the trash. i've gotten out of a bunch of tickets utilizing this option. you have to write the JP a letter requesting it, they either allow or dissallow it, if they do, pay your ticket, go about your "rat killing" in the end, if it goes to court, you are not going to win, trust me. good luck.Richard"Gravity Is My Friend" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kevin922 0 #25 December 7, 2001 Humm sorry to hear - I've gotton out of most of mine, if you're under 25 in some states you can normally go to driving school. Check out these sites if you want..http://www.copradar.com/preview/chapt7/caselaw.htmlhttp://www.norman-law.com/page35.htmlhttp://www.jesbeard.com/s16.htmHave fun! Let me know how it goes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
