RE: Radar guns

[Glen Powell <gpowell@acacianet.com>]

IMFO, the best way to fight speeding tickets is NOT to argue about the accuracy and/or admissability of the clocking/radar. I have the best success just telling 'The Judge' that basically I'm a nice guy, a family person, a taxpayer and a voter, a general upstanding community-type person, am gainfully employed, drive manymanymany miles every year with no accidents for manymanymany years, am a very careful and considerate driver and try to pay attention at all times and to obey all traffic laws and am basically one of the 'good guys' and not one the 'types' that get lots of tickets and/or the 'type' that they are really looking to punish. I'll also explain that I am are 'car collector' (*NOT a racer!*) and own many cars, and that if they hit me with a conviction and a fine that the resultant loss of 'good driver ins rebates' on all of the vehicles plus the ins points plus the fine would be *way* in excess of what our lawmakers intended when they set the fine amounts for a simple speeding violation and that I have a *perfect* driving record and want to maintin the incentive to *continue to maintin* that perfect driving record and the all the points, ins penalties and fines would be really excessive for a single and first simple speeding ticket. It also really helps if you were very nice to the officer, 'cause he might even suggest to drop the charge or at a minimum not object if The Judge asks him what he thinks about giving you a break. Wear a good suit, comb your hair, etc. (Duh!) There will be many other people there in court up on FAR more serious charges (DWI, driving to endanger, multiple violation, looooong records, etc) and they obviously will not the 'upstanding citzens' that all of us on this list are.   :)    Very likely there will also be many people that don't even show up and have arrest default/bench warrants issued on them. Your simple speeding violation, the fact that you actually took the time and effort to go to court, showed up, asked for 'forgiveness'  and your 'good appearance'  *will* make a big difference! Use this to your advantage. Sometimes the courts are just so overloaded with Real Serious (Tm) stuff that they just dismiss your speeding violation to get on to the next case. Believe me, this all might sound too basic or outright stupid, BUT IS WORKS! Cops, judges and juries aredrivers, pay insurance and are people too.....

-glen