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RE: Another speeding ticket question



>hey all, last night i was going up a road in SF and a cop driving the
>opposite direction decided to turn around and follow me.  Just as he
>turned around, the road went up and to the right, getting me out of his
>view.  I checked my speedo, dropped down to an indicated 35 and continued
>along the road.
>
>He then came up behind me, never pacing me within my view and then pulled
>me over.  He asked what my hurry was, i told him i didnt know what he was
>talking about and then told him that my speedo said 35 mph the whole
>time.  He said that it looked like i was doing well over 40 when i went
>by him the other way, and then as soon as he turned around, he "clocked"
>me at "over 40mph,"  This got me thinking because he was in view while
>going straight before the road turned for approximately 1 second.  There
>is no way that he could have gotten me paced in that time.
>
>Anyway, i just said that my speedo said 35 and stuck to that, it was true.
>
>Then came back 15 minutes later and whne i pleaded with him one more
>time, he said:  "it doesnt matter if your speedo said 35, this is a 25
>zone."  Turns out, as i thought, he was wrong and it is a 35 zone.  He
>wrote 25 on the citation, specifically saying 40+ in a 25 zone.  40+ is
>obviously not an exact number, so there was no radar, and the topography
>of the road does not lend itself well to pacing.  Then there is the fact
>that he is wrong about the speed limit.
>
>That should get it thrown out immediately shouldnt it?
>
>what do you all think?

It's bullshit!!!!!  Don't pay it.  Show up to court, take a picture of the
speed limit sighn on the road you were on, and show where he said he
supposedly "clocked" you!  This EXACT same thing happened when a friend and
I were comming home from another friend's house who lives in (well, have you
seen Copland)... that's kinda like where he lives.  You'd be crazy to speed
in that part of town as that is where all the cops live.  We were driving
down the road and I was sorta trying not to speed, but not paying too close
attention.  Anyways, I saw a cop pass me so I looked down at my speedo.
Whew... I was only doing 40 in a 35... IF that.  So, I continued and wasn't
concerned.  Saw the cop turn around in my rear-view mirror.  Keep in mind,
this is late at night and I'm the only one on the road.  I said to my friend
"Don't tell me she's gonna follow me all the way back into town!"  Well,
next thing I know there are blue lights flashing beind me.  Pull over at
some run down vacated gas station and it's a female cop...  "Great, she's
gonna nail my balls to the wall!"

Anyways, she comes over and I explain that I was doing the speed limit.  My
friend confirmed it as I drove by the cop (he glanced at my speedo too).  He
was more livid than I was.  I told her this was rediculous and asked her to
show me the radar gun.  She proceded to tell me that thier radar guns have
no way of retaining my speed, but that she "clocked" me going the other
direction going 50 mph!  .... she was compounding lies.  I said that was
absurd.  If she told me 42 or 45, I might buy it, but there's no way in hell
I was doing 50.  Plus, in Georgia where I'm from, I know it's law that they
have to ASK you if you want to see the radar confirmation!

Well, she wrote me the ticket for doing 50 in a 35 but she wrote it in a way
that it would not put any points on my license... almost figuring I would
just pay it off and not show up for court.  Well, I figured I'd just have to
handle this in court.  Anyways, I wound up graduating and since I wouldn't
be able to make my postponned court date, I just wanted to clear up anything
like this before I left town, so I paid it off.  Cost me $130!  And, for me
doing nothing wrong.

These cops think they are above the law and can do whatever they want.  It
is our (YOUR) responsability to make them look like an ass and a crook in
front of the judge.  The judge most of the time won't stand for it and
you'll surely get the citation thrown out.  So, go to court and fight it,
but be prepaired.  A picture of the clearly maked speed limit and a picture
of the road would be great.  Prove to the judge that it was impossible for
him to have clocked you as he said he did.  Also, EVEN if he used radar
(which I seriously doubt he did) his radar would have to be calibrated
perfectly and so would his speedometer.  If you are moving and he is
moving.... the radar gun uses his speed (from the speedo) and combines it
with your speed to give a differential speed.  If one of these is off... his
radar gun and your recorded speed would be off.... it's not hard!  Maybee
his was reading that you were doing over 40, but if he doesn't have his
calibration certificates (he's supposed to have both of them calibrated
every 2 months or something like that) than you get the benefit of the
doubt.

Save your points for when you will actually need them, and fight it.  Sorry
if this was too long, but I've BTDT a few times and it sucks.  I hate paying
speeding tickets and I get them all the time.  ;^)  Maybe it's time I invest
in a V1.  I have an old Passport radar detector, which is great, but the
cops going from here to Milwaukee are using Stalker (wideband) now, and mine
doesn't detect it.  I've had a few close calls recently.  Well, good luck!

Later,
Dan