Fighting speeding ticket

[RatLabGuy]

Hi guys. I'm sure similar things have come up but I can't find 'em... and I know there's some good collective knowlwdge here, looking for some help/advice.

Basically, this morning my wife got pulled for speeding on 421. Normally our attitude is, if you do crime, you pay the consequences, that's just fair, we have no problem w/ the idea of getting and paying a ticket. However something is amiss here.
Deal is, cop (highway patrol) says he clocked her at 79; however, she had cruise control set at 70 (yeah, still speeding but within reason) and when she passed him did the classic immediately-check-the-speedo thing, didn't even think twice about it and kept going.
More details - cop was on side of road, just getting back into his car from pulling somebody else when she passed him (she's in L lane of course). He never even turned off his lights, just pulled on and right up behind her - since she'd looked at her speedo when passing and only said 70, and she figured he still had his lights on from pulling on, it took a min for her to realize it was her she wanted... and the she had the luck to be passing a highway entrance so she waited a little longer to hget off the road... I think this didn't help the cop's mood 'cause she said he was pretty pissy about her not pulling over immediately, and esp when he saw she had our 7 m/o son in the car..
But I guess that is all moot. The point is we have a major discrepancy - I have to believe my wife on this one, b/c she refuses to drive > 70 mph w/our son in the car, plus I'd think at 79 she'd be passing people L and R which she wasn't and wouldn't... She wonders if he clocked the guy in FRONT of her who was going faster, or something like that. I wonder if there's something up w/ the guy's radar.
Now I know its possible for a speedo to be off a little, but the tires are stock size ('97 saturn), they'd have to be like 31s (hahaha) to cause that degree of error. I'm looking into a "speedo calbration" anyway just for my own edification.

So I guess my question is, what kind of options do we have? I've heard of guys contesting the radar readings, etc - is this really viable, or a waste of time/effort/money? I know there are some cops here, I'm just looking for the honest truth, are we just stuck? I know that "Your honor, I wouldn' drive that fast, I don't think it was me!" wouldn't exactly hold water in court. I mean yes, even at 70 she was speeding and maybe that warrants a ticket, if you do the crime you shoudl do the time - but then wuld you really ever get pulled for just 5 mph over, esp if 65 means you're getting run over... again I'm rambling, sorry.

Thanks for any input!
btw this is in Forsyth Co., just outside Winston on 421 heading South.

 

[hobie]

Get a lawyer! It's worth it in insurance costs, and potentially getting out of the ticket.

J

 

[SHINTON]

I think it has become such a racket now you might as well pay the lawyers, much cheaper than doing the speedo thing, etc etc...

If you have access to a GPS, they are VERY accruate for reading MPH, ez way to check it...or find one of those roadside "speed radar" things the city puts out to remind you of speed...etc.

Sam

 

[RatLabGuy]

Hm, here's an interesting tidbit. This weekend we are o na trip to Lake Gaston, 2.5 hr drive in this car.
Wife drove, but now paranoid, keeps the cruiuse set at 65 LOL. But she points out that, on misc occasions, she find uss passing a bunch of folks, then later all the same guys passing us again - as though the speed is not constant... although speedo says that it is.
I tell her, "Eh, maybe THOSE GUYS don't have cruise, and aren't keeping it constant." Which of course pisses her off, now we have a nice silent ride, hahaha (married guys know what I mean!).
But this starts me thinking. I think this car uses only an electric speed sensor, no good ol' speedo cable. I'm wondering if there is something goofy in teh electricals, so that the speed sensor is giving oddball readings, throwing off the criuse system, so that it is now essentially lying to us when cruise is in use.
Possible? Worth looking into???
And yeah, I'm assuming I'll be doing the PFJ thing unless I can come up w/ soem way to "prove" all this!

 

[ramitall2]

Let me start off my saying Im sorry to hear your wife got a ticket. Now on to the clocking speed, the officer may have not even used the radar when coming up with his speed. He had to take a 40 to 60 hour class and pass with high marks to be allowed to even have the radar in his car. During this class he was instructed in how to pace vehicles while they are coming toward him and while they are moving away from him this method has and will continuo to stand up in court. The radar is rely only their to confirm his finding so he may have been using this and this alone to get your wife’s speed and could have very well been off on his calculations. But im sure it could and will be dropped to a leaser charge in court especially if you get an attorney.

Adam

 

[PoPo]

Now on to the clocking speed, the officer may have not even used the radar when coming up with his speed. He had to take a 40 to 60 hour class and pass with high marks to be allowed to even have the radar in his car.

Minimum 32 hours for the class followed by 16 hours practice after completion of the course before the certificate will be issued. 100% proficiency on the equipment for which certification is sought, and 70% on a written state exam. You can actually have the Radar in the car without being certified, you can even operate it. You just can't take enforcement actions based on it without the certification.

During this class he was instructed in how to pace vehicles while they are coming toward him and while they are moving away from him this method has and will continuo to stand up in court.

Not exactly. Pacing will only work in the same direction, and it is not taught in the Radar class. There is no class where this is taught. I think what you are talking about is visual estimation, which is the cornerstone of proper Radar technique.

The radar is rely only their to confirm his finding so he may have been using this and this alone to get your wife’s speed and could have very well been off on his calculations. But im sure it could and will be dropped to a leaser charge in court especially if you get an attorney.

Adam

Correct....Troopers are very bad for just letting the Radar run and waiting for the tone to catch their attention. They will then try to find the car making that tone so they can stop it. It is possible that the Trooper looked up and "picked" the wrong car, but prooving that in court is very difficult. That is why I ALWAYS put in my notes on Radar tickets what my visual estimation of the car was before I even turned on the antenna. If it is more than +/- 3mph I won't stop the car based on the Radar, so my notes will always reflect within that margin. That way I can testify that in my opinion the car was going 73mph and the Radar showed 71mph. Of course, I will give the benefit of the doubt and charge the lower of the two.

 

[ramitall2]

Sorry man its been a while cense I went to school man, shite ive got to go to resort this year I better hit the books I cant remember shite .

 

[rattlecanpaint]

But she points out that, on misc occasions, she find uss passing a bunch of folks, then later all the same guys passing us again - as though the speed is not constant... although speedo says that it is.

Odds are, those people either aren't usine cruise, or they have radar detectors that are going off and they are slowing down and then speeding up once they aren't so paranoid anymore.
But this starts me thinking. I think this car uses only an electric speed sensor, no good ol' speedo cable. I'm wondering if there is something goofy in teh electricals, so that the speed sensor is giving oddball readings, throwing off the criuse system, so that it is now essentially lying to us when cruise is in use.

This is very improbable, That would also mean that the odometer would be off as well. The feds would have a very serious problem with that. Thing to do is to find out how far it is to some place and see if the time/speed/distance all match up. i.e. if you are going 60 miles, drive with the cruise set at 60 and see if it takes an hour to get there.

Possible? Worth looking into???
And yeah, I'm assuming I'll be doing the PFJ thing unless I can come up w/ soem way to "prove" all this![/QUOTE]

I wouldn't waste a PJC on something so petty. Just go to court and the DA will automatically reduce it to 9 over. (they will do this with everyone) This will cost you whatever the court costs are (Raleigh is $100) plus maybe a $10 fine. It will give you 1 drivers license point but no insurance points. Do not let the Judge tell you he will "continue judegment" (That's a PJC wasted) The 1 drivers license point will go away after I think 3 years but anyway, if she uses her PJC and something like this happens again (within 3 years), this ticket will come back onto her record and then ins will go up. It is NOT worth paying a lawyer to have him use your PJC which he/she will. I've done this many more times than I should've so I know a fair bit about how the system works. (I also pay extremely close attention while sitting in the courtroom to what is going on so I can learn what to do.) you'd be surprised how freaked out people are about this sort of thing. Again, using a lawyer will only cost you a PJC and at least an extra $100. P.S. It takes the lawyer 10 seconds do use your PJC and pocket your $100. Seen it happen time and again. (I've been to court 7 times in 6 years so you know how I got this information.)

Peter "Lead Foot"