Speeding ticket and my defense is..

[Poboys 99]

Hey guys, I have a question regarding a speeding ticket (revenue extortion).
Seems like the new police officers in our town of 700 people, have become a bit over zealous, and they're handing these things out left and right..First off, I'm on disability and can't afford to hand over 125.00, and 2nd I think it's bogus and here's why..I am at stop sign and made a right turn out of town, so I was at a DEAD STOP. The officer had his radar gun at a tire store parking lot 1/10 of a mile from said stop sign..That's only 528 feet..He claims I was going 48 mph,(in a 35mph zone) but being the nice guy that he claims to be, only wrote me up for doing 43 mph.
I am going to claim that at that rate of acceleration my bone stock 1998 160,000 mile 5.0 AWD would be doing 107.5 mph in the 1/4 mile! And if he claimed I was really doing 48 mph, (within the span of 528 ft) that would put my trucks acceleration rate at 120 mph in the 1/4 mile!? I have to argue that the officers radar gun was not calibrated properly, or that he detected another vehicle...What say you guys..does my defense make sense? I got court tomorrow at 11am..Any help or thoughts would be greatly appreciated..
528ft at 43mph rate of acceleration
528ft at 43mph
264ft at 21mph
-----------------
1320ft@ 107.5 mph ..does this make sense, or is my math off.?-JC

 

[SoNic67]

First:
48 mph=48/3600 miles/sec=0.1333 mps
Acceleration rate from standing (v0=0):

So, the above formula gives: 0.133*0.133=2*a*0.1 --> a=0.000176/0.2=0.000885 miles/sec*sec
Time to quarter mile from standing (V0=0)?

First equality solves to:
t=sqrt(2*0.25/0.000885)=23.7 seconds for 1/4 mile.
Sorry, it seems probable.

Anyway, he needs to show the valid certificate of radar calibration to the court. It needs to be either annual or semi-annual (depending of the jurisdiction).

 

[JimMadsen]

I suggest a forum dealing with beating tickets.

Other than that, ask for radar gun calibration data, officer certification data, I am sure there is more.

Then, since the officers are over zealous in your opinion, get a dash cam off of amazon so you can have your own record.

Now the math.

0-60 time for a 97/99 explorer is 8.3 seconds according to http://www.zeroto60times.com/Ford-0-60-mph-Times.html

45 mph (rounding what he said). Would be about 6 seconds. Lets give you an average speed of 20 mph over that 6 seconds.

Now 1 mile / hour = 1.46666667 feet / second so you would have travelled 29.3333334 feet seconds. 29.33 times 6 is 176 feet.

So it appears it would take 176 feet to get up to 45 mph.

Oh and it looks like the quarter mile time is 16.5 seconds.

So.... Your screwed on this one me thinks.

Keep in mind, I am not a lawyer and have not stayed in any Holiday Inn Expresses lately.

 

[JimMadsen]

Oh sure, bring out the actual formulas and give some of us a headache.

 

[J_C]

IMO you would need some expert testimony to make your argument fly. Further I doubt the acceleration from 0 to 100 MPH is linear in an X. I just looked on Google Maps to determine my driveway is about 500ft from a stop sign and I am fairly sure I could get up to 43MPH in my V6/4.0L X "IF" I tried to, but only you know how much of a hurry you were in that day.

You could go back to the scene and video yourself seeing what speed you can reach without straining too much but that's not so much proof as it is letting you know exactly what speed you might have been doing.

You could also request proof of recent calibration of the radar gun and ask for a recess to investigate whether there are conditions in which that model of gun may be inaccurate.

In the end you may still be screwed. If they're looking to make speeding tickets a source of revenue then that wouldn't work so well for them if they let people off. A lawyer might have another angle but of course that's a cost multiple times higher than the speeding ticket. At the same time you might post this question in a legal advice oriented forum.

Edit: Heh, I guess I posted too slowly...

 

[1998rollover]

Sometimes it doesn't even matter if the radar reading was 100% physically impossible, you still get screwed.

A while back in this town a woman I know got a ticket for 38 in a 25 zone, driving past the Athena Club. The cops were no closer than 0.2 mile away, somewhere around the Mormon church.

There's a Les Schwab tire store and some other buildings in the way. There's a couple of bends in the road there too. It is impossible to see the Athena Club from anywhere around the Mormon church.

Radar doesn't go around corners.

I suggested she take some photos to court to prove it was impossible to get her on radar, she did but still got stuck with the ticket.

 

[Poboys 99]

Thanks for the replies guys..I haven't had a speeding ticket since I owned my 94 Mustang GT in 02. The thing is that there is a dollar general and a gas station in between the tire shop where he parked, and a vehicle made a left turn
into the dollar store, causing me to let off the gas. I imagine when I started to accelerate again he heard the Flowmaster...Also there is a sign ahead about 2/10s of a mile that starts the speed limit at 55mph, and he pulled me over just past that..Everyone accelerates just before that sign to achieve the posted speed..just like everyone decelerates before the speed posted is 35 mph again coming into town..Screw it I'm gonna speak my peace and see what flies..I just compared the acceleration rate with the Mustang that turned a 13.23@ 102mph in the 1/4 and that was with the pedal to the floor and thought there was no way the heavy Ex would end up with a rate of speed of 107.5 in the same distance..If it doesn't pan out for me I will request some community service at the local food pantry...Thanks again fellas..-JC

 

[jremington59]

You can easily hit 60 mph in the length of 2 football fields. What would surprise me more is if the DA won't reduce it to a non moving violation only being 8 over the speed limit.

 

[1998rollover]

Use Google Maps to get some aerial photos of the location so you can ask the officer to first pinpoint where you were when he supposedly got you on radar, then where he was.

Oh, wait, get TWO versions. First print out a map with just the streets to get the locations, THEN use the aerial image to draw a straight line between the two locations.

If there's anything in the way, there's no way he got you on radar.

 

[bill06447]

You don't say if this is a repeat offense, but no matter, your last post pretty much admits you may be guilty of the infraction anyways...to paraphrase, "everybody does it near that increased speed zone" If you insist on wasting your valuable time in court with this, your best defense would be to claim you were clocked accelerating to the 55 mph speed zone. (sorry I have little sympathy for speeders as they regularly top 50 mph in the 30 mph zone near my neighborhood, and in the past 10 years 3 pedestrians have been killed walking on that road due to speeding and inattentive drivers)

Bill

 

[SoNic67]

Last time when I was in court for MY speeding ticket, the judge let go an older guy with the excuse that he SAW the increased speed sign (45mph) from the area he was driving (25 mph) and "thought" the limit applies from where he was.
Both the judge and the older guy where the same age and same... minority group.

I wasn't either of them so my excuse (that was smarter than that) didn't hold. Judges can do basically whatever they want in a traffic court, so... be nice.
And you could ask for a "reduced" speed judgment, based on miss-calibrated speed gauge on your Explorer, but that would require a certification from an agreed place.

 

[JimMadsen]

A few years back, I got pulled over along with the car in front of me on a highway. (Bill, rt 2 coming up from Mohegan near 13 I think)

I was in a 98 Protege. The car in front of us that had our girlfriends in it was a 88 Dodge Shadow. I was doing probably 75. It was 3 in the morning and I was fully sober.

Cop seemed upset that those in my car were better armed than he was. All fully licensed and everything. The first thing he did when I mentioned all 3 of us had concealed carry permits and 2 of us armed, he turned his back to the front car and drew his gun. Right about now all 3 of us figured he is a rookie and is now scared ****less. Well after he disarmed us, he gave us both a ticket for reckless driving 95+ mph. Umm yeah, a 15 year old Shadow was doing a buck on the highway?

Long story short, when I went in, the clerk looked at me and said plead guilty to speeding, 1 point and a fine. I kept my mouth shut and said sure.

Moral of the story I guess, is even if you are right, know when to fold. How much is your time worth? And yes, I was speeding, and yes everyone drives that fast (it seems) on the hwys here in CT, but thats not an excuse.

 

[pbnj22]

I'm 22 and speed a lot around town.. Got a few tickets and a few warnings.. Bought a fuzz buster and haven't been pulled over yet.. That thing has paid for it self and saved me a few big ones !!

 

[shadowless127]

If you enjoy ignoring speed limits (I'm not judging AT ALL) invest in a Valentine 1.

Also, on the ticket it should list the equipment they used to get your speed. By chance does it list the radar as a Stalker Dual Pro?

 

[Poboys 99]

You don't say if this is a repeat offense, but no matter, your last post pretty much admits you may be guilty of the infraction anyways...to paraphrase, "everybody does it near that increased speed zone" If you insist on wasting your valuable time in court with this, your best defense would be to claim you were clocked accelerating to the 55 mph speed zone. (sorry I have little sympathy for speeders as they regularly top 50 mph in the 30 mph zone near my neighborhood, and in the past 10 years 3 pedestrians have been killed walking on that road due to speeding and inattentive drivers)

Bill

I don't speed, I don't need too. Ever since I was diagnosed with an illness that renders me unable to work, I moved out to the country side from Chicago/ Tampa, to avoid as much stress as possible, as stress triggers my attacks. Did a compete about face concerning life and priorities, and take it easy. I'm not in any hurries like I used to be when I was younger. I only use the truck to take myself and my wife to Drs. appointments and shopping once a month. I pay my bills online.. I had a good friend get t-boned down in Florida by a speeder. I ended up marrying his widow..she doesn't tolerate speeding or reckless behavior behind the wheel either.. Last ticket for speeding was in Tampa in 2002, no DUI's etc.. I can relate to your concern about reckless speeding, especially when pedestrians are in the vicinity..
I know it may be a lame excuse to some, but I was accelerating to get up to speed to do 55mph, but I did not do that till I was close to that sign (not from 1000+ft away)..He didn't come after me until after I passed the 55mph sign, and I still was only doing 43 mph. The cops out here are all part timers from other jurisdictions, and many folks in town are of the opinion that tickets are a way of generating revenue so the town can afford to pay them. It's a bogus ticket imo and I will use my right to contest this and make the cop come to court and answer my questions...I have more time to spend on my defense then money..

 

[SoNic67]

Come to VA with your toys. Beside the fact that they are illegal in state, the cops are using laser detectors. Optical sighting first, with radar off, then press the "trigger" to measure the speed.
Measuring takes milliseconds.

When your Valentine "beeps", it does it just to let you know you got caught.
Plus, when you drive by, the new radars will detect the "leakage" radiation from your toy and light up a warning on cop's radar.

 

[Poboys 99]

If you enjoy ignoring speed limits (I'm not judging AT ALL) invest in a Valentine 1.

Also, on the ticket it should list the equipment they used to get your speed. By chance does it list the radar as a Stalker Dual Pro?

Not listed at all..Is the device you mentioned a problem?

 

[jremington59]

The last time I got a ticket was for not wearing a seat belt. Which I wasn't when the Trooper passed me but I buckled it when he turned around. He gave me the ticket anyways. When I went to court I told the Judge the Trooper must have mistaken me for someone else and told her I wasn't going to sit here and call a State Trooper a liar because they have a busy job and I'm sure he did think I wasn't wearing it and was just doing his job. The Judge gave me a 6 month conditional discharge, no fine and sent me on my way. I kinda felt bad for getting out of it so easy. But it went away in a day or so.

If you have a fairly clean license just go to Court and if anything explain that the PO had changed the tires and you just found out because you checked it after you got the ticket and the speedo is off 5 MPH, and that you wouldn't have been speeding had you known. Tell them you're on disability and don't have any money to pay a ticket. I'm sure they'll cut you some good break

On the other hand. If you go into Court with the Perry Mason know it all attitude, they will find you guilty of speeding at trial. And for making such a big deal of it they'll give you the max fine. Choice is yours how you handle it.

 

[Poboys 99]

First:
48 mph=48/3600 miles/sec=0.1333 mps
Acceleration rate from standing (v0=0):

So, the above formula gives: 0.133*0.133=2*a*0.1 --> a=0.000176/0.2=0.000885 miles/sec*sec
Time to quarter mile from standing (V0=0)?

First equality solves to:
t=sqrt(2*0.25/0.000885)=23.7 seconds for 1/4 mile.
Sorry, it seems probable.

Anyway, he needs to show the valid certificate of radar calibration to the court. It needs to be either annual or semi-annual (depending of the jurisdiction).

My head hurts lol...So if the rate of alleged acceleration would put my Ex at 107.5 mph in a 1/4 mile..what ET should that puppy have gotten...?

 

[shadowless127]

Come to VA with your toys. Beside the fact that they are illegal in state, the cops are using laser detectors. Optical sighting first, with radar off, then press the "trigger" to measure the speed.
Measuring takes milliseconds.

When your Valentine "beeps", it does it just to let you know you got caught.
Plus, when you drive by, the new radars will detect the "leakage" radiation from your toy and light up a warning on cop's radar.

Blinders HP-905 takes care of those pesky laser guns.