10Mar/108
Speeding ticket. doesnt say how cop determed my speed!!!?
So I got a speeding ticket this morning by a cop who was going in opposite direction(is that even possible I mean r those radars capable of picking up the speed of the cars going in opposite direction?) but my main question is, When cop gave me my ticket I noticed that he did not fill in the part where it says which type of radar he used to determine my speed so my question is, Is that a good reason to fight the ticket since it doesn't say how he got my speed or just pay my 200 bucks and get the ticket amended?
March 10th, 2010 - 08:45
I can’t believe that there are people who still think that radar doesn’t work if the cruiser is in motion. What a riot. That technology has only been available in cruisers since…oh, 1978 or so. How do you think radar works in fighter craft? Do you think the jets land, or hover motionless in defiance of gravity, every time they want to use their radar to find incoming planes?
It’s pretty simple. One lobe of the radar measures the cruiser speed. The other measures the oncoming vehicle speed and subtracts out the speed of the cruiser. It’s not that difficult. If the officer wants to run stationary radar, he simply pushes a button on the unit to put the radar into stationary mode.
As to not circling the radar tab on the ticket…that will not cause the ticket to be dismissed. Routine questioning at the beginning of the case asks how the officer determined your speed. Failing to circle "radar" on the ticket was a simple paperwork oversight and in no way altered how fast you were going or the effectiveness of the radar.
March 10th, 2010 - 08:45
I recommend that you start interviewing attorneys who have a great deal of successful experience defending traffic tickets.
Interview at leat three or four Attorneys. Ask them about their experience with cases like yours. How many of those cases did they win?
Hire the Attorney that you determine will be best for your case. The Attorney should have, at the very least, won more of those cases than he has lost.
March 10th, 2010 - 08:45
don’t pay it as the cop cant give a ticket while he is traveling in the OPPOSITE direction. he can say he was pacing you but how can that be when he didn’tget behind you until after he decided to pull you over. it seems they are hurting for fees – go to court plead not guilty and do trial by judge.
March 10th, 2010 - 08:45
were you speeding? if so shut up and pay the fine. drive the speed limit next time. If not, fight it no matter if the cop listed the method or not.
March 10th, 2010 - 08:45
Okay, so I am a police officer and I will let a small kitten out of the bag here. As for what you should do with your ticket, I can’t say other than it is your constitutional right to contest it in court.
Now, as for the RADAR:
1) It is an acronym and that is why it is capitalized.
2) Different RADARs capture the Doppler echo in different manners. Mine for instance, I can check only vehicles going away from me or coming toward me from the front or the rear while I am sitting stationary. I can also do this while I am moving. I can also monitor speeds of vehicles travelling in the same and opposite directions at the same time while sitting stationary or moving. However, not all RADARs are the same. Mine is a very sophisticated unit with new technology. The unit I had in the car before the one I am in now would only check speeds of vehicles coming toward me from the front and going away from me stationary or moving and that was it.
3) I can’t speak for the law in your state or the court for which the citation was issued, but more than likely the court will say that your "Type of RADAR" issue is clerical and doesn’t necessarily void the notice to appear. On the other hand they could say absolutely, the officer erred and we’ll dismiss the notice to appear.
4) Once again, I can’t speak for the law in your state or the court for which the citation was issued, or the prosecutor. What would most likely happen if it were challenged in my courts would be I would have to go in and testify to which RADAR unit I was using at the time and how I used it, and probably Doppler speed RADAR principle. Chances are the officer probably won’t remember all of that information, but you never know when you roll the dice.
Hopefully this enlightens you more on RADAR and helps with the challenge issue.
March 10th, 2010 - 08:45
Radar picks up vehicles traveling towards or away from the unit. It works while stationary or while moving.
The officer just forgot to get that part of the ticket, and that mistake doesn’t void the citation.
He will ammend the ticket if you fight it and you’ll still be on the hook for the fine.
March 10th, 2010 - 08:45
Do what mike says. You can pay an attorney probably a little over half of that 200 and keep your record clean.
March 10th, 2010 - 08:45
At some point, the officer did clock you. The means depends on the state you live in and the type of officer. For instance, in PA only state police have RADAR. Local police use either a calibrated speedometer or stationary detection devices. At some point the officer was going in the same direction you were in order to pull you over and most RADAR used today is accurate for detecting speeds of vehicles moving away from or towards the device. RADAR works in both moving and stationary situations