Proof of speeding violation

Here's justification for you: If you were paying $20/hr for your time debating here on Priuschat, you'd already have spent more than the amount of the fine

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tag @ Mar 23 2007, 09:54 PM) [snapback]411255[/snapback]</div>

You have bargain rates in GA EXCEPT for the misdemeanor thing. Here in FL I know a guy who was going 20 MPH over the limit. The fine was $210 + $33 court costs. However, it's only a traffic infraction. I don't understand why GA would consider a speeding ticket criminal. I would fight that ticket.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Mar 23 2007, 10:17 PM) [snapback]411264[/snapback]</div>

You're right. I had a Deputy friend who was on the job for 2 months. He went into a diner and told a girl that an employee of the diner just got out of jail and to watch out for her. He was fired 2 days later while on probation.

I asked him why he did something so stupid and got a dumb look with no answer. Now he drives a tractor trailer. In any group of cops there will be a few bad apples, but I support law enforcement. I just think traffic infractions are ridiculous if minor.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Mar 23 2007, 10:17 PM) [snapback]411264[/snapback]</div>

A lot of it depends on how one comes across to the officer initially. I'm talking traffic stops. Window down, hands on wheel in sight, keep mouth shut and only speak when asked. IE: if you act defensive and like a jerk you will get the ticket and maybe a couple more for pi**ing him/her off. Of course that's not in stone, but you might have a 50/50 chance of not getting a ticket for being nice and respectful.

 

I am proud to support Law Enforcement with respect. I wouldn't want to go out in a society without it. Imagine eveyone going 120 MPH, Blowing off red light, Drunk out of their minds.

But I don't want to be fleeced for revenue generation, which I am convinced happens some of the time. Provably varies from area to area.

I got a totally bogus speeding ticket. One morning, after it had been very windy, I was driving through a 25 MPH zone in a new neighborhood where the only houses for two blocks either direction were in early construction phase. THere were whole sheets of particle board and other building materials strewn across the street, so I slowed way down to manuver around them and happened to note on my speedometer that I was going 10 MPH. I pressed very lightly on the accelerator and crested the top of a ridge, when I let my foot off the gas and about the same time, saw a city police officer siting at 90 degree turn at the bottom of the hill, about 500 feet ahead. I didn't think anything of it, because I am not a habitual speeder.

As I passed the officer, he pulled me over and said I was going 37 MPH. I was very polite, but I told him I did not see how I could have been 37 MPH when I had been going 10 MPH just before I came over the top of the ridge 700 feet back, and was already braking for the 90 degree turn. He gave me the ticket, and I decided to fight it because I was not guilty of going 37 MPH.

I got information from a ticket fighting web site that detailed the potential flaws of radar readings and the correct procedures officers are trained on to mitigate the potential sources of bad readings, explained how to make a proper request for discovery and get the radar gun records, instruction manual, officer's training records and so on.

But I was taken back by the web sites view that the primary purpose of traffic citations was revinue generation. I thought that was really cinical. Like I said, I hava always been proud to support Law Enforcement.

The things I learned before my court date:

1. The manufacturer of the radar gun, in their manual, cautions that false readings come from the strongest signal which may come from the largest or closest object. If their is a big truck speeding 1/4 mile behind you, the radar might see that truck, but the officer thinks it is reading your car. Or if their is an aluminum pie tin blowing in the wind feet from the radar gun, the radar might read that instead of your car. The manual specifically stated that readings could come from debris in a gust of wind, and I downloaded documentation from the weather service that there were MPH gusts of winds at the time I got the ticket.

2. Officers are trained to make a visual estimation of your speed first, and then use the radar only to confirm their visual estimate. So the ticket fighting site suggest you ask the office in court, at what distance are you able to accurately estimate a vehicles speed, and continue with a series of questions until you pin them down to a specific number.

I sat in the location where the officer had been parked, watched cars come over the top of the hill, and timed how long I was able to watch them before they started slowing down for the corner. I took pictures of the street scene from the officer's view and from the top of the hill. I was ready and felt confident going to court.

I asked the officer if he was aware of the radar gun manual statement about erronious readings caused by wind gusts, and showed the judge the weather reports. But the officer said he had never heard of such errors being posible. Then I asked the officer if he was able estimate my speed by a visual assessment before he used the radar gun. I know he didn't, becuase he would not have had enough time from the point I came over the hill to when I began slowing for the corner. I know he had his radar gun trained on the crest of the hill just ready to get an immediate reading from any vehicle that came over the top.

He replied that he could not judge the speed of a vehicle without using his radar gun. At this point, I pretty much thought I had proven my case, and then the next thing I know, the judge proclaims me guilty by a perponderance of the evidence.

I was in shock, and not all that familiar with court procedures, so I didn't feel I could interrupt the judge and tell him I still had more to say, but I know I made some mistakes. First, I should have handed my copy of the radar gun instruction manual to the officer and asked him to read the statement about the wind errors out load. Then, I should have handed him the training manual and asked him to read the part about esimating a vehicles speed visualy before taking a radar reading.

The district attorney presented a complaint from nieghbors stating that cars were speeding in the area, and I should have questioned it as not being included in discovery and hearsay, because the complaintant was not present, it was not me they were complaining about, and I could have brough up my photos of the empty neighborhood with house frames only for two blocks and asked the officer to point out the house of the complaintant. Also, the officer had recorded an inacurate streed name where the incident took place.

It became clear to me that in this case at least, it was a kangaroo court. The judge, city procecuter and officer where in a good old boys club. And the officers in my town have a 3 ticket per day quota. It was probably near the end of his shift. About a week later, another officer pulled me over about the same time of day to tell me a headlight was out. He was very nice and it was helpful to find out about the headlight, but he stated now I can put this down as one of my 3 stops for the day.

I thought about an appeal, but you have to pay a bunch of fees for that. The $100 ticket doesn't bother that much, but the points on driving record and potential for insurance rate increase is out of place for the sake of city revenue.


Now, if you wish to bear with me, I will give another exaple of what I suspect is only for ticket quotas and revenue generation. If you are tired already, you can quit here.

My son was not able to get his plates renued on time because he waited longet than he should of, and then his car failed an emissions test due to a dirty oxigen sensor. Since he works every day, it took about a week to get the car to a dealer for diagnosis (Too bad I hadn't received the Scan Guage II yet), and then he needed another week to get a second emissions test, and admittedly, he also drug his feet some too. In this case, I am not thinking he was innocent of driving with expired tabs, but the way the officer handled the situation was not right.

He pulled over my son and gave him a $97 ticket, and said something like "Don't make me have to pull you over for this again." My son interpreted this to mean drive staight home, and don't drive again until you get the plates renewed. Then, 10 minutes later, when my son left the convenience store he had stopped at to go home, the same officer pulled him over again and said "I told you not to make me have to pull you over again." My explained how he had interpreted the statement, and the officer said "No, I told you not to start the car again." He gave him a second $97 ticket and had the car towed to an impound lot.

The city charges a $100 impound processing fee, and required a release form that cannot be obtained over the weekend, so by the time I got the registration and release form, towing and storage was about $250. Add the two $97 tickets and it's nearly $550. I would call that clearly a punishment that does not fit the crime and obvious revenue generation.

I am convinced that officer was short of his daily quota, and if my son had not moved his car, then he surely would have towed his car for staying too long in the 10 minute parking zone he was in.

So, in conclusion, I support Law Enforcement, and appreciate what they do to keep our roads safe, but I also believe thate are bogus tickets issued for the purpose of revenue generation, and that is just not right.

 

How much is your rights and freedom worth. The reality today seems to be not much, and so maybe that's why they took away trial-by-jury for traffic court (beside the costs).

 

[stupid database]

 

[stupid database]

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(NoMoShocks @ Mar 29 2007, 02:12 AM) [snapback]414005[/snapback]</div>

I commend you for going to court. About 90% of traffic tickets in FL are pd. by the defendant and they usually go to driving school, which is adjudication witheld and no points assessed. As to the jerk cop who was extremely unprofessional and rude to your son- Go down to the PD and file a complaint with the Internal Affairs officer if they have one. If not, ask who handles complaints and see that person. Be very nice & respectful and explain what happened regarding the officer's poor conduct & disrespect for your son's stops. Leave your emotions at home! It will stay in his personnel file if they follow the general rule of law enforcement. Police don't like anything negative in their file. It doesn't go away.

I personally would have been down to the PD 10 minutes after I became aware of the incident. There is absolutely NO excuse to be treated like that and police know this. Some of them think like Mayberry's Barney Fife" or simply get off by using their badge and authority to push good citizens around in an unprofessional manner. Good luck.