Some a-hole prius tailgated my arse today...

I can see it now...

Police officer: Son, i clocked you going 10 over. I'll need to see your license and proof of insurance please.
Matt Herring: But officer, my nifty little gadget here says I haven't gone more than 2 over since i left work!
Police officer: Interesting... if you want to compare my gadget to yours, here's the court date. I'm sure the judge will love to hear about how i, and my gadget that prints out a picture of your car and your speed at the time, are being dishonest when i pull people over. Have a nice day.



Personally, if i ever need to (and i probably won't), i plan to go with the instrument malfunction claim - Keep your headlights on all the time, and when you get pulled over spin the dimmer all the way down - it effectively turns off your speedometer display. The officer walks up, you tell him it just wasn't working this morning ("I KNEW i should have bought American!") and you have an appointment at the dealership to take care of it tomorrow. Until then, the best you can do is match speed with those around you...

 

It might work if the officer lets you off with a warning. The problem is you have already admitted to NOT knowing how fast you were going. The officer knows exactly how fast you were going. Since the police usually write notes on the the back of the their copy of the ticket (which you can request to see before trial) to help them recall the stop, it would be wise to show up in court with a receipt dated the following day from a Toyota dealer showing what the problem was and that it was fixed. At least with the Scangauge lie, the person is not acknowledging his speeding or inability to know his speed.

When these two defenses fail you will need to attack the officer's training and ability, the calibrating procedure, accuracy of the unit, weather conditions, maintenance and placement of road signs and road markings, whether road went through proper procedures to have a specific speed limit posted, how the specific traffic codes apply to your situation, etc, etc. If you get a ticket, and if you are going to fight it, go to traffic court beforehand and sit in and get a feel for how it operates and see who gets off and why.

I think AGE is the best defense. My experience has been when the cops that pull you over start looking really young the more lenient they seem to be. When I was young and all the cops were way older... not too lenient.

 

The whole point of my plot is to get that warning and not the ticket... if he gives me the ticket, i'll be mailing in the check to cover the fine the next day. IMO, the only reason someone should challenge a ticket is if it was legitimately not deserved... If you know you were speeding and got caught, don't try to game the system into throwing it out.

 

Why wait to get caught? Why not just turn yourself in?

 

I can see the headlines now: "Guilt-Ridden Lead-Footed Prius Owner Surrenders to Police"

 

:lol:

 

I have never driven my Prius faster than 62 mph. And that was a rare occasion.

In response to all you ticketee's --

I was once pulled over in my Prius for 30 in a 45 zone. He thought I might be drunk, and driving slow in order not to weave. No ticket, just a laugh.

He who laughs last ............. is currently at:
>> 64.7 mpg
>> about 395 mi. [80 mi. of it with kayak on top]
>> 3 pips left.