97AcuraCL

it should be a required law to have proof (radar print out or something)

cuz its bullshit

CJams

^^ With a time and date stamp so they don't use the same one all day long!

Nogard13

This applies ONLY to California. I spent 3 whole days in traffic court (three separate days, and not in a row) waiting to argue a speeding ticket. Each time, I was the last to go in front of the judge, go figure. BTW, I got all three tickets dismissed!

In California, the arresting officer (the cop that gives you the ticket) HAS to be the witnessing officer. One cop cannot write you a ticket based on the word of another cop that you were speeding. He must determine your speed HIMSELF. If he doesn't, it is considered hearsay and thus the evidence is inadmissible in court. The court would also find itself without jurisdiction and must dismiss the case.

I know this because one of the people who went before me testified that the officer told him that he had been caught by the speed-checking plane when he was pulled over. Since that officer never clocked the individual (who was gauged by the plane to be going 153 MPH on Interstate 80) because he had slown down due to traffic ahead, the court found itself without jurisdiction and had to dismiss the case.

According to the judge, an officer is supposed to take the info from the plane and then gauge the speed for himself. He must be the witness and he must write the ticket for the speed that he gauges, not what the airplane gauged.

Also, there are only two authorized calibration institutions according to the CVC (California Vehicle Code): UC Davis and the University of Michigan. All speed-sensing devices must be calibrated every 6 months and the calibration CHECKED daily and after each stop. I had one ticket thrown out because the officer messed up on his direct testimony and said, "I calibrated the device at the start of my shift and again after ticketing Mr. Smith." As soon as I was able to get a word in, I brought this to the judges attention and he immediately dismissed the case on the basis of the equipment being calibrated by a non-authorized institution. He then reprimanded the officer and told him to watch his verbage the next time.

Anywho, the Valentine-1 should detect Lidar no problem. The only thing to consider is that if an officer is shooting the gun at an angle such that the light cannot reflect in your direction, then you will not detect it (such as from an overpass). If the cop is at street level, some of it should filter through windshields or reflect off other cars.

kyotousa

That happened to me once.....
that's why I sold my V1 hahaha

hyun

in ga. they've been using laser for a while now. i just learned not to speed excessively when there are no other cars around me.

SoCaliTrojan

Well, I could either face traffic and spend an hour in rush hour traffic, or I could wait in the library, do my studying until some time past midnight, and then drive home. At around that time, there's hardly any traffic. If there are cops, they don't have enough time to get up to speed.

This was back in my young days, I haven't gone 5 mph above the speed limit in the last few years. Being young, having a fixed up car geared for handling at higher speeds (spoiler, lowered, etc), and having a dad who works for LAPD made me think I wouldn't have much of a problem =P

Anyway, it was only mentioned to show that if you're sensible enough, you don't need a radar detector. I rode in a van when I was very young that had an annoying radar detector. It seemed to always be going off...so I guess it made an impression on me as I grew up.

On the 405, I've been run off the road a couple of times by ferrari's racing lambourghini's (yes, I had to go swerve onto the shoulder because they didn't notice that I was accelerating)

AJ's Silver CL

iTrader: (2)

BTW, speeding on holiday weekends is a bad idea...cops are out in full force looking for drunks.[/QUOTE]


Also, towards the end of the month, cops are usually trying to make their quotas for the month of tickects given.

EuRTSX

Say that all you want, but I've had a bad first experience with my first car, and learned my lesson pretty well.

EuRTSX

Shaddup hyung, you need to PM me with your address again.

BusyShifter

No, no matter what, I don't believe you was running 120 mph out of downtown L.A.

S14 n Tsx

doh..

Rpappi

so what your telling us is that you never go over the posted speed limit.
you have never done 10+ over. you must live 2 blocks from your work.

most of us just want this stuff just as a warning device.

EuRTSX

+300$ on a Radar Detector is money well spent on something else.

No speeding = no ticket = no money out of pocket.

jaehshim

feel so dumb using my V1 i just hardwired recently - -

cause from local streets to highways..... my V1 never detects any cop....while i see them driving right by me

BusyShifter

No, Peter is saying that he does not want to put your, or any other people's, life or lives in danger by reckless driving.

lcrazyaznl

iTrader: (1)

You know most cops in most areas don't have them on.

Ka comes on all the time in amherst ny aka buffalo. amherst is one of the safest towns in the unitedstates. Cops pull people over like crazy. So its a good warning when cops are tracking your speed here.

When i go home to long island its useless unless i pass state troopers highway patrols never have them on the LIE

Now some undercover cops rolling around ka comes on a few more times back home.

Ka is always on in buffalo cops moving and a few stationary.
sometimes their just there to scare people. I pass the state trooper building on I90 and it always goes off.

One time I had an aircraft shoot ka at me. It was a clear day no cars or cops in sight only a low flying plane.

stogie1020

Past tense, ten years, in Arizona.

ILoveMyHonda

DLTSX6MT

They are RADAR detectors, not COP CAR detectors!!!


They have to be trying to clock you or somebody else (therefore sending out a signal) for your detector to receive a signal and alert you.
If you really wanted to track police cars, get a scanner.

MichaelkTSX

Radar Detectors will be useless soon because we at the University of Florida are developing a Speed Detector that uses a series of photos that compare fixed objects to the moving objects to get their speed.

Plus most law enforcement agency are using instant on so your vigilant eyes will warn you before your 400 dollar detector does.

I can only recommend that you use common sense and/or be alert. Don't rely on your V1 or 8500.

EuRTSX

Lets just hope he doesn't start calling me Ellipsis now.

S14 n Tsx

very wise Ellipsis!!

stogie1020

Actually, the statement was something like "Judge, I observed a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed and visually estimated the speed to be approx.50 mph. This was conformed through the use of a RADAR device, and the actual speed noted by the device was 53mph, 53mph, 52mph, 48mph."

The four readings are provided as "tracking" to indicate that the unit was continuously operating, and continuously reading the correct speed of the vehicle. Because tracking stands up better in court than a single reading, an officer is often NOT able to provide the offender with the opportunity to see the RADAR unit display, as the reading was not "locked in" to the hand held unit.

As to the over 40 over the posted limit, I am not sure about this, since it is a DMV rule and not a state law, but if you are dumb enough to be going THAT much over the limit, you don't deserve a license.

EDIT: PS...Sorry for the delayed response.

vsloathe

BS.

Speeding tickets are little more than state sponsored extortion. I have yet to pay one, and I get pulled over all the time.

You honestly telling me that your TSX is dangerous at 20 MPH over the posted speed limit on a highway on a clear day?

Every state's consolidated traffic laws state that the spirit of the law is to establish a "safe and reasonable speed for the conditions then existing".

I always speed, but I always travel at a safe and reasonable speed for the conditions then existing. I know what my car can handle, I didn't go as fast when I drove an SUV but when it was clear out I still sped.

A few tips to avoid paying the state/municipality's ridiculous fines:

1. When the officer approaches the car, remain calm, show him your hands and never reach for anything until instructed to do so. When instructed to do so, it helps to say "OK, my registration is in my glovebox, I'm going to reach over and get it."

2. Never let the officer start the conversation with the questions he has been trained to ask you in order to get an admission of guilt. Be polite, but in a way that lets him know you're not stupid. A simple "Good morning officer. Why did you pull me over?" will do. It is likely to catch him off guard and can turn the encounter in your favor. That leads me to my next point.

3. NEVER EVER EVER admit that you were speeding. It's not the officer's job to make a judgement about your crime or to help you out. You are protected by the law of the land against incriminating yourself. You should always be cooperative, but remember - the officer's job is not to help you out. All he gets paid to do is find and ticket/arrest you.

4. If asked to get out of your car, roll up your windows and lock your doors behind you. If the officer asks if you have something to hide, tell him no but that you "do not consent to any searches". Never consent to a search. If the officer has to ask for your permission, he doesn't have enough evidence to search you, and there's never a good reason to let an officer rifle through your personal belongings.

5. Always go to court and fight your ticket. You may say "my time is more valuable than a couple hundred bucks", and that's your prerogative. I will take time without pay from work if need be because I will not pay tickets out of principle.

Remember that in most states, you have the right to subpoena an expert in whatever technology was used to clock you speeding. Also, most states offer a writ of extension, so you can ask for a court hearing extension of up to 8 weeks. Many states let you extend twice. In 4 months, the officer isn't going to remember dick about what happened. It's important that you catalog small details around you that he's not likely to remember so you can bring his judgement into question.

Hope that helps any of you who, like myself (and everyone else around me on my morning commute), have a hard time keeping it under the limit.