Street Spirit

Based on an earlier thread that claimed a car's speedometer is usually only within 10% of being accurate - would that not be a way out of a speeding ticket or an argument in court? Basically: if the police officer's radar showed one speed rating - would it match up with what our speedo is showing in the car? Could we really be speeding (based on accurate speed) but not know that we are because the speedo in-dash is showing a different number...... ?? Has anyone ever been able to check an officer's radar gun and compare it to the car's reading?

Just a thought...

Severin

I don't think it matters a rats a$$ whether you even have a speedometer, let alone that you have one and it's not calibrated correctly.
Police car speedometers are calibrated at intervals making them admissible (pacing, etc). So are the radar guns.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Yes, they take that into consideration. That's one of the reasons why they ticket you for a lower speed than the actual speed they clocked you at.

Generally, if you have a decently new car without any modifications to wheels/tires, your speedometer is near-perfectly calibrated.

I trap at 97 mph at the dragstrip, and the speedometer shows exactly 97 mph as I pass the 1/4-mile marker. Keep in mind, unless you put like 22's on your TL, the speedometer isn't going to be off that much.

Even with 225/45/17 on stock Type-S (TL) wheels, the speedometer is only off by 1.9%, meaning less than 2 mph while going 60 mph.

Definitely not the best defense you could use in court. Not to mention that it is the owner's responsibility to keep the car checked up, and the speedometer recalibrated when modifying the rolling stock.

Street Spirit

Oh yeah - don't get me wrong --- I'm not bringing this up cuz I got a ticket! :P I have a totally clean record. I just thought about it since there was a discussion here a few weeks ago about how accurate our speedos really are. I thought someone said manufacturers only need to calibrate it within 10% of what is true....from the start - right from the factory....

Anyway, where can one go to get it checked/recalibrated anyway? What kinds of shops do that sort of thing?

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Nah, I wasn't directing it toward you.


I would imagine that the dealership can do it. I don't know about any other places -- I've never looked into it.

bluexflamez

Last year in my physics class, my teacher was discussing the doppler effect and how his friend had gotten out of a ticket using it as a reason.

Here's what i got from some research:
The Doppler effect is mainly used to measure velocities very effectively. For instance, the devices that can measure the speed at which you drive a car, steer a boat, or pedal a bicycle, are based on the Doppler effect - they are called Doppler radars. They send out radar waves that are reflected off the vehicle in question and then back to the radar. These devices then measure the change in frequency and calculate the speed at which you were driving, steering or pedalling. So these devices and Mr Doppler's discovery are very helpful to the police if one were to 'speed' as they can then give one a (usually) hefty fine or speeding ticket.

However, my physics teacher said that if a police officer were to be moving while using such a radar, the actual readings might be inaccurate. Weather and terrain play a part in the readings. Anyone else know about this that can elaborate?

ResidualFreedom

Easy way to get out of a speeding ticket:

just deny going that fast, and assume he was clocking another car passing you (even if there isn't). The officer will tell you tough luck and here is your ticket, just deny ever going that fast, NEVER ADMIT IT!!! Go to court and tell the Judge the same thing you told the officer at the scene, you were not going that fast . The judge will have one question to the officer, "Did you show the driver(defendant) the radar gun?" if the answer is no, you are off like panties on prom night!! Simple!! thius applies to the US aswell as us Canadians too..

Just thought I would share.

Another thing is to make notice of the terrain and weather to explain to the judge, the officer will not have too much info and if are able to tell the judge "he was behind a bridge and I was coming around a turn", It helps paint a picture for the judge, and the probability of the officer getting another car increases.

shady1

on my camaro i went from 245 to 255 on the back and now my speedo. reads about 3mph slower than im actually going.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Width doesn't make any difference whatsoever. It's the sidewall that matters.

Vicman17

You have to know what kind of defense you will have. To do this properly, you need to know what kind of radar gun the cop was using at the time he stopped you. Was it radar or was it laser. With radar, it's not very accurate, but he can clock you while on the move. With laser, it's pretty much useless on the mov, but when stationary, it's dead-on accurate. The cop will be portraying himself as a professional in his trade. He gets paid to do that. What you should aim to do is to diminish that image in front of the judge/ J.P. You should ask questions like 'when was the last time his speed measuring device properly calibrated' and ask to see the record of this. 'When was he certified to use this particular device' and ask to see his certificate. The cop, if properly prepared, should have all these questions answered. Another really good one is for you to ask if the officer has any certification in calibrating speedometers (most probably not). But there are chances you can get them with their pants down.

The terrain/ weather is not not much of a defense unless you have a digital photo of the exact time, spot and standpoint of where the cop clocked you with the time and date. In short, hard to prove. Coming around a turn is hard to clock, so you need to be in a straightaway for the laser to at least read you three times.

In catching speeders, there are 2 things a traffic cop looks at: The one catching up, and the one pulling away. For a series of vehicles doing the exact same speed, the traffic cop is usually by himself and cannot direct all of the speeding vehicles to stop. You pretty much have the worst luck in the world if you get pulled over this way. And if he does pull you over, if he doesn't nail you with the speeding, he'll find something else to cite you with.

Chet03TL-S

The judge is much more likely to believe the officer before a defendant. If you go to court flat out denying that you were speeding you will most likely lose your case.

Like VICMAN said, go in prepared to ask questions and put he crediblity in doubt. That is your best chance.

Dare_IL

I don't know about your state laws, but in IL, nowhere does it say the police officer has to show you what the radar gun reading was. Most officers will show you, but I have personally not been shown the reading and questioned that in court. Doesn't matter one bit. I did get court supervision though which is what I was hoping for.

Vicman17

In some states/ provinces, there is no requirement for the officer to "show" you the radar. It can actually be denied to you since it is a safety issue and by allowing you to step out of the car, he is actually putting your life in danger. Remember that your safety is the officer's responsibility during this stop. I have heard in some cases that a citizen got off the speeding rap by stating that the officer asked him to step out of the car to show him the radar. The issue was that the citizen's safety was put in jeopardy by doing this and the officer failed to provide it.

Take note of the officer's actions and note any discrepancies. If there are also ANY errors or discrepancies in the written citation (ticket), like misspelled name/ address, location, erasures, crossed-out information, etc..you can establish some doubt as to the accuracy of the citation and the ticket may be suspended. All I can say is after doing it (traffic) for 5 years, if you do not have a good "excuse", exercise OPTION 2- that is plead guilty with an explanation. This is where you plea that you DID commit the offence, but asking for a lesser fine/ points taken off. In a lot of cases, I have seen the Judge/ J.P. suspend the ticket because of a good reason.

Also, you have a good change of getting the ticket if:

-It is raining (Once that cop gets wet getting out of his car, he is going to make it worthwhile)

-You started off in a bad note (rudeness, sarcasm, unwelcome gestures)

-Sped close to a school zone (you shouldn't be doing it anyway)