donkeykang

Hi, I recently got a ticket on a highway from a policeman who accused me of going over 100 miles per hour and said that he had caught me through laser starting from 93 mph and continued to follow me for half a mile. I'm unable to appear in person because I have ACL Reconstruction surgery this coming week so I am writing a written appeal. I'm wondering if anyone who is more knowledgable than me can help me build my case.

My thoughts are this: He said he lasered me, yet my V1 detected nothing. My mom, who was riding in the car with me also said that she had not heard or seen my V1 go off. Yes, I was speeding, but around 80-85 max(following flow of traffic, that was max during passing) in a 65, NOT 93+. Also, I know that when using Laser, the policeman must be stationary. If he followed me for half a mile and I was going 93+, how was he able to even catch me? I am calling the police department to find out what kind of vehicle the officer was driving because even in optimal conditions, by simple physics, it's impossible to catch me within that time if I am going at an initial rate of 93 miles per hour and increasing speeds to over 100. In addition to that, I plan on finding out how far back the rear view mirror view reaches because what person in their right mind would continue to speed after seeing police lights flash behind them? I have my V1 hardwired next to my rear view mirror incase anyone needs to know. I am just wondering if anyone can help me build my case against this, because I think this is ridiculous. I forgot to mention that I had been driving from Springfield, Illinois back home, which is a trip well over 2,000 miles equalling more than 30 hours of driving and did not once get pulled over. I received this ticket about 37 miles from my home.

Thanks for your help

TacoBellSauce

dont trust me on this one, but i believe V1 only detects radar, not laser

BrandonClaps

V1's have laser as well. I would talk to a DA, and go from there.

DocTL

Quit your crying. You admit that you were speeding, yet you don't want to take responsibility for your actions. Pay the fine, do your time, and stop blaming other people.

ben88

There are units that work while both cars are in motion. You admit you were going 20 mph over the speed limit.....what is ridiculous? You have no case.

donkeykang

There is a big difference between going 20 over and going 30 over. No matter what you guys think I am not rich and can't pay a $400+ ticket. Over 100 mph driving = automatic license suspension. That IS ridiculous. I asked for help, not to be belittled. Please read the entire post and think before you post.

DocTL

I did read your post. Next time let your mom drive.

randomthought

He's trying to prove that he wasn't going as fast as the officer says he was. There is a difference for tickets in regards to speeds. The V1 should pick up lasers, but I'm not sure if it works well.

dmarcus48

most radar detectors, v1 and escort included, do a terrible job with laser. I've always thought that with laser you need to be stationary. Most detectors will warn you too late because laser is like a gun, on/off. The officer aims at your front plate (usually) and there is no warning. By the time the detector goes off it's too late. Check out this site:

http://www.radarbusters.com/radardet...om/default.asp

There's a lot of info about how radars work and how detectors work, also testing. Along with sales, might help you.

Mike_TX

I can't believe some of these replies. Sheesh.

Donkey, it's possible you actually got lasered and your V-1 didn't sound off. That could happen if the officer waited until you were very close, then shot low, right at your license plate/ grille. It would require a laser gun that was really tighly focused and an operator that took careful aim.

AFAIK, there still are not lasers that work reliably from a moving platform, so he probably meant he clocked you visually after taking chase.

Either way, I personally think it's as bad a "crime"as speeding for a police officer to claim you were going much faster than you actually were. You didn't comment on it, but I would have thought your Mom would have beaten the snot out of you if you were kiting along at 100mph with her in the car.

I had a similar thing happen years ago, and I'm still mad about it. Believe it or not, a park policeman pulled me over right after going though the entrance to Yellowstone Park, and claimed he clocked me at over 65mph. I wasn't more than 75 yds from the entrance gate, where you have to stop and pay your fee, so I said, "Officer, it's physically impossible for me to have been going that fast. This car wouldn't reach 65mph in that distance if I had peeled off right out of the gate and held it to the floor! (which I didn't ... I looked at the speedo when I heard the radar and I was doing about 35.)"

The a$$hole still ticketed me and made me waste almost 2 hours going to the park hqtrs to pay it.

Your best hope is probably to plead down to the speed you admit to going, with your mother as a witness. They'll still tend to side with the officer, but with a guilty plea they'll probably lower the fine.

leedogg

Tell the court that your V1 did not detect a laser and therefore the officer was lying!!

davenlei

Way back when I started driving, I received a ticket for running a red light even though I entered and exited the intersection before the red light (it was green then yellow). I fought the ticket and the judge completely sided with the officer. Pretty much you are screwed. It is your word against his and since he is a professional in this arena and has received training, his statement will get the benefit of the doubt. Sorry but you will be found guilty of what he said. Take your lumps and move on.

Nautica91

People like DocTL need to get a grip on themselves, try stepping off your soapbox and imagine if it were you being accused of going 20mph faster than you actually were.

6pdtlinKC

^^no shit. that sucks. and yes they can move and clock, the rader can detect front, side, and rear, even traffic coming the opposite way on the other side of the highway. ive been a car that does all of this over 5 years ago. and i wouldnt be so quick to tell them you have a radar detector because that right there says "I speed when you can get away with it". next time something like this happens ask to see his radar gun, or his laser's screen to see the speed. he legally has to show you this. good luck , but plead guilty or youll piss the judge off and be found guilty with a bigger charge. maybe you should say you plead guilty of speeding 83 in a 65, but you deffinately werent doing a 90+. have your mother back you up on that, maybe then you can have it reduced to 20 over and it will only be about 200 bucks.

kennyc

it might be a police tag team - one car with the gun and the other chase drivers down.

Unlike radar waves, laser don't diffuse much. It means V1 might not pick up the laser beam if the cop is close enough and point the gun toward your license plate or head lights.

Another way a police can gauge your speed is with pacing. Since their speedometers are calibrated, they can just go the same speed as you and read off their speedometers. That is as valid as lasing you. (tagged by laser gun)

I am not going to lie.. We all speed from time to time. But be prepared to pay the price if you get caught.

and yes I did read your whole post...

DocTL

I've been ticketed for going well over 30mph the posted limit and I paid the fine and took a court mandated course. Another time I was given five tickets at once, all unsubstanitated, and those were thrown out. Luckily, down here in Florida there is a ticket attorney on every corner.

In this situation this donkey admits to speeding and got caught. He wants to measure how far back he can see with his rearview mirror, come on!! Unfortunately police officers are trained at estimating the speed at which you were travelling, and even if you decide to fight the ticket, you are better off entering a plea bargin. Who cares how far he drove before he got this ticket; what does that have to do with anything? Then again, I guess you also believe that O.J. didn't do it either.

Oh yeah, if it matters any, I haven't gotten a ticket now in over five years.

znorris

WOW! I am shocked at all those Negative replies. He was looking for help, if you can't give him any, go somewhere else.

Any way man, it truly is a bad beat. Best thing you can do is get in touch with a realy good attorney. When I got my 80 in a 55 I contacted an attorney that was so bad ass, He looked up EVERYTHING about the cop. Went through all his records and must have found some crazy stuff. Anyway, the day of court, he wnet up to the cop and was like, "here is what I have one you, I'm sure we can come to some kind of agreement" lol. Fine reduced from $398 to $75 and 4 points to 0.


It cost me $500 in lawyer fees...but.... No points (got to keep my license).

Good, luck with this and your surgery. Keep us posted.

Mike_TX

Before we get out of control with this, no one is really advocating going 100mph in a 65 zone. I personally have a problem with our speed laws in general, since I truly feel they are set too low and often act almost as a "trap" for people driving at reasonable speeds.

But that's a whole other issue, and the point of this post was getting ticketed for a higher speed than the OP was traveling. It's bad enough to get a ticket, but to be accused of going faster than you were is a real insult. So there's really no point in preaching to the guy ...