Ever hear of this speed detection system used by cops?

[ac97gt]

the more i think about this new system the more i think its corrupt. say billy bob joe the ******* cop has had a bad day and sees a high powered sports car cruisin down the road. he hits his stop watch a second late and stops it a second early, BAM the innocent driver is now more than doubling the speed limit and loses his license. thats pretty ****** up if you ask me, seems very illegal. how can you get off of it? his word against yours, and we all know how that goes (MOST of the time). cant ask to see the gun, there isnt one. wanna see the watch? sure! its all jive on the watch, says exactly what he told you, but how can you prove that didnt hit the buttons right. i doubt this will stick, and if it does, its just bull$hit

[82 GT]

ac97GT, can you tell me the math you used to arrive at those figures you had. I'll need to show the judge how I arrived at my numbers.
Actuallly, my g/f and I are on our way back over there to measure the distance for ourselves. I'll let you know what we measure.
If it's more than 195ft...I'm screwed
If it's less than 195ft. then he's screwed!!

[ac97gt]

sorry i didnt respond earlier.. im a little in a rush now but to explain quick this is it.. you can shoot me another PM if you want more detail also. to go from mph to the seconds you do this. {(distance in feet)/[(mph*5280ft)/(3600sec)]} ... the 5280 is number of feet in a mile, and the 3600 is the number of seconds in an hour. to go from seconds to mph you do the opposite. {[(distance in feet/time in seconds) * 3600sec] / 5280ft}. the 3600sec is to convert the seconds to hours (miles per HOUR), and the 5280ft converts feet to miles (MILES per hour). example: {(195ft)/[(54mph * 5280ft)/(3600sec)]} = 2.46212seconds. example: {[(195ft/3sec) * 3600sec] / 5280ft} = 44.318mph.

hope this helps. how do you plan on measuring it? use a very accurate method (i.e. NOT the odomoter on your car through guestimation or something) and document each part of it with pictures or something. even if you measure something different it will be tough to argue because the cop will most likely argue that he has a super accurate such and such that was used to take the measurement and there is no way its wrong. your word against a cops is very difficult unless you can prove with documents that he is wrong. physical evidence is your key. even if you measure it and its right, you can plea your case with the timing issue. good luck.

[82 GT]

That's the math I was looking for............thanks!!
We took a spool of yarn and ran it the length of the markers but we didn't get a chance to measure it out yet.
If it's less than 195 ft. then I'm taking it to court and tell the judge he's more than welcome to go see for himself.
If it's more than 195ft, then it's going in the trash!!*(LOL)

My court date is for next Tuesday but the stardard procedure for fighting tickets is to ask for a continuance in the hopes that it messes up the officer's schedule and he doesn't show up.(it's happened before).
Besides that, I need to research more on how this Robic Sc-800 stopwatch actually works. I need to know as much as he does about the system to make effective arguments.
I'll keep you posted as I go through PM
Thanks again

[bigred90gt]

I have got some links for you. Here is one. Here's another that might give a few details. This one seems like it could be useful depending on where you live. This is all I could find for you man. Good luck fighting it.

[ac97gt]

if you measure the yarn with a yard stick take care that you are accurate. you probably dont have one but i have seen them before, its like a cane with a wheel on the bottom and a little thing that looks like a tripometer, you can reset it and as you wheel the wheel (holding the "cane" handle) it counts feet. probably one of the most accurate ways to measure that kind of distance, but the yarn is also a good idea especially since you can bring it to court like you said. you just have to convince the judge you measured it accurately.

[82 GT]

Well, I measured the yarn and it's 197' 7". So it's probably 195 since it wasn't the most accurate method.

BIGRED90GT , thanks for those links.

[ac97gt]

too close to argue that its off. stick to the timing of hitting the watch and see where it takes you. how fast did you think you were goin?

[82 GT]

I don't know exactly how fast I was going. I know for sure that my speedometer was not over in that area of the face(54mph).
I would make a good estimate of about 40-45
Human error can easily make a 10mph difference. The judge should throw the whole thinig out since the officer really can't be positive that he was right on the money with hitting the button just at the right moment(nobody can react that fast)
\

[ac97gt]

i agree. if there is room for ANY error, if he is not TOTALLY sure, it should be thrown out. even in a case where, say, he says you were goin 90 in a 35 (when you were really doin 75), and he cant be absolutely sure of the speed he says you were going, the whole thing should be dissmissed even though you were clearly breaking the law. the problem i forsee for you is that if this is already an accepted practice for speed detection, then the judge will accept that it is accurate. perhaps if it is in its trial stage you can argue its innaccuracy and maybe even help to rid the use of it. who knows.

[82 GT]

Most people usually just pay the fine thinking they can't beat the ticket anyway even if the officer was wrong.
They don't want the trouble of taking time off work, going to court.........so they just pay the fine.
That's how they get away with using $hitty systems like this one and continue to raise revenue with them.

[bigred90gt]

I dont know how it works where you are, but here in Texas, you can plea not guilty, and they will give you the option of trial by judge or jury. If that is the case, take the trial by jury. They are much more easily convinced than a judge who is already on the cops side. Thats just my suggestion. Good luck with it!!

[Rev]

In a court, you can't win without one.

Rev

[BLOCKER]

Guys I do not know how it works in the USA. Don't get a lawyer, you will end up spending more money beating the ticket then actualy just paying it.

Lets keep things in perspective, this is just a speeding ticket, not the crime of the century.

If the crown (prosecutor) is anything like the ones here, on the day of your plea (guilty or not guilty) go talk with him, show up a little early, dress nice, speak proffessionaly. Explain the situation, Explain why you feel the officer is wrong. The prosecutor will likely withdraw the ticket or agree to a lesser fine. They are not interested in running trial for mear speeding ticket, The man is not out to get you.

If the trial runs, take the advice of many members on this board, grill him on the facts, don't be argumentive, just present the facts.

Other questions to ask would be:
1. how far from the vehicle was he timing
2. visibily
3. weather conditions
4. how long he had been on shift (tired)
5. how much experiance does he have using this system
6. did he estimate your speed before timing you
7. how close was his estimate to the clocked time
8. what are his qualifications on using this system

there are a whole bunch of questions you could ask.

good luck

p.s.

Judges are not always on the police officers side.

[82 GT]

In Pa. you first go before the judge without a jury present. It's just the officer(s) and the defendant(s) and the judge.
It works the same as a trial but the judge makes the sole decision.
If you lose, then you can appeal the decision and it goes before a jury and a different judge is present.

BLOCKER , people spend the extra money on lawers because it still beats paying the fine, higher car insurance and points on your driving record. In the long run it's well worth the trouble.
Around here, lawers don't usually charge their normal rates for traffic court.
If I were to hire one, it would be about $100 or less(depending on who it is) because these cases are finished within about a half hour to an hour.(quick & easy money for a lawer)
I might look into hiring one because I've never won without one.

[ac97gt]

its also the principle, and especially in this case. a system as corrupt, innaccurate, and flawed as this one needs to be fought. sometimes principle is worth a fight.

[BLOCKER]

Hey, go for it more power to you.....

Around my parts if you go talk to the prosecutor before you can usual get him to plea to a lesser charge (what we call Registered Owner offences, You still pay the fine, but no demirts are assest) thats if he doesn't just throw the charge out.

good luck