radaring?

[REDchirp]

ok i got pulled over a month ago... and the cop was driving the total opposite direction and was going at least 35 to 40 and said he clocked me (while moving) at 51 in a 35.... no i was always told they can't radar while moving... that it doesn't work or something.... any cops with info on this thanks??? i'm wondering what i should do when i go to court thanks... all help is appreciated and no... no smart ass remarks like don't speed... i already know that and wasn't even going 51 in teh first place my boy 40 yards behind me was trying to catch up to me... thanks

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[jwalker87]

the radar is hooked up to the car's ECU, so that it compensates. Theres one pointing forwards and one pointing back, so it automatically detects the car's speed and either subtracts it or adds it to the radar speed detected. So he was right.

[mk32382]

Sorry bro...dash mounted radars are hooked into the cars speedo. Typically, they display the cruiser's speed, and the closure speed (how fast you car appears to be moving in relation to the cruiser.). It is then simple subtraction for the radar to determine your actual speed and then displays it with conjunction with an audible tone that gets higher pitched the faster you are going. This is so the cop can listen to the warble while driving, and if it spikes, he can quickly push a button to lock your speed. They also have radars hooked up that are mounted in the rear window so they don't even have to be facing you...these are likewise hooked to the main unit up front.

You still have the power of discovery in court, however. Before your date, ask to see the officer's log from that day. His notes should be included in the traffic report and your ticket. He should have calibrated his radar at the beginning of his shift. They have tuning forks that come with the radar. They vibrate at a known speed when dinged, and are held in front of the radar to test it's accuracy. Departments set up certain accuracy standards of +/- 1 or 2 mph...but usually they are dead on. Sorry bro...your only hope is that the officer did not calibrate his radar anytime that shift before he stopped you that day. Most judges will throw those cases out. Same goes for "pacing"...here in CO, if the officer did not calibrate his speedo before his shift on a radar range, or on a stationary dyno, and he gives you a ticket for anything less than 5 mph, generally the judge will throw it out, as pacing is only really accurate to withing +/- 4 or 5 mph. Don't rest on these defenses if you got a ticket for going more that 5-6 mph though. Radars will never be that far off, nor will pacing. Even if a radar or a pace is off 4 mph and you were really only 2 over, you still broke the law, and a strict judge will still penalize you. Some judges won't even listen to this defense, and might be harder on you for trying to dodge the ticket. And if he didn't do either, but was going 65 in a 65, and you go any faster past him, he knew you were speeding, and has the all important Probable Cause right there to contact you and issue a citation.

But any GOOD cop will test his radar before a shift. It becomes a habit...and if he bothered to write you a ticket, he wouldn't be so stupid as to write you one without having a tuned radar. Good Luck!

[REDchirp]

thanks... so i should make a court date and just plead no contest?? and pay a reduced fine and small court fee's... and possibly no points on my licesc?e

[mk32382]

Don't even make a court date. The fine is the same...you don't go to traffic court if you plan on not fighting it...that's why they give a fine in the first place. Just mail it in...no reason to pay court costs.

[WD40]

Originally posted by mk32382
Don't even make a court date. The fine is the same...you don't go to traffic court if you plan on not fighting it...that's why they give a fine in the first place. Just mail it in...no reason to pay court costs.

Actually, I made an appearance once and the judge was cutting fines in half for just about everyone. You might as well enter a plea in person, you might get a fine reduction. The ammount you get in the mail is the maximum allowed by law anyway, so you've got nothing to lose except your time.

[mk32382]

I stand corrected! Man I wish judges were that nice out here...

EDIT : Insert clap lol

[REDchirp]

but wait if i mail in my money... then i still get my points... my point of going to court and pleading no contest then i might get no points to my license right??? sometimes? i dont' care about fines... and how much are court fee's normally anyways

[WD40]

Court fees are like, 10 bucks (in my area anyway). The only way you can keep points off your record is to do traffic school, after you complete traffic school the court will not notify the DMV of your conviction. That's the way it works here in SoCal. Not sure about how things are in FL.

When I went to court I just asked the judge for traffic school. He looked at my record, gave me a court assignment to traffic school and assigned me my fine.

[REDchirp]

ok ok.... but wait back to the radaring... when i was passing the cop going hte other direction my boy was going like 50 trying to catch up to me he was held up by a slow car... and there was also the blue jetta like 20 feet behind him... how can the cop differentiate between whether or not it was me or my buddy speeding up behind me who was 25 feet behind me when the cop passed?

[PBussman]

moving radar tech is ify at best and most departments dont use it because of this. also with the closeness of the other cars the accuracy is even worse i wouldn't have even pulled you over and nether would my cousin and were both cops

[psykh00]

A possible defense that you might be able to use is radar refractive and reflective properties. Radar guns use rays that bounce off of your car and back to measure the speed. That's why they usually aim for a reflective surface, such as the license plate. However, since he's driving, he can't really aim the gun at a particularly reflective surface. Without a mounted gun, the beam will just be sent in a given direction.

Now, if the beam isn't aimed, the officer can't really say he's positive of the reflection point. If the beam hits your window, it'll simply refract through it (the beam's pathway will just go through and be slightly bent). It'll continue to travel to the back windshield and be refracted even more. Now, depending on the angles the beam was shot out it, it could've reflected off of your friend's car, or even off of a nearby sign. Either way, without having aimed his radar directly at you, he can't say that the beam definitely reflected off of your car and not another moving, or even stationary, object.

[psykh00]

Another tactic that you could use before going to court is to have your court date rescheduled by asking for a continuance. When doing so, strategically pick out your date. I doubt they'll ask you what day you want, but they might ask you if certain court dates are ok. I don't know how it works in Florida. But anyways, think of the court date and consider two things: 1) Major events that day; 2) Illness season, such as flu season. If the officer doesn't show, then the case is dismissed.

I had one of my court dates rescheduled for December, and the officer came down with the flu that week. Another case was rescheduled for July 3rd, and security levels were risen, putting more officers on duty, so he couldn't go.

Choose your court date carefully, though. You only get one continuance. Also, don't rely on him not showing, it's just wishful thinking. Still act as if he'll be there.

[mk32382]

Your information about radar technoligy is flawed. You are thinking about laser technology. Lasers are used by police in situations where the speed of one car is to be ascertained when there are multiple vehicles present. Laser, unlike radar, is actually aimed, and yes, reflective surfaces like license plates are extremely good for reflecting laser light. Radar, however, uses radio waves, which don't particularly care what surface they are aimed towards, although a reflective surface is ideal. Radar works using something called the Doppler Effect. When radar sends a broad beamspread out, and it hits and bounces off a stationary object, the wave comes back to the receiver at the same wavelength. If the object (car) is moving, the wavelength changes...higher if the car is moving toward the radar, lower if it is moving away. The radar's CPU then, based on the wavelength, computes MPH. But, radar shoots in a rather broad beam...not in a pinpoint one. So even if the center of the beamspread is not pointed at the license plate, it doesn't matter. The reading will be extremely accurate with the wave bouncing off any other surface of the cars body that reflects ANY part of the beam back to the receiver. If it reflects off a sign, the beam returns with an unaltered wavelength, and the speed would read zero. Also, today's radar guns use mostly K and Ka bands, which read instantaneously, and do not have to track the object's path. This is why radar can be used to gauge the speed of baseballs, tennis balls, etc. The person operating the device does not have to track the path of the object with radar. In police cars, the radar gun is mounted or pointed towards oncoming traffic. It stays stationary...in fact, tracking the cars path with the gun will result in a slightly incorrect reading sometimes. Also, police radars have a tone supplement as well. If the tone is solid when the speed is locked, then the reading is an accurate one. If it is warbling however, then there is interference (i.e. other cars at different speeds, etc). Most police officers will not write a ticket on an extremely warbling tone lock, unless the car he contacts is undoubtedly the one whose speed he has locked (such as if you were clocked as you were in the left lane blazing past a line of cars that are all traveling at the same speed.)

Hope this helps.