Well I just got home from work and got a ticket for doing 58 in a 35 ($150). However, I know I wasn't going that fast because cops are always all over this road and I see them every single day I come home from work. I never speed for this exact reason - too easy to get caught.

I think he picked up someone else. The road has 2 lanes going north and 2 lanes going south with no divider in the middle. I think he clocked someone else, possibly going the other direction??

He wrote down that he used a Robic Chronometer. What is this? Is it just a techinical term for a radar gun or is this something more sophisticated. He said he timed me for .037 miles and 2.27 seconds. The ticket also said that the last time the equipment was tested was on 1/9/02 (seems like a long time to me).

Any advice - especially about this Robic Chronometer?? I don't have a problem with paying the piper for something I did, but I have no idea where he got this 58 MPH reading from...

Thanks

 

If that is lidar, it might hold as it's very pinpoint. If it's regular radar and if there was heavy traffic, you might have a chance at reasonable doubt.

 

some math here is required so, do it

 

Were you rude to the officer? if not try calling him at the station and talking to him. You obviously want to go to court to argue your case, if so you had better have a good driving record, if you do not you are in trouble. Dress respectfully in court and be very polite, do not speak out of turn. Good luck.

 

Also check to see how often the guns have to be recalibrated. I got out of a ticket one time b/c the cop didn't recal his gun within the past 3 days. Check to see how often they have to do it.

 

Sounds like he used a stopwatch type device. I question .037 mile though...thats only 195 ft! The margin of error can make a big difference in that short a distance. Do some research on the type of unit he used. I'd be intrested in what it is. I thought in that type of speed detection it had to be like averaged over 1/2 mile?? I don't know though. Keep us posted. Thanks

 

sounds like you might be able to use the reasonable doubt...especially if your driving record is clean (you can pull it from the DMV and check that)

My advice since it wasnt too fast, but it might still be reckless being 20+ mph over limit depending on your state, is to talk with the DA before court and see if he will plea bargain it down. more then likely it will work (PS it doesnt work for 67 in a 35 even with a good record and defensive driving class, BTDT)

But take other ideas first on how to get out of it totally. The DA is a last option thing.
Good Luck!!!

 

Precisely that sounds like VASCAR (I believe is the name) basically they compute your speed by doing time/distance. However in WA using a distance of less than 1/4 mile is considered a speed trap and illegal due to the high margin of error. Look into your local vehicle code and check their SMD (speed measuring device) laws.

 

Search the web, there are lots of links that can help

http://www.jesbeard.com/29ab.htm
http://www.paynofine.com/
http://www.angelfire.com/ok/neurofeedback/speedtic.html
http://www.norman-law.com/page12.html

and there are many more

 

A Robic Chronometer like one of these?:
Chronometers

 

Thanks for all the replies. My driving record's been clean for the past 5 years. I'm 25 now and the only other ticket I had was when I was 20. However, I fought that one and got it reduced to a plea bargin because the officer said he was using 2 trees that were x yards apart and clocked my time between there. BS. Any yes, I was respectful, but I don't know the officer's name. I didn't catch it on his badge and it's chicken scratch on the ticket. Can't even make out many of the letters!!

As for the Robic Chronometer, I still am not real sure what that is. If it's what ru4real linked to then this looks pretty innacurate. The .037 miles is exactly the first thing I noticed. I also thought 1/4 mile was the shortest distance he could measure from. I live in PA and need to check what the law is. But that glared out at me on the ticket once I got home.

The road was also busy since it's a fairly heavily used highway after work so I'm not sure what he was looking at. Ironically, where he said he clocked me at and where he pulled me over at was almost 1 mile away??? By that point I had already stopped at a light, made 2 right turns and was on another road. Just shows how busy the road was and IMO how hard it would've been to get an accurate time.

Well, I guess I'll have to wait and see once I get a court date. Maybe he won't even show up...

 

wow. i'd fight that one. it sounds like you'll have a good shot at getting it waived. just write down everything you can from today cuz in a couple monthes it'll be much more valuable if you can provide every tiny detail that the cop won't have a chance of remembering.
also, if you do get tagged with it, see if you can get the judge to keep the points off. that way you'll only get stuck with the fine, but your insurance premiums won't get raised.

 

Robic Chronometer = stopwatch. Noone can accurately hand time over .037(?) miles, margin of error by hand is .1 sec. Sounds bogus to me.

 

must have been quota time. definitely check the laws in your state. In california it's illegal to have markers on the highway to mark the distance for the purpose of catching speeders -- it's considered a speed trap (basically makes airplane enforcement illegal). But in some counties they still do it because so many people don't know the law.

 

Definitely fight.
If your state works like mine, the court date on the ticket is merely your opportunity to show up and either plead not-guilty or pay the fine. If you plead not-guilty, the judge will then set a trial date which will be when you actually get to plead the case. this can be up to two months or more after the ticket was issued!
The deal is (as explained to me by a lawyer/judge friend of mine) is that municipalities are really only interested in getting their fees. They don't really care what you plead to as long as they get their cut...unless, of course, you were doing 130 in a 45...then they might care about the particulars ;-)
What should happen is, either before or on the the day of your trial, you should be in contact with the prosecutor. This is where you should try and plead to a lesser, non-automotive, infraction...like littering. It might cost the same as your ticket, but your driving record will stay clean.
Your chances of actually getting the case thrown-out is pretty slim. It can be done, of course. But you will have to really do your homework.
Anyway...just my 2 yen.