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Speeding Ticket (Caught by a Plane)
Penguin_Otaku
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So I was driving two hours from my hometown back to Norman so I could make it in time for work that day which was our spring game.
I grant, yes, I was speeding. However, I was not going the 94 in 70 that I was pegged at. I was going, at most I feel, 85 in the 70.
The cop said I was spotted by the airplane, which I never saw, but he'd pulled someone over already and simply pointed at my car (Which apparently means the same as flashing lights in my rearview.) I didn't pull over immediatly because I thought he just wanted me to slow down. I wasn't speeding when I passed him, no, but I didn't understand the gesture. He approached my car and began speaking to me as if I'd been making him chase me or something (read: being a cock.)
So, PAers. I know I sped, but not what the ticket says.. and the cop was a dick. Is there anything I can do? My court date is tomorrow.
Someone said that both cops have to be present for this to even work (the guy in the plane and the OHP officer)
Thanks.
I grant, yes, I was speeding. However, I was not going the 94 in 70 that I was pegged at. I was going, at most I feel, 85 in the 70.
The cop said I was spotted by the airplane, which I never saw, but he'd pulled someone over already and simply pointed at my car (Which apparently means the same as flashing lights in my rearview.) I didn't pull over immediatly because I thought he just wanted me to slow down. I wasn't speeding when I passed him, no, but I didn't understand the gesture. He approached my car and began speaking to me as if I'd been making him chase me or something (read: being a cock.)
So, PAers. I know I sped, but not what the ticket says.. and the cop was a dick. Is there anything I can do? My court date is tomorrow.
Someone said that both cops have to be present for this to even work (the guy in the plane and the OHP officer)
Thanks.
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There's a clear section of road with a clear start and end point with a precisely known distance that they observe. They time cars passing through it, from this they can deduce your average velocity. If you passed through a 5 mile segment in 5 minutes, you were either going 60mph the whole way, or a portion faster and a portion slower. If you pass through it in 3 minutes, you were for sure at some point during that section going faster than 60. I BELIEVE they ticket you for the average speed(which will be usually in your favor as it doesn't tag you for the single highest speed you reached)assuming the average is over the speed limit
Again, assuming they didn't actually fire a laser at you(and I'd be interested to hear the officer explain the differential geometry involved in adjusting for the relative velocities)this would actually mean you were traveling an average of 94, which makes you bad at reading speedometers, a liar, or in possession of a faulty speedometer
Keep in mind a couple of things when driving that fast: Your speedometer by LAW can be as much as 5% inaccurate, meaning at 85 you could've conceivably been going nearly 90. If you have changed the tires, or they're overinflated, or any number of things, that could bump it up to 94.
As for the cop being a jerk, well, cops, yah. Go to court though, people get out of tickets all the time because the issuing officer didn't show up
Is this actually solid advice or is this something you heard? I'm curious because I hear it all the time but I'm not so eager to test it out.
Most of the time however they do show up, and you are left to fight a ticket with no valid excuse other than "He was really mean mum!"
Satans..... hints.....
And you have to pay court costs.
You can also take your ticket to a lawyer and have him try to get rid of it. Usually this is done by him just rescheduling your trial over and over till the cop doesn't show up. Again though, YMMV, and you couldn't end up paying for the ticket, court cost, and lawyer.
Assuming he was timed properly, this method is very accurate.
Anyway, OP, since you have to go to court anyway, I would suggest hitting up google and trying to find out what the options for your state are.
In some jurisdictions (mine), cops get paid overtime to show up to traffic court, so don't count on them not showing.
Unlike timing you over 3 miles or 5 like BlochWave suggested they might do. They generally time you over a 1/4 mile interval.
If you're going 60, this takes exactly 15 seconds.
Had you been going 94 this should have taken about 9.6 seconds
Had you been going 70 this should have taken about 13 seconds.
If you were going 85, like you suspect it would have taken about 10.6 seconds.
So I think if you suggest natural, non malicious human error you stand a chance of getting the fine reduced. I wouldn't be surprised if the person timing you was also the person flying the plane, for example.
Of course I'm not a lawyer, so you use this information at your own risk. I can't guarantee that the interval was only 1/4 of a mile instead of a different amount. Usually the intervals are clearly painted on the road though, as giant white lines about 4 feet long on each side of the road running into the shoulder. They're generally perpendicular to the lane.
In terms of the law speedometers can only read over or exactly right. so you can be doing 80 and it might read 84, but you cant be doing 90 and it read 85. There is a tolerance of around 3% which is why a speed camera won't snap you at 43 in a 40.
(In the uk at least.)
I never heard of planes being used for tickets before. Anyone know if and where they do that in Texas?
My advice to anyone is to simply go to court. It was not what I expected. There were a fuckton of people there and DAs were just calling out names. You'd go up there and they'd talk to you and whatever.
Some people came in basketball shorts and t shirts, and a few of us dressed professionally. DO THIS. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO THIS if you want any chance of the person, judge, or whoever taking you seriously.
It was a boring 45 minute wait, but the guy was cool. Asked me how old I was, if and where I was going to school, and then paused for a minute. Looked at me. Then he reduced the 24 over ticket to 10. It was still damn near 200 dollars, but thats 100 less than the other ticket and my insurance company won't see it because its not going on my record.
I'm pretty sure they do in parts of west texas.
For everyone, this happens a lot more often than you think. If you're not a habitual speeder, or have any outstanding citations/warrants, the DA (or officer, depending on state) will be more than willing to make a deal with you due to the sheer number of traffic citations they have to deal with.
Best advice for dealing with minor traffic violations is simple: dress appropriately, be polite, state your case in a clear, concise matter and most Judges/magistrates will give you a break. You'll still have to pay a fine, but more often than not, the fine will be reduced and you'll be able to avoid the points and any additional punishment.
Interstate 5 that goes from SoCal all the way up north has a stretch in centeral California that is monitored by CHP planes and sensors. It doesn't seem to stop most motorists there but because that highway stretch is far from any major city, it means the planes serve double duties. Monitoring for violations and to watch out for accidents.