Just got a speeding ticket :(

Valentine One = great choice and a great investment. Mine has paid for itself 2-3 times so far this year.

 

Half the city cops i see now in the Bay area use Lidar so Valentine one (I have one) is next to useless. Most of the CHiP still uses radar.

 

Love my Val 1 too.

Ticket was sucky, but deserved - you were speeding by your own admission. You didn't want to be singled out is all.

There is something here called discretionary enforcement - law enforcement does not have to be consistent, but they do have be logical in their implementation of it. Pulling over the minority in the hot car, for example, would be iffy. Grabbing a car they believe is the center of the problem might not be. A Ferrari in a pack tends to have an upward effect on the pack's average velocity.

Fight it if you like, but just accept how it is regardless of the outcome. Good luck.

 

You got a $610 fine for doing 3mph over the limit? Are you serious?

 

I did fight. Rayalex took care of it for me.

The funny thing was that I'm sure he thought I was from LA. I didn't have my Nevada plates but just got the temp sticker.

So, first he checks if I'm drunk (I'm not) --- DAMN!
Then he checks my license and registration --- local --- DAMN!
Then he decides I'm a speeder -- OK: 5 MPH.


I've also been yelled at by a cycle cop for excessive noise on the strip.

But, I've also had a lot of fun with the cops also. Most of them on the beat are pretty friendly. It's the traffic ones that are a PITA!

 

WTF?

 

When I last got a ticket there was a $60 or $70 "surcharge." I can see the police and the clerks saying, hey, why don't we charge these guys a "surcharge" in addition to whatever arbitrary multiple we want to charge them for speeding?

Who's around to fight for the interests of the driver?

Motorcyclists at least have a couple groups that fight for their interests. I am thinking of boycotting a local town that is known to be one of the worst in the state for writing speeding tickets. But that is just going to hurt these small stores. I can't see what can be done...yeah I know, drive at 24 mph.

 

I'd love to hear from the engineering types but a friend with a defense contractor told me the laser profile of my car would be more difficult for them to get. They would still get it but I would be much closer than a regular car. The LIDAR needs a reflective surface to work. Since I don't have a front plate, the car has a very sloped nose and is black he felt it would be much harder to pick up that say an Escalade with a large front chrome grill and license plate. His rationale was that I would be lots closer before he would get an actual reading and potentially get a reading on my detector before he would accurately clock my speed. Trust me, I don't go flying around at high speeds but, as we see, it's usually the 5MPH+ that gets most of us.

I'm no where near an expert in these areas but would love to hear from someone who might know including several LEO's on here. Robbie or someone in the field care to comment?

 

Sort of true. They are taught to aim for a flat surface to get a strong reflections, but it is not necessarily the case every time. You never know what the find for a reflective surface. I've seen them scan and hunt around an oncoming car for a readable bounce. Could be they hit the right edge of your bumper, the rear view mirror, etc.

Or they might try to BS you into believing they have you clocked at whatever speed they suggest. It's their word over yours and as long as they are current in their training and the laser has been certified and current, you are effectively screwed. They are not obligated to prove to you that they clocked you with any device, at least in CA. I would never suggest that law enforcement is corrupt in their enforcement of traffic regs, but it is a loaded deck and we drivers have very few safeguards against a clever schemer.

Don't believe it? Case in point: I was speeding along on the I-15 to Vegas and was the only car on the road for some distance. A CHP going the other direction turned around and chased me down while I was going the speed limit to cite me for excessive speed earlier. He wrote me for 15 over but he suggested that I could fight it and he would tell the judge that he was being merciful since he had observed me travelling considerably faster. He was polite about it, but I got the message and just paid up. We also had a conversation about how he does his job and the requirements of "proof" of his observations. Kind of eye-opening.