i Just dont understand...

Typically, car mounted radars can get the speed of a car going towards or away from it. Also, he could let the truck go by and hit the button and you're busted. In this case he could have hit the truck and then saw you and felt that getting you would be a better hit. I think 71 KPH is only 42 MPH.

Good luck with your ticket. I hope you beat it.

Bob Wassam

 

I feel your pain, but you have to realize cops are generally predictably obtuse in their assumptions: out of multiple vehicles traveling at the same speed, they will always pull over the one which is red, the one that has the headlights on (in the US at least) or the one that is on the left lane.
The way out of that kind of tickets is to have an attorney that can have them explain in court how they can be sure their radar was actually reading your car, instead of some other car or, in your case, the truck in front of you.
Not easy, but possible.
Good luck brother

 

Because you're the one he caught. Just because someone else broke the law doesn't mean you get to. It sucks, but that's reality.

 

Get a good radar detector...either spend the bucks for an installation or get a Valentine 1. I have had a V1 in my cars for 7 years (Ferrari and Corvette) and have not gotten one ticket in that time. It's worth the investment and a necessity when driving a high profile sports car.

 

Cops are generally painful......but you do live in the People's Republic of Canada. I would imagine an Fcar doesn't make the socialists to happy.

 

Some truth to that red car comment... also to the fact that arguing with the police when you're pulled over isn't going to accomplish much.

Hope you beat it in court, but life goes on either way.

 

Get a Valentine One and you will never worry about this again, end of story.

 

The same thing happened to me years ago. In fact, I was in the rocking chair (between two cars). The cop pulled me out from the line and gave me a ticket. The thing that really chapped me off was, none of us were speeding. But we were going through Mississippi.

 

So a Ferrari 308 is the "heap o' trouble" Southern Sherrifs are always talking about?

 

Fight it. Make him appear with you, be calm collected, and explain your position. They won't make you pay it all. Also he has to show up and provide docunmentation. Worth the effort. John H.

 

I think there is a lot of truth to this. I was going thru a small town speed limit 25MPH. I was in the middle of a long line of cars all doing 35MPH. I saw the officer but thought since I was just going with the flow...no problem. As I went by he looked me right in the eye then I knew I was in trouble. He singled me out of a long line of cars all speeding. He let me go with a warning so freinds joke and say "maybe since it was Ferrari, he thought you were a celebrity and was hunting autographs".

But like someone else said, just because the truck you were following was also speeding it does not make it OK for you.

 

I don't where you are, but here in Ontario, radar detectors are way illegel and going to cost you a lot more than the speeding tickets. Most of the time they use the instant on radar anyway. But they can radar cars coming and going. Although there is a minimum distance apart you would have to be before he could nail you and not the truck. The radar does bounce off the biggest and flatest surface that it can.

Again here in Ontario they don't need to use radar to prove your speed, they can pace you. I have a friend in University along the 401 cruising with the radar detector ata good clip, apprently the cap was in his blind spot for 2km and recorded his speed on the cops calibrated speedo and they flipped on the radar gun to show the intern and watched my firend brake so hard he almost lost control when his detector went off. All in all a pretty bad day for him.

 

There may be a defence, I believe, to the selective pull-over syndrome the police seem to have when it comes to Fcars. I had a friend when I was in high school (he was an adult) who swore that a sure way to get the police to leave you alone is to shove your finger up your nose as he's looking at you. I know, I know this seems bizarre but there is some psychological logic here. I mean who really wants to deal with a nose picker? Anyway he said it worked for him every time. He drove a late 60s camaro ragtop...pretty sweet car actually.

 

Seems I rember reading somewhere that this defense worked for someone.

Radar detectors... I bought BEL Pro RX65. I checked all the websites that rate them. The Bel was rated equal to the valentine in detection with less false alarms. I think they were equivalant in price.

 

Yea, Valentine 1 or Passport. I doubt this guy got you with radar. When asked your speed it's good to say, "Sir, I was doing a safe speed for the prevailing conditions." After, ask for a warning please and if that doesn't work I would have asked to see the reading. If the guy refuses to show it to you I would have noted that next to your signature on the ticket.(worked for me once) In court you can request to see proof of radar calibration and that the cop is properly certified. Tell them you were safely following another car so that no proof of radar supports you claim that radar was not used. If radar was not used then the officer unfairly singled you out for driving a red car. And, if they can't furnish proof of calibration or officer certification then request that the court not rely on hearsay and that they dismiss the citation.

If you're dealing with a kangaroo court there in BC you've got an uphill battle. Good luck.

 

that whole sceario especially his "you giving me lip" remark translate to a severe case of" penis envy"...how far did he have you in his line of sight?by chance were you approaching that truck at a brisk pace? etc....even to a "moody" cop i wouldve asked to see the proof on the radar at the least and should he say he "clocked" you "visually" and you can do is take it with a smile and then fight it in court with the facts and let him hang himself...

 

"Legible" = readable. I think if you show up in person you want your argument to be "coherent" and "intelligible."

I believe if the officer doesn't show up in court the case gets dismissed, so sometimes it's worth it to contest the ticket just because the police have better things to do than sit around in the courthouse. But that's in California - I don't know anything about Canadian law.

However, if you go to court in the States and lose you'll also be paying court costs, so it could be more than $200. Probably similar up there.

If you're going to contest it, I'd ask an attorney for advice and not rely on a Ferrari forum, even if we all sound pretty brilliant on occasion.

 

Ha ha ha ha

Thanks for that tip, I'll have to remember that next time.

I got nailed in Nevada a couple of years ago in a similar situation, while driving down to Vegas from Vancouver. I had noticed that most troopers were driving Crown Vic's or Chev Impalas, so when a Ford Explorer goes past, I didn't think anything of it. I was cooking along at 85mph (in a 50 zone!) and as soon as he past I saw the cherries go on... Oh ****. But I knew I was speeding and no one else was around, so I had no one to blame but me.

He went easy on me though and fined me at a lower rate. I didn't complain as he could have given me a several hundred dollar fine.

It had been several years since I last got a ticket to this one, so I guess it was time.

I was not driving my Ferrari, so maybe the situation could have been completely different...

 

THAT DOOR SWINGS BOTH WAYS, TOO...

A few years ago, I was driving my 308 down a secondary highway (great, twisty road) through the small towns along the coast of Oregon. It was near sunset, and the highway was deserted aside from myself. Long story short, I got popped by a local-yokel county sheriff for doing 85 MPH in a posted 45 MPH zone --- I gave him no argument at all, as I knew I was going at least that fast.

He ran my plates, wrote me a warning, handed it to me, and said, "nice car, keep it on the road, and drive your ass safely and legally back to Portland!".

All in all over the years, I've received more traffic tickets while driving in my other cars than in my F-cars.

 

Ditto that. Saved my ass many of times. Even if cops are using instant-on radar, you will pickup signal when he aims at others. My Ferrari dealer wired
it around window seal. No need for cigarette lighter adapter.
It has to be on window to be efficient. Once you get used to arrows, you'll never use another. Escort detector stinks in comparison.
(I don't work for Valentine 1)

Nielsq
NY

 

When you take it into court its going to be hard to prove that the radar read the truck's speed. Do you have any proof of how close you were to the truck, or that you were traveling no faster than it was? Its going to be just your word against his - we are all pretty sure who's position is better.

Although if you decide to bring the truck up I think its best to bring to attention the safety aspect. The whole point of speed limits is SAFETY. So a big truck, weighing at least several tons (very likely more) going at 70kmh is far more of a hazard than a nimble sports car (probably with a far superior stopping power) at the same speed. I think this would be the argument that portrays the stupidity of his actions the most. It shows how it was deliberate targeting, not safety that was guiding his actions.

 

Hi again, I do not know if it works the same in Canada as in the US, but south of the border, if the cop does not show up (and you do), the case is dismissed.
So the first line of defense is to have the case rescheduled once or twice.
That will improve your chances the cop will not show up.
Also, by rescheduling the case, chances are the cop will not remember the circumstances of the case, if he gets questioned by the judge, which also calls for dismissal of the case.
Technicalites, like expired radar calibration, incorrect name of the road or highway on the part of the cop, etc. are also cause for dismissal here.
If all this fails, then you (or your attorney) have to be ready to make your case.
Remember: by fighting the ticket you have nothing to lose but all to gain.
Good luck.