...and it ain't pretty.... So there I am this morning in the TL, heading east on the LIE toward McArthur Airport (I flew to Houston for the weekend for a friend's wedding). Moving at around 80mph (speed of traffic) Go through an underpass/curve around exit 55ish, and there's Nassau Highway Patrol with a full-blown laser trap on the other side. Two cruisers. beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep -- lidatek goes off for the first time ("ahh so that's what it sounds like!"). Very calm, I tap the brakes and slow to around 60....pass by the cops. 10 seconds later, I see the cop pull out onto the road behind me. Nah....couldn'y possibly. Whoop whoop....lights up the cherries and down I go. First thing the cop does when he gets out of his cruiser is walks to the front of my car to look at the grill. Doesn't see anything (thank you technik1), and walks up to my window. Tells me I was going 76mph, and the rest is nothing special. So one of a few things happened: a) Lidatek don't work for ****. b) Lidatek gave him some sort of partial error (new type of gun that detects jamming?) -- enough that he suspected I had one and checked out the car -- but he still was able to get a reading on me. c) Lidatek worked, but the highway patrol knows the signs now and just estimates speed. In other words, Lidatek drew MORE attention to me and got me pulled over. The 10 second pause could have been the cop deciding whether or not to nail me. Nonetheless, not terribly pleased with my investment at this point.... nlh
****... doenst sound too good from a Lidatek's prespective. at least he couldnt see how the sensor was mounted behind the valence grills. **** dem pigs (except big L)....**** em all....those cockaroaches!!!
In that situation you have to ask the officer to see your speed reading on his gun. If he walked to the front of your car he was either looking to see if you had a jaming device or if you had a front plate (reflective purposes) which leads me to believe that he had a problem getting a reading. When an officer pulls you over for an offense, you have the right to see the speed measurement device and the reading that he is giving you a summons for. This sucks...bottom line, but I have a suspicion that this officer "created" a speed for you because he didn't get one when he aimed at you. Some of these guys are absolutely flagrant in handing out tickets without proof of speed (Vik can attest to that). Sorry to hear of your misfortune Noah...that sucks. :-(
I agree with Eric, on the summons it should state how the speed was determined. If it says visual observation and the cop at trial admits he was set up for radar....well that not going to fly for the cop.
One, it's awful to hear dem pigs catch another EC Playa. Two, the scenario is definitely (b) or (c) by virtue of the fact the machine beeped. Three, if I'm reading your post correctly Noah, was part of the reason you didn't ask the officer for verification of the speed the fact that you were not sure if the jammer worked. Were you concerned about the risk of agitating the police officer further, and making him nastier than he probably was? In any event, the summons has been issued (what is it, a 4 point ticket)? Time to leave it to the professionals - ie., the lawyers. Not sure what the legal defense can be at this point, other than the usual methods of delay and pleading it down. I'm curious to hear what Gus has to say. Good luck, Noah, and let us know if we can help in any way.
Much appreciation for the responses boys -- Good news is that I didn't actually get a ticket -- I had a friend's PBA card and bizcard on me, and he, in Lupe's words, "extended me some courtesy". But in thinking about it, maybe he wasn't just being a nice guy -- maybe he really didn't have a speed reading, did a quick calculation, and realized that between the estimated speed & PBA card, it wasn't worth issuing a ticket that would most likely be fought. Nonetheless, even if the lidatek did actually do its job at jamming the laser, I'm still concerned that it brought more attention to me "poked at the nest" ... nlh
my take: lidatek worked, cop got error feedback instead of valid reading, cop knew u have a jammer, dats why he looked at front of ur car after pulling u over. the 76mph is all BS estimate, dats prolly partial reason(along said of ur PBA cars) that he let u slide.
I agree - he probably wanted to pull you over and bust you for a jammer Noah, but when he couldn't find one (thanks to Gus), he had no choice but to release you with a stern warning.
From the Lidatek site: I'm going on a trip across country. Where can I legally use the LaserECHO? The LE-30 is legal in every state except California, Utah, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Virginia, Nebraska, and Washington, D.C.
it's legal, but i am sure some cops know about this device and if they find it on your car, they will probably be a bit aggraveted and give you a ticket for sure.
Nassau cops are the biggest bunch of butt munchers out there. I've never had so many problems with one commute to work!!!! Anywayz... Laser jammers (as all jammers) are moreso preventetive than full blown jammers. I hear it go off and I slam on the brakes and make it apparent that I know he's there and he knows I know... blah blah... Then if they do pull you over you guys have something to talk about when you give him your PBA's and ask him if he pulled you over for going to slow I've had a laser jammer save me 3 times. I've also had a radar jammer save me 4 times but it was stolen Then there's the other tactic where you just floor it because yer going too damn fast as it is
Firstly, Noah did NOT get a ticket--that's not mentioned at first. Second, Lidatek is perfectely LEGAL in our area. Now : -76 in a 50 zone? -officer inspects the front of the car? -officer states a 76 mph reading and no ticket? Clearly, the officer did NOT get a laser reading. I suspect that was the average speed, as Noah said he was flowing with traffic @ 80ish. I agree with Eric that the officer also wanted to check the front plate for a reflective or stealth plate cover, which is ILLEGAL, and would deflect laser. The same scenario w/out Lidatek: our trusty V1 would abruptly blurt a Euro-siren and we would slam on the brake. Unfortunately, in that split second, we would brake from 80 to maybe 75. Thus a laser ticket. So, it seems to me our options are to call some occasional attention to ourselves by the frustrated officer in question, or call attention to ourselves with a bonafide laser ticket. I'll take the former. Let's keep in mind that if we're witnessed flying by noticably faster than the rest of traffic, we would likely receive a summons for reckless driving anyway, just by a visual, or pacing (Police drive behind us at the same speed we do), no radar or laser reading required for that type of ticket. GT
I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. Gus makes valid points above, but I just can't pass this one up. Yes, I prefer to drive wrecklessly. Recklessly is another matter. lol
