BG Cops: Radar/Speeding ticket help needed!

[ArchDizzle]

Hoping some of the resident BG police can help me out with some info. I received a speeding ticket about a month ago and my court date is set for tomorrow. I have been doing the same job for the last 6+ years and drive a utility response vehicle and typically spend a majority of the day driving from location to location, in this time I have never had any tickets or warnings. Last month I was responding to an emergency and was traveling down a 4 lane road seperated by a median. I was traveling in the outside southbound lane at a hill as I started to come down the hill I looked down and saw I was doing about 46mph, (speed limit is 40mph) there was a car in my lane in front of me going a little faster (maybe 48 ) and a car in the lane next to me who's front bumper was at my side mirror, when I started to go down the hill I let off the gas and by the time I got to the bottom of the hill I was at 42mph. (driving alot in the area I was in I always have to keep a close eye on my speed, we have gps, cameras, etc in our vehicles) At that point I could see up at the intersection (apx 2000') a Motorcycle cop in the inside northbound lane with his blue lights flashing, (he was first in line in that lane at the red light) I began to further decrease my speed as we were approaching the red light at said intersection as well. The cops light turn green and he proceeded north and turned at the first possible location and pulled into my lane behind me while I was just stopped a few cars back at the red light, it turned green and he followed me through the light his lights on the whole time, but no siren, after a few hundred feet past the intersection he flipped the sirens and pulled me over.

When he walked up to the vehicle he claimed he stopped me for doing 52mph in a 40, like I said previously we have cameras in the vehicle and I also had a trainee so I gave him my info and took the ticket and moved on, noticing later he put 55mph on the ticket. Now at no time was I close to 50mph or over, and had this been a legitimate stop I would have just paid the ticket and moved on, but since it isn't I am planning to go to court tomorrow and try and fight it.

My question is was it even possible for him to radar me? could he have been radaring the car in front of me? (I have no clue how the radars work) I was not doing within 10mph of what he stated I was doing, could he have stopped me "eyeballing" my estimated speed? (he did write on the ticket in the radar/laser section a number #834) When I go to court who is the burden of proof on? If it's his word vs mine am I pretty much screwed if he doesn't have a radar? Lastly what are the likely hood he will even show and does it make a difference? Any help/info would be appreciated like I said haven't had a ticket since I was a teenager which I just paid so I have no expierence with the process.

Thanks!

also in Louisiana if that matters.

[Seanr]

from what i heard, recently... they're allowed to eyeball your speed, it may vary from state to state though. Just tell your story as you told it here, and dont change or skimp out on any details... is the trainee going to be going with you? You said you have camera/gps/etc in the truck, state that you generally avoid going over x amount because you'll get penalized at work... I dunno. Doesn't seem too major though, although it looks like the cop is trying to pin you for going 15 over. Just explain it all honestly...

[Seanr]

that too

[Gadritan]

Waiting until the day before to figure out wtf is definitely problem #1 on your list.

Your word vs his, you will lose every single time. Really, think about that.

You need to bring some sort of proof to verify your story.

Not entirely sure what your options are though in LA. Tbh I think you're screwed.

[ArchDizzle]

Waiting until the day before to figure out wtf is definitely problem #1 on your list.

Your word vs his, you will lose every single time. Really, think about that.

You need to bring some sort of proof to verify your story.

Not entirely sure what your options are though in LA. Tbh I think you're screwed.

Wasn't waiting til the last day to figure it out, my boss assured me his cop buddies would take care of it which didn't pan out. The only major issue is with my company three moving violations in a year will get you terminated, granted I have never got one before and if it was legit I would take it or at least accurate and he "clocked" me at 44-45 it wouldn't be an issue. I just mainly need to know if he doesn't have actual proof of me speeding is it likely for me to get out of it, hoping he doesn't show to help my case.

Sad part is I have seen the actual proof he is wrong by camera/gps tag but my company will not allow anyone to use their "proprietary" information as evidence unless its a suit or issue against the company itself. :/

[Melena]

If it's a company car with a gps in it, are they using the gps to track your speeds? If so, have them pull the GPS report for that day and bring that with you. If they can't get it immediately but can furnish it, you can always ask the judge for a stay on it since the company you drive for is pulling the GPS information on the car to show that you only topped off at 48 at the downhill slope when you began breaking. That may spook the cop into dropping it as well.

Ehh, you posted as I replied. They would be retarded to not let you use that as proof, since any tickets you have also increased the cost for them to insure you while driving there company vehicles.

[ArchDizzle]

Exactly my thoughts, we have a drivecam system with built in gps and I watched the clip to show my boss what the deal was and we petitioned well up the foodchain, to get told they would not release it with a bunch of corporate tag line bullshit.

[Militant]

Why wait until the day before court to decide how you are going to fight it?

[Gadritan]

Why wait until the day before court to decide how you are going to fight it?

Wasn't waiting til the last day to figure it out, my boss assured me his cop buddies would take care of it which didn't pan out.

In other words, you did wait until the day before to find out wtf. Really, lesson learned, don't rely on someone's word when it's your ass on the line.

[ArchDizzle]

Good point, although its more of a what to expect from the police/judge in this situation wether I had that info 2 weeks ago or today is irrelevant, as anything else I could provide as evidence is unattainable unless of course there is a giant loop hole that I could have used if I had more time.

[Gadritan]

You can't win against a cop if it's your word against theirs. That's common sense.

If you can get a continuance (which you should be able to with the excuse of needing to find/pay a lawyer), do so and think about paying a lawyer if you're genuinely concerned with it. Not sure what the laws are there, but I know here the wisest thing to do would be to plea down to "excessive speed," as you can lose your license for a full year for anything 15mph or more over the posted speed limit. Even if you don't hire a lawyer, that'll at least buy you some time to learn a little more about what sort of penalties you could be facing.

[ArchDizzle]

That was the other thing that bothered me I figured he bumped it up to 55 for the sole purpose of trying to hit that 15 over mark, w/o a radar or some tangible proof it seems stupid to take eyeballing as fact, wonder the odds on him not showing lol

[Byrthnoth]

also in Louisiana if that matters.

Not that it couldn't happen in any state, but this struck me as mattering.

[Lucavi]

12 over gets a pull-over? Geez, I must have a rabbit's foot shoved up my ass. You don't tend to see cops that anal 'round these parts.

[Jeryhn]

That was the other thing that bothered me I figured he bumped it up to 55 for the sole purpose of trying to hit that 15 over mark, w/o a radar or some tangible proof it seems stupid to take eyeballing as fact, wonder the odds on him not showing lol

This isn't the point.
Even 1mph over the limit is illegal, and subject to citation. 5mph over would carry the same penalty as 15mph, and if you try to argue that you were only X amount over the limit instead of Y at court, you will be admitting guilt and will pay the full penalty anyway. This is how the police cash in on a good amount of issued speeding tickets.

You should be thankful that he didn't bump it up higher than 15mph over, which can carry stiffer penalties depending on the state. It sounds like you set yourself up to get the ticket in the first place.

A few things:
- A cop flashing his lights at you means two things - either get out of his way, or pull over. Siren or no, you probably pissed your cop off when you did not try to pull over immediately.

- When a cop pulls you over, you should never quantify how fast you were going, nor should you attempt to lie to the officer. Instead, you should deflect the question by attempting to avoid the subject. Ask why the officer pulled you over, ask if you're free to go, don't say you don't know how fast you were going. Many tickets are issued just because the driver admitted guilt (yeah officer, I was going 48 in a 45).

- If the officer says he got you on radar/ladar, ask to see the device to verify for yourself. Upon request, the officer must present the device reading to you with the timestamp. If he says you can't see it, he's probably bluffing and you should ask if you are free to go.

- The real reason why your company probably denied your request to release data in court is because the speed reading on your GPS probably shows you above the limit in question, which is the same as admitting guilt. Moreover, presenting this data could imply culpability on part of the company for YOUR actions, and they could be charged for your speeding as well if they supply a court with data that shows you broke the law while performing business for the company.

Pay your fine, try to take traffic school, be smarter with your big vehicle in the future.

[Skyylya]

I'm not sure about different state laws but I know that here in FL the traffic ticket has got to be 100% accurate in order for it to go through. If you challenge it in the court and can provide data that what he's charging you with is not accurate, regardless of if you're still admitting that you were over the limit, just not by what he's charging you then in most cases you can get it dismissed. Him lying on the ticket is worse than you speeding by 3mph over the limit. There is an allowed variability so to speak of about 3-5 MPH because speedometers and radars aren't 100% accurate. So if your company GPS can show that you were going 43 in a 40 you are just as likely to have been going 40 MPH given the variability of the recording machinery.

It all depends on how you argue your case. Radar's and the laser guns aren't 100% accurate. Now if your companies GPS has you going 50 you're pretty much screwed but I would certainly argue the fallability of the machinery and that the cop inflated your speed. You'll want to maintain innocence and of course say that you were driving the speed limit, and the downhill coasting caused your speed if at all to go up maybe a couple MPH but as soon as you noticed you applied the breaks to get back down to the limit.

With that said, I have to agree with what Jeryhn said about pissing the cop off. What on earth would make you not pull over or get out of a cops way who has their lights on right behind you? That's just stupid he could have cited you a number of other things too depending on how long you made him follow you.

[Gryffes]

the tldr in these threads usually is that a lot of the time the cop won't bother turning up to contest.

[ArchDizzle]

Ok apparently need to further explain the flashing lights deal, when I topped the hill the motorcycle cop was sitting stopped at a red light with flashers on, when it turned green he went like everyone else. When he got to the turnaround he waited for a few cars to pass in the inside lane in my direction before pulling out and behind me and coming to a stop behind me at the red light, I watched him the majority of the time he never motioned or made any indication he was trying to get somewhere, that said there is vehicles bumper to bumper at this point at the stop light and nowhere to move anyway. (however he had enough space and time at the light to go between the lanes if he wanted to) Like I said previously he only followed me a couple hundred feet to a parking lot turn in to pull me over, when he did if that had been tje case I'm sure he would have mentioned wtf I didnt get out of his way, which I routinely do anytime an emergency vehicle is coming. I forgot to mention also when he asked for my info the insurance card I had in the vehicle was expired (just switched vehicles a week or so before and hadnt checked for it) He looked at and said "i'm sure you guys have current insurance" and didnt give a fuck which is odd cause La has very strict current insurance in your vehicle laws.

I dont see how I was "asking" for the ticket when I was doing the speed limit, started going down the hill and speed increased 4-5mph and I deaccelerated to just below the speed limit before the cop could even see me, while other vehicles in front of me were going faster. (gps showed my max speed as I went down the hill toggle 44-45 then 39-40) I did not argue or question the officer at all so there was no argument.

My company wont release the information period, unless it is needed to prove innocence for them, a while back one of our guys was rear ended by someone and messed up his back, accident wasnt his fault and the guy who hit him was just below the legal limit, the camera showed him swerving and driving reckless but they would not release the footage for that employees personal case either.

[Jeryhn]

the tldr in these threads usually is that a lot of the time the cop won't bother turning up to contest.

Are you kidding? Cops (at least in CA) can declare hours spent in court as overtime pay.

Also OP, it sounds like the higher-ups in your company are dicks and you should consider not being in too much of a hurry for them from now on.

[ArchDizzle]

Are you kidding? Cops (at least in CA) can declare hours spent in court as overtime pay.

Also OP, it sounds like the higher-ups in your company are dicks and you should consider not being in too much of a hurry for them from now on.

Because going 44 for 5 seconds in 40 had me in a hurry lol.