... I was just pulled over for a speeding ticket. I do NOT intend to fight the fact that I was speeding. I was, that is inexcusable, and I must own up to it. However, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt the speed was WRONG. I was clocked at 83MPH in a 55MPH zone. The distance the officer claimed to have made the shot from was 753ft. At the time I was clocked, I was being PASSED by three other vehicles, a light green Prius, a new shiney (Metalic) blue Honda Civic, and a third car I could not clearly see, though it was a black sedan. I was in the far left lane of a three lane highway, and the Prius and Civic were in the middle lane, the black sedan on the far right. The officer was parked on the far right side of the highway, and I could only see him for a second before he was obscured by the three cars passing me. (Though they were passing me, they were slamming on their brakes, as the civic almost hit the prius). My point of contention was that I do not believe the officer was gunning me. There were three other cars between us moving faster than I was.
My evidence is, well, weak. The best I have to go by is my word, and the word of a passenger, that those cars were there. I do not have any moving violations or previous arrests, nor does my passenger. In addition, I have my vehicle. It's a 1999 Suzuki Station Wagon. It is NOT a speed demon, and the road was uphill. I know for a fact my vehicle cannot reach 80MPH going uphill, even with the accelerator fully depressed, and overdrive off (The condition in which the vehicle obtains it's maximum speed and acceleration). My passenger and I both looked at my speedometer as soon as we saw the officer's car, because I do have a tendency to speed, though again, that's usually no more than 60MPH in a 55MPH zone. We both saw my speed to be 65MPH on the dot. Also, at speeds of over 60MPH, my steering column begins to shake violently, as does the rest of the car, so I would KNOW if I was going 83MPH. I would be praying for my own survival, as the car is barely in one piece as it is.
So basically, the officer wants to hit me with an excessive speeding charge. I disagree. I will own up to speed, pay the fine, do community service, whatever is requested. I broke the law, I am responsible for the results. However, the Excessive Speeding charge is, well, excessive. I was NOT doing 83MPH and I COULD NOT have been doing 83MPH in those conditions. I do not also feel the officer could have accurately hit MY vehicle, three lanes away from him with three other vehicles in between and in startlingly close proximity to myself from 753ft, ESPECIALLY if I really HAD been moving 83MPH.
In the end, I guess I am asking for advice on contesting the speed itself.
his radar saw the closest vehicle to him.
what you have against you:
you're young
you were in the left lane
you probably admitted to speeding when he had you stopped...and it's recorded.
what you have for you:
the officer cannot verify it was you, as long as you can prove there were cars passing you.
there were 3 other possible targets there. to the best of my knowledge, only laser can single out a target.
now....the only reasons
you got stopped, are because you were in the left lane, and because you were the slowest out of the group..thus easier to catch.
fight it. do not admit to any speed more than 5mph over. a car like yours generally had between 3 and 8mph error.(my dakota reads 6mph hi, my taurus reads 8mph hi).
when you go to court, dress professionally(don't use your CAP uniform), and present yourself calmly, and professionally. DO NOT attack the officer. approach it as
"sir, i know that the officer has his job to do, and i was pretty sure that my car wasn't capable of the speed i was written for, so i took it to a shop to have my speedometer checked. i also used my gps(if you have an aviation one, be sure he knows it) to verify my speedometer myself at(insert some speeds here). it was reading in error by(insert the amount here).
now, seeing as there were 3 cars passing me, i truly thought i was either on or slightly below the speed limit. or something on that order. it's all in the approach you take. you have to be polite(which i already imagine you are) and concise. you kind of want to make the officer put himself on the defensive, which will happen if the three passing cars are brought up.
now, please, don't mis-intrepert anything i'm saying.......but i've seen what games nj police play. i would imagine others do the same.
i watched a 3 bike race on rt38. in mount laurel. i told my girlfriend that that dude right there(i saw the pd cruiser 2 cars behind me)...i pointed at the loser of the race.......i told her he was gonna be the one to be stopped. she said no way, because the other 2 were much faster. the officer pulled over the slow guy. he was the easy target.
anyway, keep us informed......and i truly hope you make out ok.
one final thing........if you havent already, talk about this to your parents. explain it to em. they'll find out somehow........
almost forgot.....make sure your friend that was with you can come to court with you. if you know any police officers, or you know anyone in cap that does, ask them for advice too.
i just read further down....if it was laser, he can pick any car out of a pack...........
for future reference, keep your CAP ID card with your DL.
last time i got stopped, it was for expired tags. here in nj, there is never any argument for that...they call a tow truck, and impound your car.
my CAP ID "accidently" fell out as i was pulling my DL out. the officer asked me if i was airforce, as he could only see the seal. i handed him the card, and a 5 minute lesson(to him)ensued on what/who CAP is, and our capabilities. he then told me to go home, and if he ran my tag tomorrow, and it wasn't renewed, my car was gonna be towed.
