1. INVEST in a Valentine 1

2. stay in the right lane with some 'cover' in the left out front

3. ticket clinic or attorney (e.g. Hyatt Legal Svcs)

4. save it for the track

 

I can see why they show up, especially on a day off. They get to cheat the tax payers for more money (overtime that wasnt worked for) while only working for part of it and the court get their money too. Sounds like the American way. But thats life and you have to live with it.

 

That Statie was ignorant and out of line. The Federal Highway Administration recommends that police tolerance never be less than 5 MPH. See 66 FR 29855 ("setting and enforcing rational speed limits'').


Copied from the document, emphasis is mine.

 

Go to court. Ask to see when the radar was last calibrated. Also ask to see the log on the radar stating when the last time the officer did a check with the tuning fork to ensure the radar was still reading accurately.

I personally would also ask to see the proof of me doing in excess of 55 miles an hour.

If he was moving at the time of the radar supposedly reading "in excess of 80" ask where the radar is mounted in the car. If not withing in 6 inches of center it will not read the oncoming cars speed correctly.

Just some things I have learned in the past.

Salute a vet.

 

Consider yourself lucky the LEO gave you the option to take the class to avoid the points. Step up ,take the class and pay the fine. Speeding ain't free.

 

After reading numerous posts I feel I must reply. Fact is you were speeding. Take the class and pay the fine. If you were looking at a HEAVY fine, suspension of license or jail time I would hire an attorney. All the questions about where the radar was located/mounted and when the last time it was callibrated is a waste of time. There is not one officer that is going to say that he didnt do a pre test before his tour of duty. I know this becasue I write tickets as well. Alot of departments in illinois have a no pursuit policy for minor traffic.....so one might be very tempted in a 6th gear roll out. hmmmmmmm

 

I'm sittin' here scanning these responses. Anyone who doesn't think there are quotas for LEOs is nuts. They don't call it a quotas - and not all juristictions have them - but a visit to police officer message boards http://forums.officer.com/forums/index.php will confirm that they do indeed have goals / productivity / etc .. 'standards' and they get docked if they don't 'produce'

That said - I have the highest regard for LEOs - they don't make the rules - they are stuck enforcing them (although most approach traffic enforcement as 'ordinary ' citizens would appproach duck hunting - it's sport, dangerous sport to be sure)

As for fighting - you're lucky that at 25mph over - that you weren't written for a reckleess. In the end - listen to what your fellow drivers IN YOUR AREA have experienced and take wisdom from their experiences. And remember - once the court costs and fine are over - the Ins Co will want their pound of flesh - and thay will get it for several years.

Good luck

 

I am a former LEO and I can tell you that outside of civilians I have never heard of any such thing as a quota of tickets for any LEO. It is true that officers are evaluated on their activity level but that only makes sense. We don't want officers just "cooping" out there and not doing anything. That being said there is a wide disparity among LEOs as to who gives the most tickets vs warnings or even traffic stops. The main goal is to keep the general public safe. Tickets are more often given by agressive officers and that is an accepted fact. You can believe it or not.

Since I am a former certified radar operator I know how to best defeat that technology and most of the advice given here is correct. Get and use a radar detector. It gives you a fighting chance to avoid tickets. It won't help you if you are going 120 but if you are like most folks driving 15 to 20 over the limit you have a chance. Not being "The Lone Ranger" out in the passing lane certainly helps especially with a corvette which has a very low radar profile. Radar sees the biggest picture, the most mass as it were. sometimes it will read a bus or a truck that is behind you because it sees its signature instead of yours. I use the "Rabbit syndrome" in that I always allow a faster driver or a lead driver going fast to trip the radar ahead of me so I can slow down. This helps to defeat "instant On" radar as you have time to slow down. However, if you are in the passing lane with the other offending vehicle you may get ticketed anyway. LEO's are partially human too and will figure you are going just as fast, especially with a Corvette! Watch out for the LEO coming up from behind with the radar off.

All of the above simply cuts down on your chances for getting a ticket. Laser is much more difficult to legally defeat and overhead airplanes are impossible so in the immortal words of the Desk Sergeant on HILL STREET BLUES "Let's be careful out there"!

The answer to the original question is not only doesn't an officer have to show you the speed on the radar "target vehicle" in fact it would do very little. You could have slowed down or he could have picked up a different vehicle before "locking" the target speed into the "window" of the radar unit. Besides, what if the LEO had "paced" you using his certified speedometer? Would you expect to "see" the speed the LEO said you were going? Of course not and neither will a judge. If you want to defeat a speeding ticket you will have to give a judge a good reason to believe you over the LEO. Surprisingly many judges will do just that if you give them a credible reason. Judges hate being considered a "rubber stamp" for the prosecution, believe it or not!

 

If you take it to court and you have a clean prior record you might get it reduced to say 70 in a 55. I would not count on cop not showing.

 

Several things:
The cops have gone from "protect and serve" to "hassle and fine". Because of this behavior shift I no longer respect the badge.
The speed limits on most freeways was established as safe in the 1940's when cars weighed more, traveled on bias ply tires and had drum brakes. 80 mph with any competent driver is a safe speed in most modern cars let alone in the modern marvel know as a Corvette.
Fight every ticket. If everyone did this the system would clog up and the cops would have to change their tactics.
If a cop sees a bum taking a dump on the sidewalk he looks the other way. If he sees an average Joe going to work slightly over the speed limit he tickets him. Which is worse for society, the bum or the speeder?
Cops/society needs to get their priorities in order.
The revenue generated by the tickets is needed to fund the ridiculous pensions by the flatfoots hassling the taxpayers and leaving the crimials alone.
Sorry cops, but you brought this on yourselves.

 

I wouldn't be so "Harsh" until you have walked a mile in a "COPS" shoes.... & be honest.. please don't give me a reply that I'd expect from a 16 yr old..

"Do you (Personally) think that a cop or any LEO goes out there and says lets see how may innocent people I can screw today so the city will have more $$ for my pension??"

I was a LEO for 30 yrs... I gave out summons's when they were "DESERVED" by the ofender... & I am sure I let some slide who SHOULD have gotten one, but maybe their "Attitude" or manor of communicating changed my mind, & I only gave them a written warning, or maybe just a "Verbal Warning' That decision is left to the LEO who made the stop!

Yes I have a good pension, but I put in 30 years of working middle (3-11pm) shift, or midnights (11 - 7 am)

While you were eating your turkey on Thanksgiving, I was giving CPR to a 77 yr old lady who had a heart attack...

On Christmas while you and your family were opening presents, I was parked behind some shopping center eating a doughnut...YES You Heard Right.. I was eating a DOUGH-NUT.. on Christmas morning...

I cant tell you how many times I had to ring a doorbell & tell the man or woman ..."Your daughter was involved in a MV accident"

Just as a heads up .. in case you didn't know... in our Dept. we never went to notify the next of kin if the victim was just injurd...we only made a "personal" notification if it was a FATAL Accident!!

& I have been on BOTH SIDES OF THAT FENCE.. my door bell rand Sept 6th 1996 at 3:30am & two Ct. State Troopers were there, and said... Sarge.. you son was involved in a MV Accident...

There was NO NEED for them to say anything more because I had been in "Their Shoes" many times....

But back to the $$$ if you don't believe anything else, believe this, cops DON'T go out there with the thought "Well I'll see how much $$$ I can make for the city/State.. so I can get a better pension..

Another "Heads Up" my Social Security monthly payment would have been over $1400... but as soon as SS saw I had a Police Pension, I was told that it (the pension) was considered "Windfall Income" and my SS payment dropped to $431 a month...

How much are you getting, or going to get when you retire????

I could go on & on with a lot of other "stuff" that you think LEO do or Don't Do....and you are correct "SOME" LEO are jerks, and do not deserve to have the badge or title but $hit happens in all walks of life and sometimes a real loser manages to get on the Dept. & makes a bad name for the thousands of other LEO who give it their all..

Some gave it some...others gave it their ALL.. and they are "Resting in Peace" as of now..

Have you ever had someone try to stick a 8" butcher knife in your chest... or throw a shopping carriage off a 10 story building in a housing project as you are walking into the building a 2am...

Its NOT FUN....

Off my rant....

 

If you were doing 80+, I would take the ticket, shut up, and be thankful my car wasn't on an impound lot. At least your ticket was a real ticket instead of the BS where some rook pulled me over just to waste 15 minutes of my day to write a tint ticket. FTO had to tell the guy how to even tear the ticket off the computer. Rediculous. It's just money and thats all the city/state cares about. Just another tax for being successful. View it as such and move on, it's about all you can do.

 

LEO's get 3 chances to make a court date in my city. We can all complain, but it won't matter much. Just pay 'er and move on. No use taking on the largest gang in America. Vent online and then pay it.

 

You should be damn happy there are police patrolling our highways. I am, because there are more idiots driving on the highways, especially in Florida, than there have ever been. Some of them even drive Corvettes, weaving in and out of traffic and tailgating everyone that gets in their way.

If you have a fast car and you want to take a chance do it. But don't bitch when you are caught. If I'm speeding, which I do at times, I pay the fine.

 

I could care less if a cop is patrolling. I would really rather they didn't. I pay enough taxes as it is. Ever see a cop prevent a crime? It's not their job to. The ONLY way they do is the FEAR that you will be fined/ticketed/etc. and that fear does not exist in the minds of those who are truly a threat.

Get your CCW and look out for your own ****. Cops aren't bodyguards.

 

Your pension is so good they had to reduce your social security. That only happens with overpensioned govt. employees.
If you don't/didn't like the hours or conditions, don't become a cop.
If cops aren't arresting people for chicken s*it offenses then why are they increasing personnel in the traffic division and either decreasing or downsizing other departments in my city and many others?
And what about the bums? Have you done anything about them lately?
If you think that traffic tickets aren't a large part of the city/county/state revenue stream then you are misguided. And how much of a difference does writing all of these tickets make? Is the city safer? Have traffic deaths been reduced? No, all you did was **** off the citizens you are supposed to be protecting.
I don't know who makes the decisions about what the cops enforce but it needs re-examined.
Sorry about your son and thanks for you service but the system is broken and you (cops) are the tip of the spear.

 

All I have to say is wow. What is wrong with you? Cops deserve the pensions they get. They earned them.

 

Nonsense!
Some cops retire on 90% of their salary. That's higher than anyone in the private sector could even dream of and it's all on my tax dollars. The states and the nation are broke and these guys are retiring on almost a full salary. It's a total tax grab and it needs to stop.

 

The main word in the above quote is SOME yes "Some" do about 3% most 80% of the cops retire at 50-60% of their pay, many don't even get that much..

I got 74% but had to put in 30 years to get it..

What about politicians.. a Senator only has to serve one 6 yr term, to retire with almost 100% of his salery...

Just curious, are you eligible for a pension at your job? Maybe you make so much $$ that you can invest it and don't even need a pension...

 

The talk of why take the job if you don't like it?..It probably is more of a reiteration of the sacrafices they make. Who do you call when your nice vette is stolen, house gets broken into or your elder mother or father are in an accident and the officer goes over and beyond to get them home safe. Generally it's the police. I would say most are guys that have a heart to want to help. Tickets are part of the job. Just like going to court. Trust me going to court after a night shift of 11-7 for $35 pay is not a big money maker for cops, plus it usually ended up on my day off. That speeding ticket he gave you may have slowed you enough so that you don't lose control and possibly hurt your parents, mine or somebody just out walking a new born child.
Just my .02.
I did the job close to twenty years...Too many times I have a picked up body parts up and down the highway picking up a leg, arm or whatever to try and figure out who the guy was. Trust me it's not worth 50K a year, but I miss it and do wish I had finished a full twenty five. Now I own businesses and find some people will lie in a heartbeat..people you would never expect. Far more dishonest customers than most bad guys..

Good Luck.
I think I'll have a donut..