I think I am going to need a lawyer.
I was going south in the left lane of the car lanes between exit 12 and 11. The State Trooper (who was in an un-marked beige crown vic with tinted windows) said he was all the way over in the truck lane when he seen me and shot the front of the Vette with the laser at 100 MPH (in 65 mph zone). Now I know I was speeding, it was just a short burst on a straight part of the highway and the road was clear (remember he got me across 7 lanes of traffic and shoulders). I did not see him, but from were he said he was he got to me very quick, and when he did I was just going with the flow of traffic. He told me he seen me hulling *** and did not know if I was testing this thing out or what, then asked me why I was doing 100 mph. Said I was on my way to work, and like he said was just testing her out on a clear straight part of the highway. No sense of BSing him. However I did not say that there was this V12 MB AMG on my six and I just wanted to flex my American muscle not like we were racing, but the MB did the same thing I did once he cleared traffic, I was just out in front.
Now my problem is not the speeding ticket, but he gave me careless driving as well. I don't think I deserved that since it was clear straight road and it was for just a very short duration with no cars around me. The court I have to go to is Woodbridge. My recorded was clean before this with zero points. Anyone have any advice, or should I just take the points and pay the fines?

BTW, on a lighter note he did not say anything about not having a front plate.

 

Wow sorry to hear about getting caught. These cars are hard to keep slow that is why I have decided to do more 1/4 mile racing and get it out of my system (though I still flirt with the speed limit).

The area you were caught usually has extra LEOs trying to get people in the HOV lanes. I believe Laser is very accurate and will be hard to fight. He aimed at your car directly and when it hits it mark there really is no arguement that someone else might have skewed the results.

I think at that speed they might have to issue the careless along with the speeding ticket. A bit higher and they would have added reckless. You probably could go to court and get the careless thrown out if you dressed nice and acted responsible, but to be safe I would add a lawyer. You might be able to get the careless thrown out and the ticket down to a 2 point instead of the 4 point that you have.

My friend just got caught on Rt78 for 85+ and his lawyer got it changed to something else that had no points. His though was not Laser, but instead it was tracking from the officer. I can get the name for you if you want. I think the cost was about $750, but I can check on that.

 

Laser and radar serve the same purpose but they are really different entities, which are achieving a common goal. Radar uses a radio beam and measures at the speed of sound while laser uses a light beam and takes measurement based on the speed of light. A typical radar beam is between 15 and 18 degrees wide. Laser is considerably more precise with a beam width of one sixth of one degree. At a distance of 1 mile a radar beam can expand to over 500 feet wide. A laser beam will only expand to 19 feet wide. At a more common distance of 1000 feet radar will expand to over 100 feet wide, while laser expands to only 3 feet wide. Despite its accuracy, laser is not unbeatable. It is affected by weather conditions. Fog, clouds and rain can significantly reduce the operating range. You may not use it through a windshield, and it must be used as a stationary set up. Calibration and maintenance may only be done by a factory trained specialist at an authorized repair facility. Laser beams usually target a vehicles license plate. In order to work properly, light must reflect off the surface of the vehicle and the license plate is designed to be highly reflective for that purpose. If you have a low vehicle with little or no chrome, it is difficult for a laser to detect you. In order to avoid a laser, you should coat your license plate with a high gloss clear coat so as to deflect the beam.

Before using a laser beam, it should be calibrated by using all three of the following methods:

1. The self test button should be used and the resultant should be 8.8.8.8.

2. Pointing the unit at a stationery target should result in a reading of 0 mph.

3. The audio and sight tones should be tested by sweeping across a telephone pole.

In this country, the most commonly used laser detector is the Marksman LTI 20.20. The manufacturer says that they will have a beam width of two feet at a distance of 1300 feet. The accuracy is claimed to be precise within 1 mph up to 60 mph and within 3 % for speeds over 60 mph. This unit does have some downfalls. The Marksman has an unusual distribution of beam intensity which gives you changes in the aiming point. The Marksman can actually detect another vehicle within five feet of the target vehicle. In order to prepare against a laser defense you have to know what the jurisdiction for laser cases is in the area that your citation was issued. There are only a few states that have given laser judicial notice, which basically is a legal ruling that establishes specific evidence as beyond dispute. Radar has judicial notice in every state. If there is no judicial notice entered in the state in which you are appealing your ticket, the prosecutor needs to have an expert witness testifying to the accuracy and reliability of the unit. If that witness is the manufacturers representative you can have him disqualified since his company has a financial interest of that particular case, and he may be impartial. New Jersey Superior Court Judge Reginald Stanton stated in his June 13, 1996 ruling that he was not convinced of the accuracy of the LTI Marksman. He ruled that any readings taken with that unit would not be accepted as evidence in any pending or speeding ticket cases. If the state in which you are appealing your ticket has been awarded judicial notice you might want to review the New Jersey case when you prepare. The rest of the case is very similar in how you would handle a radar defense. Concentrate on the training of the officer, the self test methods and the calibrations of the unit, what the weather conditions were, and the amount of traffic that was traveling at the time the citation was issued. Your best bet still is that the officer does not show up in court. You should however, be properly prepared in case he does.

 

Take it from me, get a lawyer!! Have you found out how many points the careless driving and speeding ticket add up to? Don't know what the laws are in Jersey but depending on what the limit is, you may get your license suspended for a while. That's why its important to get a lawyer. Even if you get to keep your license, you don't want to pay the fine since your insurance will skyrocket and if you get yet another ticket in the near future, you could get your license suspended.

 

I know I have to pay my comeuppance on the speeding. I would like to get the Careless dropped (2 points). If I can get the speeding reduced to 2 points that would be good as well, right now it is 5 (100 in a 650). I can take a class with AAA and get two points off, but it think you can have no more then 4 points for that to work. Also NJM insurance gives a discount for the class.

I always heard that it is better to get a lawyer that knows the court, in this case Woodbridge.

Like you said these cars get up to speed very quick, the trooper just happen to see me in amount of weakness, the temptation is so hard to resist when you get a clear straight run on the highway.

I am very attentive when I drive and always look out for the law and hazards. The last speeding ticket I got was about 7 years ago. Again it was an unmarked crown vic who paced me. That is very sneaky with these un marked cars, they look like all the other livery cars going to the air port.

 

PM sent

 

Go to court, ask the prosecuter if you plead guilty to the speeding if they will drop the careless, 9 out of 10 times they will do it. If they are in a generous mood, they will also drop the speeding to a two point. With one ticket it's likely, with two, it's tough.

Go in prepared in the event you have to fight it anyway. There's a number of books written on speeding. It is tough to beat though.

 

Finding a lawyer is the best. You never know what you might end up with, but it will be better than you started. The 2 point careless should be an easy drop, reducing the 5 point ticket to 2 points might be tough, but who knows.

NJM will send you a letter that sound something like "We know that sometimes we forget to pay attention - DON'T LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN!" well soemthing like that....

I will see where my friends lawyer was located that took care of his ticket.

 

I wasn't aware they were using laser in NJ. How long since they started with it?

 

You need a Valentine One detector

 

I have one although I've heard you don't get enough warning time when it comes to laser.

 

Well you do and you don't. If you are not the car the LEO is aimming at then you have a chance if you are then you get the ticket.

On Sunay I was heading north on the GSP around mile marker 160 and I happen to catch up to a LEO coming on the GSP from a ramp. I slowed and he got in front of me and then took off. About 2 miles up I came around a bend with a group of cars and there he was sitting sideways aimming right at me. Before I knew it the V1 went off for laser and I would have been nabbed if I was not doing the speed limit.

Paying attention to traffic and looking around is just as important as owning a good radar detector.

 

I have a radar/laser detector in my other car. The few times the laser did go off it would have been to late if I was the car it was being aimed at.

Yes, the good thing about NJM is that they don't increase premiums for the occasional ticket.
I believe 12 points and you get a suspension in NJ, so these tickets get me 7. I would be happy to get the 2 points off for the careless and even just 1 point off for the speeding. That would give me 4 points and with the safety class they would drop 2. After one year they will drop 2 if i don't get any more, so in one year I can be back to zero.

The state also charges Point surcharges in addition to the tickets:
$150 for six points
$25 for each additional point

 

PM sent

 

well dont count yourself out. I lived and worked in Warren, NJ and on my motorcycle I got a few tickets one day

1. improper passing
2. reckless driving
3. eluding a police officer

Of course I was not speeding on a bike that does 170+ mph so eluding was just a joke. I mean really if I was eluding don't you think I would have gone above the 40 mph speed limit?

anyway in the end I paid just an ordinance fine - kind of like walking a dog without a leash a big dog because it was $500.00, but thats ok....

 

yeah listen to the guy that has expereince 105mph in what a 40?

 

101 in a 50.

40 would have been reckless.

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Dude send me a PM and I will do my best to send you to a good lawyer who handles moving violations. I'll ask him to do me a favor and give you a solid price.

Just let me know.

Anything I can do to help...whatever you do...DON'T let them stick it to you!!!

 

Welcome to the merry-go-round. It's a tough situation, but there probably isn't a Corvette owner on the planet who hasn't flexed his or her car's muscles at some point. It's just that getting nailed for that twenty seconds of fun really sucks.

My 2.5 Cents Worth:

- Definitely go to court. It's not a slam dunk, but chances are the DA will bargain with you. It's easier for them if they can get you to plead guilty to something. Another reason is that there's a slim chance that the constable won't show up. If that happens, you could be dimissed - but don't count on that. Court day is on their schedule. In some towns they call up the PO, and drag him into court.
- On the day of your appearance, even if you don't go to court with one, at least seek the advice of a local attorney, who knows the traffic court. If you don't know one, go down to the court at some point before your appearance. Get a feel for how things work. See how crowded it is, and what kind of cases they are hearing. See if the DA or the judge is a hard ^ss. Try to hook up with an attorney there, and at least pick his brain.
- You could go to trial. That's your right - but - since you have an otherwise clean record, that whole process of testimony, evidence and cross-examination really isn't worth it. If you were on the verge of getting suspended, I'd say fight to the finish.
- If you have a friend or relative in the law enforcement community, see if you can get them to contact the ticket writer, and ask him to "do the right thing" in their secret language.
- For the future - see if you can get one of those miniature badges, or a PBA donor sticker. Sometimes it helps. Sometimes it doesn't. Always be polite and respectful, but never admit to anything. It also helps if you're cute, and wear a short skirt, but that's a long way to go just to get out of a ticket.

I think you're taking the right approach. I hear people who don't want to take responsiblity for what they did. They want to blame the PO for giving them the ticket.

I'm sure there are enough POs who go out of their way to be hard^sses, but 85% of the time they're just doing their job, and their job is to write tickets. That's how they are evaluated. The Turnpike isn't the Autobahn.

If paying the fine was all there was to it, I'm sure that anyone in your situation would accept that.

The thing that really, really s^cks, and the reason for fighting the ticket, is that because of the points and your insurance premiums, you keeping paying for your mistake after you pay the fine.

That is un-American.

 

This is what it looks like I am looking at right now:

Speeding 5 points $260
Careless 2 points and $85 (since the trooper did not mark in a 65 mph zone on the ticket they said it is not dubbed.

The state of NJ surcharge $175

Total 7 points and $520

This all won't be verified until the tickets get into the courts computers.

My insurance should not go up with NJM, I have had them for 10 years, never had a claim and they did not surcharge me for my ticket 7 years ago.

If I go on my own a plead my case and get the points for the careless dropped then I won't have the state of NJ surcharge. So I will be looking at $260 and 5 points, and maybe a fine for an amending the Careless driving.
I can scout out the court and see how DA and judge are and go it alone and try to save some money. Or play it safe a pay for a lawyer.

I do have a 2005 PBA card, however the State troopers are FOP I belive. I have it right behind my registration and when I took it out I made sure he could see it. However I did not say anything since he said he got me a 100 mph and I know I was going fast. If it would have been 78mph or something like that I would have tried to use it and try to get a break. Remembering this post here it looks like they are on a mission this month so they usually don't give too many breaks during thoses times.
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