How To Fight A Radar (or Laser) Speeding Ticket
Having your speed clocked above the speed limit doesn’t mean that you’re going to get punished in court. Fight the RADAR detector and technology, and if you win, you can and have your record cleared. Prepare before your court date, so you only have to show up, confident and relaxed. You really want to avoid a guilty because speeding tickets can increase your insurance premiums, so the extra work to win the court case is well worth the effort. Always be polite to the judge and police officers, no matter the outcome of your case. But know in advance, there’s probably at least a 50 50 chance of winning. Part of this relates to the severity of the amount of speed, and hence the amount of a fine and the amount the court or jurisdiction would collect.
Here’s how… and remember, you are fighting the technology and not the individual.
The first thing is to know the approach. Officers have been shot in routine pull overs. The proper thing to do is to be seated in your car, window down, both hands visible on the steering wheel. If you have time before the officer approaches, have your drivers license, vehicle registration, and in states where applicable, your proof of insurance documents all out.
1. Ask the officer if you can see the RADAR readout before you leave where you were pulled over where you were pulled over. The officer doesn’t have to agree to this. Don’t be upset if he doesn’t. Write down the number on the readout once you’re back in your vehicle. The readout may be digital and probably does not have a printed version, so don’t necessarily expect it. Also, you are probably seated in your car. Knowledge is part of How To Fight A Radar (or Laser) Speeding Ticket. Application is another part and it begins with humility and politeness. NEVER BE ARGUMENTATIVE!
2. Submit a discovery subpoena to the clerk of court, asking to see the RADAR repair and calibration logs, manual, the tuning fork certificate of accuracy, calibration and repair logs, the arresting officer’s arrest record for the day you were pulled over and three months before that, RADAR training record and certification and daily log for the date of the offense. Also ask to receive the calibration and repair logs for the vehicle the police officer was driving when you were pulled over. This is also true of laser speed measuring devices and we use “radar” somewhat as a generic speed measuring term. There is a proper way to do this and an amateur way. It is best if you can retain an attorney to do this for you. Some people report that this is a service of one of the prepaid legal services that are available. While the writer makes no guarantees nor suggests that a membership in an organization of this type would be done with the intent you have to speed, you also need to know that speeding tickets and speed traps are common and a good defense plan set up ahead never hurts. You really should know well in advance How To Fight Radar Speeding tickets even if you never intend to speed.
You may not be granted access to all this information. If they will not let you see it, go to your hearing and make a motion to dismiss, saying that you weren’t able to create a defense without these records. Again, while you could technically do this on your own, it’s most advisable to have an attorney represent you, particularly if your alleged violation could result in both a substantial fine and points added to your license which translate to increase car insurance premims. You should also politely ask what the prosecution is trying to hide by denying you access to this information… but beware of this because it can sound very accusative and negative. Best to ask your attorney to make this request or statement.
3. make a note of when the RADAR unit was calibrated. If it wasn’t directly before and after your speed was clocked, you may be able to argue that it malfunctioned. FCC guidelines state that RADAR machines must be calibrated only at the beginning and end of every shift. Court cases New York vs. Stuck and Connecticut vs. Tomanelli both ruled that calibration should take place immediately before and after citations are issued. As laws change and this was accurate in the writer’s state at the time of publishing, laws differ in each state. Do your research, or if you retain an attorney, they probably (or should) know the law.
4. Write down the repair dates for all equipment. If they’re frequent, you can argue the unit often has problems. If they’re rare, argue that it hasn’t been maintained well enough. Remember, you are arguing technology. Also, know that with reduced budgets, often maintenance or documentation (because of shortages of people) get delayed. On the other hand, if the jurisdiction you are being cited in depends heavily on speed ticket revenue, know as well that you may see well calibrated and documented devices.
5. Check to be sure that the officer who wrote your citation has completed 24 hours of classroom training and 16 hours of supervised field training or all of the training required both by the state and the local juristiction. The National Traffic and Highway Safety Administration sets these standards. You can argue that the operator wasn’t qualified if she hasn’t met these requirements. Again, know your material well before you open your mouth for an argument. And again, best to let your attorney make this challenge for you.
6. be promt to be at your hearing and argue your case based on any inaccuracies in the RADAR and tuning calibration and repair logs and the officer’s training record. Say that you were driving carefully and that you feel the ticket was unjust…unless of course this is a blatant lie. While nearly everyone speeds at some time, NEVER ADMIT guilt. An awareness of a reduced speed zone (speed trap) is not a defense, but a truly inadequately marked speed limit near where you were pulled over is. Be polite and produce copies of required documentation when requested. You can appeal if the court doesn’t find in your favor.
While we do not condone anyone to speed, the writer hopes that this article on How To Fight A Radar (or Laser) Speeding Ticket has been useful, particularly if you were caught in an intentional speed trap or other technical device such as a red light camera. More information can be found HERE. And lastly, we did not mention VASCAR. Sorry, there’s not much of a way to fight that.
The technology of speed radar detection had changed dramatically from the early days when there was on “noisy” band and a “fixed” location the police set up, to now having hand held “almost instantaneous” signals. On and off before you have any warning or can react, unless you can pick it up at a great distance when some other car is being “shot”. Multiple and changing frequencies, or “bands” are being used, so if you have a detector that was “state of the art” five or more years ago, you may as well take it home and use it as a paper weight or put it in your vintage car in the collection you have.