Yet Another "i Got Fined And Want To Get Out Of It" Thread

[AzzurrA]

Checked the mail today, and lo-and-behold, there is a letter in the mail from the lovely QLD Police with a nice picture of my car on it, taken by one of their happy-snap vans.

To be honest, i knew it was coming, and was just waiting for it to arrive.... what did surprise me though, was what speed they show me as doing.... i remember seeing the flash go off, and i looked down at the speedo.... i was doing about 10kph less than what they say i was doing... and my speedo is pretty damn accurate (as tested on dyno's etc)...

anyway, i'm not going to whinge that i'm hard-done-by or anything.... there were external influences (i.e. the dickhead in the lane next to me wandering all over the road, nearly causing mass carnage, so wanted to get out of there ASAP) and i had a momentary brain-fart and put the foot down... just so happened that there was a speed camera there... i accept i was speeding etc etc, and that i'm the scum of the earth and a babykiller and blah blah blah as per the media.

As with everyone else though... if you can get out of something, i would like to...

so, what i'm wanting to know, are what criteria are there to contest a speeding fine, especially one from a speed camera.

There are several other cars displayed in the shot, one of them approximately 20m behind me... (the dickhead swerving all over the place)... someone once said to me that if there are other cars visible in the shot, then the photo is inadmissable, as its impossible to prove which car set the camera off? or are they speaking out their arse....?

[Rhinorebel]

Is the other car partly visible or can you see all of it? I think if your car is in any way obscured then you might have a slim chance, but only if the other shots, and there are several taken, show the other car overtaking you in the frame-by-frame.

[Konrad]

unless the car obscures yours at all then its a legit fine. Are you sure your spedo is good? i have 3 spedos in the car (cluster, satnav and my blitz r-vit consult plugin thingo) and they can all read at different levels when accelearting or decelerating. At constant speed they are pretty much similar readings.

[chrissso]

Hey.

I had a similar inident a few years back where I was going 70 in a 60 and got the fine for 80km.

I looked into it and what I got from free leagal advise was that I was speeding anyway, which is not good. I wrote a letter to the traffic office and they just said that the officer setup the camera according to specs, and blah f**king blah. In the end I didn't bother and paid the fine as I didn't really just have the money or time to bother with it. No witnesses either.

What I did find is that they said I was measured using RADAR and when I looked up lissues with radar, there is a heap. For example, if there is a billboard or a truck with a big flat side panel, then the radar can bounce off it and get a reading from somwhere else. There are other issues as well.

This next bit was from five years ago, and could also be a story from the USA.

There was something about "judicial notice" which is something about experiments with the device and all situations where it could possibly be wrong. Apparently, the cameras don't have judicial notice and if you ask them to provide it, they have to ship a bandwagon of scientist to do all the experiments for the case. This is costly and in the end they don't bother and just drop the charge. Also, if they do have judicial notice, there that would make more loopholes for the camera.

So, basiclly, if you have the time and the money, go for it, however, you might find like I did that it's not worth it. Just get your own back some other way!! Terrible but what do they expect when they rip off semi-innocent people - heh heh.

Alternatively, Don't speed ever!

[AzzurrA]

yeah, i 'normally' don't speed much at all, this is like a once-off time, and i just happened to get caught

but like i said, i admit i was speeding, so i will probably just end up paying the $350/6 points

bah

[AzzurrA]

oh, and the other car in the shot is about 20 - 30m behind me (the retard who was driving like a knob)

[chrissso]

$350/6 points for 20 over the limit? Ouch! What State?

[AzzurrA]

never said 20 over the limit...

they 'claim' i was doing 133....

when i saw the flash and looked down, i think i was doing around 120 - 125

[Spook's_Skyline]

yer, pretty much no chance of getting out of it

[Mr-Toy33]

like you always say. there is a time and place for speeding. TAKE IT TO THE TRACK!

[AzzurrA]

haha, yes John...

as i said, there was a guy driving like a tool, and wanted to get out of there ASAP.

unfortunately, there just happened to be a camera there...

oh, btw, when are you getting out to a track to run some REAL times?

[Mr-Toy33]

when the suspension is done in about 3wks time.

front left shock is not in good condition

arms aren't in good condition either.

so pretty much everythin is being replaced to better handle everythin and get some better times.

[GTRgeoff]

Sounds a legitimate gripe to me, no-one likes to be unfairly accused. A number of things you can do but first go here http://www.roadsense.com.au/ and look at harrys site and maybe get his book. You will need to know the type of device they used.

If you admit you were speeding at all then you will likely have no defence, but you can have the speedo calibration checked to see if there is error, then there is the issue of tyre size and inflation pressure which can give a further 6-10% error. Then you can fight on the inherent innacuracies of the equipment. Believe me they are there. I've spent a number of years as a weapons systems engineer dealing with radar and laser systems and they are not always perfect in the real world.

Feel free to contact me for more info. If this goes to court I will be in Brisbane by the time it goes so should be able to offer further assistance. Good luck.

[dangerous_daveo]

Im not 100% sure but if you could prove you were going faster to avoid a potental accident you might get away with it? As the camera doesnt as you 'do you have any reason for speeding' where as the cop on the bike does.

Either way dude technically you have done the right thing. The go pedal can be a safety device at times.

[85URK]

yeah, i 'normally' don't speed much at all, this is like a once-off time, and i just happened to get caught

but like i said, i admit i was speeding, so i will probably just end up paying the $350/6 points

bah

i got the exact same fine, i was doing 112km/h in an 80 zone. i had to take it bcoz i was pulled over by a cop. doh! anyway, u wont see those puppies for another 3 years if u do.

[AlexR34]

Cops are really starting to piss me off, i wasnt pulled over for a whole year in my r34 sedan, i put mags on it and an exhaust and now i get pulled over once a week, and usually at mt cootha, i know mt cootha is a hot spot but f**k sake cant they take my plates or something im getting tired of answering the same questions as is my girlfriend, now we just go to some local park lol.

Sorry to steal thread i have lots of anger

[BAMR33]

The cops in Toowoomba are pretty good compared to what you guys have been saying. Any way story is one late night I was being tailgated by what I thought was just some arsehole in a commodore, so I do the natural thing and boost it away from there (don't know how fast I ended up going, not enough numbers on the speedo) and the car disappears behind me.

Unluckly/lucky for me I get stopped at a red light, the car behind me catches up and almost locks his brakes up to stop, its at this time I see at the well lit intersection thats its an undercover cop. he followed me for a further 200m and finally puts his lights on (me going like 50km/h shitting myself). I get out and talk to him and he says 'I've got a fare idea of how fast you were going back there' and i'm there appologizing and shaking and he says 'It was 100km/h, thats 40km/h over the legal speed limit' he then said aftersome time of giving me a talking to 'things could have been a whole lot worse for you if had not been stopped by the red light, because I have your number plate and the speed you where really going and you would have recieved a phone call early tommorow morning to come down to the station'

so yeah I'm happy that nice cop let me go with a fine for 100 in a 60 and I have learn't my lesson without going to jail yay.

Edited October 15, 2006 by BAMR33

[«Cyph3r»]

Interesting, I got a fine to my suprise in the mail for speeding. I am sure i wasn't speeding as people had flashed their lights at me prior to me coming to the radar trap so i made sure i wasn't even speeding slightly. I would like to know how i can go about arguing my case also as my ticket says i was doing 75 in a 60 and i am really frustrated as i know i wasn't but i am worried i won't be able to get out of the bogus ticket anyway.

[mad082]

instead of using the go fast pedal to get away from a dickhead driver, why not hit the go slow pedal? then you don't have to worry about him coming flying up your arse and slamming you off the road if he tries to overtake you.

[AzzurrA]

him going so slow was one of the problems... driving at 80 - 85kph, in the righthand lane/swerving between the lanes in a 100 zone is a severe traffic hazard