So the other night, we decided after shopping at Costco to grab dinner down the road. I drove down the a 4 lane divided country highway that was 55 mph. There was a police car on the side of the road. Instinctively, I tap my brake and check my speed. I was not speeding and had lowered to 45 mph. To my surprise, he pulls out behind me and pulled me over. My initial thought was, maybe I have a brake light out or something. The deputy comes up and said he got me going 71 in a 55 mph. THERE WAS NO WAY IN HELL I WAS AT THAT SPEED. I have sped in my youth and I have always copped to the speeding violation if I was caught. He said it was because I was the only car.

Even my wife and my son could not believe we were going 71. Now, I have an app on my phone for insurance purposes. It tracks speeding and would show in my trip anytime I exceed the speed limit by 9 mph. It also would show if I had hard braking. He came back and gave me the ticket. Told me he dropped it to 68 mph(it actually said I clocked at the higher speed). By this time, the trip showed up on the phone. But he had written it already and I knew it wasn't the place to argue with him.

Afterward, all 3 of us checked our phones. My son's phone and I showed I didn't not speed during that time. My wife didn't either but in fact, because she was on her phone as she was a passenger, it logged her as being on her phone but us going 54 mph at that time. I would have had to floor my car to reach up to 71 in that short time.

My court date isn't until 5/1. But I plan on contesting this with the information on the phone showing it. I read online someone suggesting to stick with the fact I wasn't speeding that here are the fact. To not try to elaborate the situation or figure out why the cop said I did(may he was wrong, equipment malfunction, he was hallucinating, whatever).

If I was speeding, I have no problem just paying it. Don't do the crime if you don't want to do the time?

But I truly think he made a boo boo and got someone else.

Anyone want to jump in and tell me I am nuts for doing this or explain the downside to going to court?

I don't think you are nuts. If you weren't speeding you don't deserve a ticket. Let us know how it goes please.

What little shithole Georgia city were you in?
I got stopped in Fairmont a few years ago and I wasn't speeding either. Said I was 55 in a 35.
Well I was 35 in the 35.
I tried to contest it at the temporary trailer they had for a courthouse but they were having nothing of it. Over $300 fine. No points if I pled.
Criminals.

Shakedown by the world's largest criminal organization.
Pay them their protection money or they throw you in a cage and steal your shit.

How does the App store information? Is it forensically stored and retrievable? I would consider contacting the sheriff with the information at your disposal. Involve your insurance company if they are the ones tracking your driving behavior. Be very polite. Don’t be surprised if the sheriff doesn’t bite but it’s worth a try. It seems that if your information is solid and data cannot be manipulated, you have a strong chance of beating it.

Pay the ticket if it is small town Georgia. The Judge is likely in on the scheme.

Don’t let them bully you into to confessing to a false crime, take it to court for sure.

I swear in some of these southern states it’s a complete racket. VA used to be bad for people out of state like me.

it's $20 for every mile over here in Florida and the revenuers are out in force, talk about a shakedown. while the illegal criminals roam free stealing hard working peoples stuff.

Go to court and take your exculpatory information with you. Around here, you often get to discuss it with the police officer right there in court before the Judge saunters in. If it's not an actual racket, the officer is likely to just let it go.

I am trying to remember exactly how this works, but I seem to recall you need to request the calibration and certification of the radar gun and police officer using it. You need to do this at least 30 days before the court date. If they do not provide it I believe you can use it in your defense in court since they have to prove they are in compliance. Better yet device has not been calibrated or officer does not have current training. I am sure someone here will be able to know if this helps or works.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:

That's pretty much US59 between Houston & NE TX.

It's Coweta County. Newnan is the main city along with Senoia. There are speed traps everywhere. That is why I don't speed around here. In fact, I put in my Waze to beep everytime I exceed the speed limit. He didn't say he clocked me. He said his radar picked up 71 mph and 'I' was the only car he saw on the road. Frankly, I think he hesitated when I showed him the app that showed no speeding during my trip. Court date isn't until May 1st. I screen shot and printed off my app, my son's app, and my wife's app showing the trip right before. I am working with my carrier to get details about its notification and bringing this to court. Here are the snapshot. Sorry for the size...I cannot seem to get IMGUR to reduce the size on the program. Any tips would be appreciated.

Cell phone tech is frickin’ amazing, isn’t it?!
I hope that helps you win your case.

Can you contact the d.a. with all your evidence and they might dismiss it , just to clear their backlog?

In Chicago you go to court and pray the cop is a no show. Happened a lot.

quote:

Originally posted by Beanhead:
But I truly think he made a boo boo and got someone else.

Very possible.
I had an instructor a long time ago explain how he screwed up. He was parked in the middle of a divided highway a bit back from a big highway sign. After nailing several people for speeding who were adamant they weren't, he realized the spot he chose had the sign bouncing radar back behind him clocking vehicles on the other side.

Welcome to my experience with police for "touching the fog line" and my dash camera showed no such thing.

I have a gps assisted dash cam. It displays speed and time. If I were so inclined, I could defend that charge.

Don't buckle, go to court and present your case. Step one send a letter CMRR to the police agency and the DAs office and state you want a "Litigation Hold" on the device used to check speeding. Ask for the devices calibration for accurarcy to determine if it was within the acceptable dates. There may be a state administrative rule that sets those dates. If the device is not within compliance before the trail begins make a motion in limine to keep that data out and prohibit the officer from mentioning it and any results. Go to court with your phone data. If you can transfer the data to a format to be played on a lap top screen it would make the presentation easier to undestand. Dress respectfully but don't look rich. If the police officer testifies ask him/her only leading questions. Have a short and clean opening statement / closing argument. At the end of the states's case make a motion to dismss. Good luck, beating a ticket can be done. No matter what hold you head up high and be respectful.