chronic speeder done unfairly

[308gt4]

Well I don't know if any of you guys have ever been done like this but as a chronic speeder (and I admit I was guilty with every one but then I'm a better driver than Schumacher ) I am totally pi$$ed about losing my license doing the following :

returning from flight to Sydney I hop in my cruise controlled car

set speed for 115kph in 110 zone 8 lane highway

sitting in second lane from the left and some guys comes screaming past me (I'm on 2 points so have to be good boy for another 9 months )

fixed camera goes off as guy sped past (this was late at night)

I think to myself "no worries, he's the bad boy and worse case is there will be 2 cars in the photo so will be discarded"

2 weeks later get letter with photo showing my numberplate very clearly and speeding dudes numberplate is one car length ahead and not discernable

I'm given a ticket for 129 in 110 zone and lose 3 points and license because of a camera that can't pick the real speeder

this has had to have happened to others or am I just the unluckiest pratt in the world (rhetorical question)

[kevinday]

Erm, why don't you argue it in court? (with a good solicitor of course)

>> Edited by kevinday on Wednesday 25th September 08:05

[hertsbiker]

If the distance travelled by his car between the 2 photos is greater than the distance travelled by your car... then it is clearly his speed not yours.

Your speed may be calculated by distance/time equation, provided you know the duration between photo's.

Unless it was a one-photo camera, in which case, oops. But I think you could argue it anyway, as 2 vehicles in the shot may indicate device fault.

rgds.

[308gt4]

quote:
Erm, why don't you argue it in court? (with a good solicitor of course)

>> Edited by kevinday on Wednesday 25th September 08:05

Solicitor wanted just under $1,000 and said that they will probably only get the fine reduced so what would be the point of spending $1k to save fine money ???!!

They have changed to laws here over the last 20 years for mongrels like me that bottleneck the courts with these cases so that we are at the stage we can't have radar detectors, we can't question the accuracy of the radar, we can't query the manner of operation of the radar/laser/amphometer/whatever trap that has been set

I suppose this is just karma coming home to roost as I have used the courts to save my license for years and now that all the loopholes are closed I get caught in an unfair situation and have no avenue to fight it on that makes sense

The second plate in the photo is only just barely visible in the dark but mine is very clear

You guys are still able to fight these and have radar detectors but we are just seen as revenue the pollies need for their extravagances and they use the cops to get it.

We actually had one of the dudes who set the speed limits on TV tonight blowing the whistle on the ridiculous speeds set as revenue raising!!! (he got caught in a 70-60-70 zone of speed changes in 200 metres of highway and decided to blow the whistle on over a 1000 such zones set up to generate revenue)

But I think he is only telling us something we motorists across the world already knew

>> Edited by 308gt4 on Wednesday 25th September 10:33

[craigalsop]

In Oz, do the speed cameras flash once or twice? Surely they need to pictures to corroborate the evidence?
You have to fight this one surely?

[madcop]

I would imagine that Oz courts are run on similar lines to ours :resiststhetemptationtogiveareasonwhy!:
If that is the case, then all you have to do is plead not guilty and produce the photograph which must show an element of doubt

If there appear to be two vehicles in the photo, who is the guilty party. Maybe it was both

[308gt4]

quote:
In Oz, do the speed cameras flash once or twice? Surely they need to pictures to corroborate the evidence?
You have to fight this one surely?

The cameras flash once and unlike a normal traffic cop where you could explain the circumstances the camera detection branch don't care if they see another car, they just issue the photo and ticket to the car in the middle of the photo.

I have been caught with several other cars in photos before and fought them only to come off second best (I knew I was speeding at the time but in any other state in Oz if there are 2 cars in the photo it is binned but in Qld they give it to the guy in the middle of the photo!)

However in this case I wasn't speeding and got someone else's ticket

A good solicitor costs over $1k per day in court and the amount of fines I get I might as well hand the briefs my pay packet

I've been driving like this for over 30 years but have never had an accident or been caught for any seriously high speeds, just the usual 15-25kph over the limit.
Even on cruise control I set it for 5-10 over

[308gt4]

quote:
I would imagine that Oz courts are run on similar lines to ours :resiststhetemptationtogiveareasonwhy!:
If that is the case, then all you have to do is plead not guilty and produce the photograph which must show an element of doubt

If there appear to be two vehicles in the photo, who is the guilty party. Maybe it was both

it is true you can plead not guilty and produce the photo but they say the narrow spread of the beam is triggered by the car in the middle of the photo (bullsh*t) and if you start to explain how this could not be completely true you are considered a smartar$e and depending on the beak you could have the fine increased as well as wearing the court and solicitors costs.

and maybe it wasn't me for a change ! honest injun