Autoblog: REPORT: Parents of teen with speeding ticket fighting citation with personal GPS data

A7XFan22

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Interesting read...

It seems as though there may just be a positive side to those unwelcome GPS-based vehicle tracking devices... especially if you are a teenager. Shaun Malone, a 17-year-old California resident, was cited by radar-yielding authorities for driving 62 mph in a 45 mph zone in 2007. Faced with a $194 fine (and some inflating insurance premiums), Shaun's parents fought back arguing their son's vehicle was equipped with a satellite-based tracking device that monitored Shaun's speed ? and it showed he was doing 45 mph when he was stopped.

While they can be affected by poor reception or noise in the radio signal, GPS-based speedometers are generally considered the benchmark for measuring velocity. On the other hand, radar measurements are also considered very accurate, as long as the human at the other end of the device is correctly trained and is tracking the proper vehicle. At stake is the credibility of radar. As Doppler-based speed enforcement has become a primary source of revenue for law enforcement agencies nationwide, police don't want their technology challenged. With that in mind, the local Petaluma police have spent a reported $15,000 on the trial. The case is to be decided in the coming weeks.
 
1. Need sauce.
2. How have we come to policing based on revenue and not public safety?
 
This is a very interesting coincidence... When I was 18 I was driving back from my friend's house at around 1:30 in the morning in the town I'm from, Danville, which is in the Bay Area in California...

I had my cruise control set to 45 mph (the speed limit), because there is nothing to do for the cops in this town than to hand out speeding tickets and try and find drunk drivers. I had just recently passed one of those "Your speed is" signs which confirmed my speed to be 45... when less than a minute later a cop drove past me going the opposite way, immediately switched on his lights, pulled a u-turn, and then pulled me over.

When I asked him what was wrong he asked me if I had anywhere to be in a hurry. I said no, I was going the speed limit. He then said he clocked me at (here's the coincidence).. 62 miles per hour in a 45 zone.

I said that is impossible officer. I've had my cruise control set to 45 since I turned onto this road and the radar sign just around half a mile back also confirmed my speed and I have not taken the car out of cruise control.

He said again he clocked me going 62 and once more I said that I was sorry, that simply was just not possible.

He then asked me if that was tobacco he smelled and I said yes, my friend and I just smoked our tobacco pipes in his backyard, and then proceeded to show the officer that yes...here it is I have nothing to hide.

He quickly said he didn't need to see it, then stated that radar often malfunctions and that's probably just what happened...and to have a good night.

I pulled away and after thinking about it came to the conclusion that he never clocked me doing anything (my radar detector didn't even go off, and I have a Valentine 1 which I've come to find is very accurate), but he simply made up a story about getting my speed so he could pull me over to see if I was drunk or not.

Never followed me, never saw me doing anything illegal... just passed me on the road and decided to pull me over to see if I had been drinking when there was no reason for him to suspect that.

It's very possible the same thing happened to this kid. Petaluma is also in Northern California and maybe the mentality of the local PD is the same. Perhaps he just didn't handle himself the same way I did and was therefore slapped with a speeding ticket. I'm sure if all I said was "I'm sorry officer I didn't realize I was going 62 mph" I would have gotten a ticket as well.

It really is bollocks.
 
The one thing that everyone should know when they get pulled over and the cop says "I clocked you doing xx mph and this zone is xx mph" and you know it's wrong, ask to see the reading or ask when was the last time the reader was calibrated. Usually this will piss them off as they don't like to be challenged, but they have to show you proof.
 
I am pulling for the parents here...
 
My satnav shows the maximum speed on the current trip, so if you get pulled over for doing some huge amount of speeding that may be another option to show quickly on the spot.

This probably is a moot point in Germany, but could work in the nanny states with speed limits.
 
^ My satnav shows a top speed of 202mph because it lost signal going into a tunnel and picked it up again on the other end. So my Civic isn't as good as a Veyron, but it's better than whatever you drive!

The one thing that everyone should know when they get pulled over and the cop says "I clocked you doing xx mph and this zone is xx mph" and you know it's wrong, ask to see the reading or ask when was the last time the reader was calibrated. Usually this will piss them off as they don't like to be challenged, but they have to show you proof.

That depends on the state. Many states don't require an officer to show you the gun readout.
 
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I'm sort of impressed the parents are going to bat for the kid like this. Most would just give the kid a serious dressing down and let the consequences fall where they lay.
 
I'm sort of impressed the parents are going to bat for the kid like this. Most would just give the kid a serious dressing down and let the consequences fall where they lay.

Either:
A) The parents pay the insurance and don't want to pay out for this
B) They have a great relationship with their kid
C) They are over-protective parents who would never believe their little snowflake ever did any wrong.

I'm leaning towards B, given the GPS data and my past experience with cops.
 
This is a very interesting coincidence... When I was 18 I was driving back from my friend's house at around 1:30 in the morning in the town I'm from, Danville, which is in the Bay Area in California...

I had my cruise control set to 45 mph (the speed limit), because there is nothing to do for the cops in this town than to hand out speeding tickets and try and find drunk drivers. I had just recently passed one of those "Your speed is" signs which confirmed my speed to be 45... when less than a minute later a cop drove past me going the opposite way, immediately switched on his lights, pulled a u-turn, and then pulled me over.

When I asked him what was wrong he asked me if I had anywhere to be in a hurry. I said no, I was going the speed limit. He then said he clocked me at (here's the coincidence).. 62 miles per hour in a 45 zone.

I said that is impossible officer. I've had my cruise control set to 45 since I turned onto this road and the radar sign just around half a mile back also confirmed my speed and I have not taken the car out of cruise control.

He said again he clocked me going 62 and once more I said that I was sorry, that simply was just not possible.

He then asked me if that was tobacco he smelled and I said yes, my friend and I just smoked our tobacco pipes in his backyard, and then proceeded to show the officer that yes...here it is I have nothing to hide.

He quickly said he didn't need to see it, then stated that radar often malfunctions and that's probably just what happened...and to have a good night.

I pulled away and after thinking about it came to the conclusion that he never clocked me doing anything (my radar detector didn't even go off, and I have a Valentine 1 which I've come to find is very accurate), but he simply made up a story about getting my speed so he could pull me over to see if I was drunk or not.

Never followed me, never saw me doing anything illegal... just passed me on the road and decided to pull me over to see if I had been drinking when there was no reason for him to suspect that.

It's very possible the same thing happened to this kid. Petaluma is also in Northern California and maybe the mentality of the local PD is the same. Perhaps he just didn't handle himself the same way I did and was therefore slapped with a speeding ticket. I'm sure if all I said was "I'm sorry officer I didn't realize I was going 62 mph" I would have gotten a ticket as well.

It really is bollocks.

Almost the exact same thing happened when I was driving home from a 4wheeling trip in my Toyota. No cruise control though, but those speed signs are everywhere, so I know my speedometer is accurate. Was doing 50mph on the dot in a 50 zone and he drove the opposite direction, flipped a bitch, and put on his lights. Said he clocked me doing 65... then 58 a minute later. <_< Let me off with a warning... and told me to get mudflaps. :lol:

Drove almost all the way home doing 10mph under the posted speed limit, paranoid that maybe I knocked my speedometer off during the weekend. But after holding up tons of traffic I decided the cop was full of shit.
 
motogpboy, smells like bacon. Did you report that officer for stopping you without just cause?
 
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Either:
A) The parents pay the insurance and don't want to pay out for this
B) They have a great relationship with their kid
C) They are over-protective parents who would never believe their little snowflake ever did any wrong.

I'm leaning towards B, given the GPS data and my past experience with cops.

I did think about all 3 options, but I decided I wanted to believe it was B. Might as well assume the best of people right? Kids are wrong a lot but there is NOTHING that makes me more angry than adults, especially in positions of power, being rude/belittling just because the person is younger ya know. Anyway, I like making up my own fairy tales, so B it is.
 
motogpboy, smells like bacon. Did you report that officer for stopping you without just cause?

Was 18 at the time...Wasn't even thinking about it haha. Just happy not to get a ticket back then.
 
Either:
A) The parents pay the insurance and don't want to pay out for this
B) They have a great relationship with their kid
C) They are over-protective parents who would never believe their little snowflake ever did any wrong.

I'm leaning towards B, given the GPS data and my past experience with cops.



Or
d) Parents listen to the kid and aren't sure so they punch it up and the GPS verifies the kid's story.
 
We had a similar case where i live last winter. Some guy was driving home on a 70km/h road, when he passed a 50 sign that had been snowed over, so he couldn't see what the sign said. Then he was pulled over for doing 85km/h on a 50km/h road, but he used his GPS to prove that he was only doing 68km/h. And they reduced his ticket even more because of the snowstorm and the snowed over sign...
 
We had a similar case where i live last winter. Some guy was driving home on a 70km/h road, when he passed a 50 sign that had been snowed over, so he couldn't see what the sign said. Then he was pulled over for doing 85km/h on a 50km/h road, but he used his GPS to prove that he was only doing 68km/h. And they reduced his ticket even more because of the snowstorm and the snowed over sign...

things like that tend to be hard to prove. in that case he was really lucky they believed him about that sign! usually it would take way too long for everything to get sorted out so nobody would be able to prove the sign was unreadable or something :? it's all so stupid :mad:
 
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