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Re: Caught Speeding!



In article <3p0ba5$q65@hpscit.sc.hp.com>, Ken Lui <klui@corp.hp.com> wrote:
>In article <3p03kf$sd6@gap.cco.caltech.edu>,
>Bryan Chow <bryan@yanomamo.scp.caltech.edu> wrote:
>> And you cannot be ticketed solely by a machine in California.
>
>Are you sure about this?  A friend of mine got ticketed by a
>photo radar device in some backroad.  Sent the ticket to his
>house along with a picture of his license plate with the
>indicated speed.

I'm not sure.  But this (from the WWW Speedtrap Registry at
http://www.nashville.net/speedtrap/california.html) might help:

The following information comes from my copy of the January 1993
California Vehicle Code (CVC), which I purchased at my local DMV for
$3.00.

These sections of the CVC relate directly to the use of "speed traps" within California: 

40801 Speed Trap Prohibition
40802 Definition of a Speed Trap
40803 Speed Trap Evidence
40804 Testimony Based on Speed Trap
40805 Admission of Speed Trap Evidence
40808 Speed Trap Evidense

Here are the most important paragraphs: 

40801: No peace officer or other person shall use a speed trap in
arresting, or participating or assisting in the arrest of, any person
for any alleged violation of this code nor shall any speed trap be
used in securing evidence as to the speed of any vehicle for the
purpose of an arrest or prosecution under this code.

40802 A "speed trap" is either of the following: (a) A particular
section of a highway measured as to distance and with boundaries
marked, designated, or otherwise determined in order that the speed of
a vehicle may be calculated by securing the time it takes the vehicle
to travel the known distance.

This means that "airplane surveillance" tickets are illegal in
California, unless the arresting officer paces your vehicle to
determine your speed. I received two such tickets (in 1990 and 1992)
and contested them. In both cases it was not necessary for me to say
anything -- the judge asked the arresting officer if this case was
related to airplane surveillance, and the charges were dismissed "in
the interest of justice."

Why does the California Highway Patrol continue with airplane
surveillance? Because most people don't know the law and just send in
their fine, and because many drivers *are* paced, not realizing that a
CHP cruiser has pulled in behind them.

CHP officers do know the law. One officer laughed when he told me "The
airplane gotcha." His demeanor changed when I asked if he had read
section 40801, and if he had used something other than a speed trap to
determine my speed. He said "I'm just the gofer. I have to give you
the ticket anyway."

Section 40802(b): defines where "radar or other electronic devices"
can be used to determine speed -- in essence, either on "local streets
and roads" or on highways where a traffic survey has been conducted
within the last five years. I find that California police are very
familiar with this law, and with the local traffic surveys. I
contested a radar ticket several years ago, and found that I was on a
stretch that had recently been surveyed. If I had been two miles
further I would have beaten the ticket.


References: