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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    3

    Default Radar Trap Laws in Minnesota

    My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: Minnesota

    This morning I was driving on a street known for it's speed traps - and sure enough the local police had one set up.

    This occurred on a 4 lane road - officer was on the southbound side of the street - in a driveway - I was going northbound in the far right lane.

    Speed limit is 35 - I was going right around that - maybe a little faster

    There was a car in the left lane - passing me - so he / she must have been doing 45-50 (the limit goes up to 45 about 1/4 mile from where the cop was)

    I see the cop and tap my brakes - which makes the guy passing me look like he's going even faster.

    The cop doesn't light up right away - there were several cars going southbound - blocking him.

    As I continue on the road - careful to stay at or below posted - I see the cop in my RV mirror - with lights on - at this point he is in right lane (my lane)... I slow down and he whips around me - and turns lights off. The car that was passing me when we passed the trap is now visible 1/2 mile ahead. Cop speeds up - doesn't motion or wave to me - and tails the other vehicle. After about 30 seconds of following - he lights up and pulls him over... I catch up to them (cop is getting out of car at this point, and pull into left lane - slow down and pass (per MN Law) -

    Question - If the officer had me - he would have either a) pulled me over when he had me or b) motioned for me to pull over as I passed - right?

    Question 2 - Can he send a ticket in the mail in MN?

    My assumption is that he had to wait for traffic to clear before he could come across the road, and that he was going to get someone, but as he got close to me - he saw the other vehicle still on the road - and went for him/her because he had a better case and that vehicle didn't try to slow at all.


    Thanks for reading this long post and any answers...

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Behind a Desk
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    98,846

    Default Re: Radar Trap Laws in Minnesota

    The officer may have been running your plates when he tailed you. There's no requirement that the officer pull you over at the earliest possible moment. It sounds like he merely wanted you out of his way so he could pull over the other vehicle. If he didn't pull you over, odds are you're not getting a ticket.

    Getting caught speeding on radar doesn't automatically mean you're dealing with a "radar trap" or "speed trap", and California-type "speed trap" laws are pretty unique (if you were hoping your state has something equivalent.)

    I'm not going to research the question of whether you could theoretically get a ticket by mail. I expect so, but i also don't expect that to happen - unless you're pulled over or confess to be the driver, even if the officer were inclined to issue a ticket it would typically be a tough case for the prosecution. You can look for yourself in the state statutes, here, to see if any restriction exist.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Tacoma, WA
    Posts
    1,534

    Default Re: Radar Trap Laws in Minnesota

    I agree that it is pretty unlikely that you are going to get a ticket (and everything else Mr. Knowitall says above about the cop's actions). Sending you a ticket in the mail in this scenario would be pretty much unwinalbe for the state (unless your municipality is prone to just send out tickets knowing that a percentage of people will just pay rather than deal with the hassle of fighting it...a pretty sh&tty way of doing business in my opinion, but I've heard reasonably reliable reports of it happening). Your scenario is not like a photo radar or intersection ticket (where there is photo evidence of you driving at the time of the infraction). So, without pulling you over, there is no way for the officer to state that it was YOU that was driving your vehicle when he clocked the vehicle speeding (if in fact he even did).

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