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  1. #1
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    Apr 2013
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    Default Aircraft Issued Speeding Ticket in Maine with Wrong MPH

    My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: Maine
    Hi,
    I was pulled over yesterday going northbound on I-95. I was going 78 in a 65mph zone. When I was pulled over the officer said that the Aircraft said I was going 87! It was extremely windy with wind gusts up to 30-40mph at times. The State police were in a suburban pulled behind me and issued the ticket. He didn't circle what my offense descriptions were except that alleged 87mph/ legal 65mph and 215.00. The type of detection, title, and section were not noted and left blank. I did call the State police office because his troop number was scribbled to see how to obtain the notes. I was told well we don't take notes and how can the pilot take notes when he is flying the plane, trying to radar vehicles? She just said send it in as your contesting it and the pilot, 2 other officers will show up to court with the radar findings of your speed. I'm not sure what to do on this. I know I wasn't going 87mph as my children were in the car! Any help would be great thank you.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Aircraft Issued Speeding Ticket in Maine with Wrong MPH

    Apparently you would be guilty of the same infraction for any speed within 30 miles over the limit.

    See 29-A Section 2074 3-A:

    "Minimum fine. A person who operates a motor vehicle on the Maine Turnpike or the Interstate Highway System at a speed that exceeds the posted speed of 65 miles per hour or of 75 miles per hour on the Interstate Highway System from the City of Old Town to the Town of Houlton by less than 30 miles per hour commits a traffic infraction punishable by a fine of not less than $50."

    http://law.justia.com/codes/maine/20...9/section2074/

    You admitted to 78. You were already endangering your children at that speed.

    Besides, if you go to court the judge will believe the officers anyway.

    If traffic school is an option, take it.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Aircraft Issued Speeding Ticket in Maine with Wrong MPH

    Quote Quoting Serha32
    View Post
    My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: Maine
    Hi,
    I was pulled over yesterday going northbound on I-95. I was going 78 in a 65mph zone. When I was pulled over the officer said that the Aircraft said I was going 87! It was extremely windy with wind gusts up to 30-40mph at times. The State police were in a suburban pulled behind me and issued the ticket. He didn't circle what my offense descriptions were except that alleged 87mph/ legal 65mph and 215.00. The type of detection, title, and section were not noted and left blank. I did call the State police office because his troop number was scribbled to see how to obtain the notes. I was told well we don't take notes and how can the pilot take notes when he is flying the plane, trying to radar vehicles? She just said send it in as your contesting it and the pilot, 2 other officers will show up to court with the radar findings of your speed. I'm not sure what to do on this. I know I wasn't going 87mph as my children were in the car! Any help would be great thank you.
    MRS 2075(4).

    .....
    Speed measurement. The results of a measurement of the following instruments must be accepted as prima facie evidence of the speed of a motor vehicle in a criminal or traffic infraction proceeding:

    A. Radar; [1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]

    B. An electronic device that measures speed by radiomicrowaves, laser or otherwise; or [1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]

    C. A device that measures, in any sequence, a selected distance traversed by a motor vehicle operated by the law enforcement officer and the time required by another motor vehicle to traverse that same distance, and computes therefrom the average speed of the other vehicle. [1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
    [ 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF) .]

    In other words, the decision of whether to believe your testimony or that of the officer in cases where Radar was used, is not up to the discretion of the court... The court MUST accept the officer's speed measurement. The burden would then shift to you to prove otherwise by preponderance of the evidence. "I know I wasn't going that fast" isn't going to cut it.




    Quote Quoting adjusterjack
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    Apparently you would be guilty of the same infraction for any speed within 30 miles over the limit.

    See 29-A Section 2074 3-A:

    "Minimum fine. A person who operates a motor vehicle on the Maine Turnpike or the Interstate Highway System at a speed that exceeds the posted speed of 65 miles per hour or of 75 miles per hour on the Interstate Highway System from the City of Old Town to the Town of Houlton by less than 30 miles per hour commits a traffic infraction punishable by a fine of not less than $50."

    http://law.justia.com/codes/maine/20...9/section2074/

    You admitted to 78. You were already endangering your children at that speed.

    Besides, if you go to court the judge will believe the officers anyway.

    If traffic school is an option, take it.
    I think if the fine as indicated in the OP is $215 then OP was charged with MRS-2073 instead of MRS-2074, and if that is the case, and while what you posted indicated the "minimum fine", I think the OP's point is that the fine amounts vary for different speeds. Which, according to page 10 of THIS schedule, it would have been $137 for 78 in 65... versus what is the same as what is indicated above, $215 for 87 mph in 65, for a difference of $78...

    No point in arguing it though... It seems the 87 in 65 is pretty much, "written in stone"!

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Aircraft Issued Speeding Ticket in Maine with Wrong MPH

    Thank you for your input. I was told after I called the state police that its a mathmatical calculation they use by distance between to points. I was also told that because of the wind that day the speeds may have varied 5-10mph. There was no reports written. My ticket only says the speed, not the charge or law that was broken. There were several cars pulled over at the same time. I believe it was an error on their part. Also I was not going 30 over the speed limit I was going 13 that is huge difference.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Aircraft Issued Speeding Ticket in Maine with Wrong MPH

    Quote Quoting Serha32
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    Thank you for your input. I was told after I called the state police that its a mathmatical calculation they use by distance between to points.
    In your first post, you indicated that you were told this:

    Quote Quoting Serha32
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    I was told well we don't take notes and how can the pilot take notes when he is flying the plane, trying to radar vehicles?
    Whether that (Radar) was the method used to determine your speed or whether it was, as you describe now, a method more commonly known as VASCAR, either speed readings would be admissible, either would represent factual evidence of your guilt and Neither would be disqualified simply based on your claim that you weren't going at that speed. (Read paragraph 4 from MRS 2075 under the "Speed measurement" heading).

    Quote Quoting Serha32
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    I was also told that because of the wind that day the speeds may have varied 5-10mph.
    Even if wind could impact a vehicle speed by any measurable amount, in your case, and particularly at the moment the officer clocked your speed, were you under the affect of a tail wind a head wind (thereby increasing your speed by some margin), were you under a head wind (thereby increasing your speed by some margin) or was it some other angular wind velocity which would prove virtually impossible to estimate?

    Quote Quoting Serha32
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    My ticket only says the speed, not the charge or law that was broken.
    The description of the violation on the charging document must be simple enough to provide you with a description of the charge thereby allowing you the opportunity to establish whether or not you might have a viable defense as well as provide the court with enough information to establish that there is indeed a law that was violated.

    OK, so you were given a ticket that indicates "speed" as a description of the charge; you know for as fact that the maximum speed limit is 65mph, and your speed is described on the ticket as being 87 mph.... Are you saying you are still confused as to what act or prohibition you were cited in violation of?

    It is understandable that you would be frustrated because you were cited, it isn't uncommon for someone to allege that they were cited for the wrong speed. And yet for those same people, the one thing they have in common is that they could not present any sort of evidence that would have even a slight chance of disproving the charge.

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