Results 1 to 2 of 2
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
    Posts
    28

    Unhappy How Can I Beat a Ticket from an Aircraft and Simple Stopwatch

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

    Hey guys, Nothing you all havent seen before but yet here I am lol...

    Central Florida I-4 Disney area the 417 Access road that runs parallel to the interstate is about 3-4 lanes and seems to simply be a speed trap. Not sure if speed traps are legal but the Speed limit drops from 65-70 to 45mph briefly before climbing back up to 55mph. Which in my opinion as a Firefighter is extremely unsafe given that traffic behind you is subject to the sudden 25mph drop in speed of the vehicles infront of them.

    None the less I was accused of doing 72 in the 55. Unmarked Trooper was waiting for me where they ALWAYS wait. Aircraft got me with a stop watch ( i did not admit to knowing my speed because I really didnt. Officer said they were ticketing drivers because it was 4th of July Weekend (July 2nd). Normal traffic patterns everyday are simply people doing normal interstate speeds 65-70 who get off on the access road (not a ramp) and maintain the normal safe interstate speed briefly before slowing down. This is where the FHP Aircraft flies above you and times your pace.

    They accuse me of 72mph
    1. How Accurate is the Officers reaction time given the avg reaction human reaction time is 1/4 second X a factor of 2 here (Start and Stop)
    2. Weather Conditions during flight that could have hindered readings
    3. aircraft speed and its relative location to my vehicle which can visually impair or create opticle illusions to where my truck really is in relation to the lines (Perception)
    4. How many other vehicles was he Clocking at that time?

    I have been attempting to obtain the states evidence of my infraction (motion of discovery) but all they said they had was the ticket itself. How is that proof? I can bring in a piece of paper that says I was doing 55 lol... I mean What the hell!

    How can I fight this it just seems sketchy and BS! I see them everyday targeting normal drivers... I wasnt doing 80-90-100 MPH I was traveling at a Safe and Reasonable highway speed on a section of highway lol


    Any advice? I have called the courthouse several times and nobody can help me or point me in the right direction for a Motion of Discovery... How can I beat this?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Posts
    8,238

    Default Re: How Can I Beat a Ticket from and Aircraft and Simple Stopwatch

    I haven’t seen your motion and thus do not know how good it was. It may be that there just isn’t anything beyond the ticket in the prosecutor’s possession. The officer that determined the speed from the aircraft should be at the hearing to testify about how he/she determined your speed and the officer that gave you the ticket should also be there to identify you as the driver of the car that the aircraft officer identified as the speeder. You have the right to cross-examine the witnesses to try to expose weaknesses in the state’s case. But if you are unfamiliar with speeding cases and with cross-examination you might fail to do what you need to do to make a good defense.

    The human reaction time is probably an insignificant factor. Assuming the same reaction time for the start and the stop on the watch you would still get an accurate determination of the time over the distance as the reaction times would in effect cancel each other out.

    As for weather conditions, what were they like that day? It simply has to be clear enough for the officer to see the car as it travels that marked section of road. Do you have any weather information for that specific area and time that would indicate it would be impossible for the officer to have been able to see you?

    The plane should be flying pretty much directly over the vehicle being timed. You may question the officer about that to see if you can create so doubt as to the perception of when your truck hit each marker, but absent some expert testimony to say what the effect of the plane’s position would be, I don’t see that as being a particularly fruitful line of attack. And expert testimony is expensive.

    You can try questioning the officer to see if you can get him to admit he was tracking too many cars to keep accurate track of yours, but if the officer is at all experienced in testifying that one won’t go well.

    As you can see, a lot of what you want to use requires good cross-examination of the witnesses and hoping that they provide less than solid answers that you can exploit to make your argument that the state hasn’t proved it’s case. And it may require you to have expert testimony if you are going to challenge the accuracy of the method used. Doing this requires some experience and knowledge of traffic court proceedings in your area. You might want to hire a lawyer to assist you with that, which of course will cost you money, perhaps more than the fine for the ticket.

    1. Sponsored Links
       

Similar Threads

  1. Speeding Tickets: Contesting an Aircraft Speeding Ticket
    By jaime11 in forum Moving Violations, Parking and Traffic Tickets
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 02-05-2015, 07:12 AM
  2. Speeding Tickets: What Information is Required on a Robic Stopwatch Speeding Ticket
    By Ravenlocke in forum Moving Violations, Parking and Traffic Tickets
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 12-17-2010, 03:23 PM
  3. Speeding Tickets: Aircraft Speeding Ticket in Washington
    By dpinevt in forum Moving Violations, Parking and Traffic Tickets
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 07-22-2010, 01:44 PM
  4. Speeding Tickets: Aircraft Speeding Ticket
    By Speeder1 in forum Moving Violations, Parking and Traffic Tickets
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 09-07-2009, 02:52 PM
  5. Speeding Tickets: Speeding Ticket Information (Stopwatch) - Pennsylvania
    By Shadow6934 in forum Moving Violations, Parking and Traffic Tickets
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 08-29-2009, 09:14 PM
 
 
Sponsored Links

Legal Help, Information and Resources