stevem

Today......my first ticket in the M5errrrrrr. Interstate 5, southbound, north San Diego County, CA.

Had my V1 on, but the cops were in the airplane. I saw the MAN comming onto the freeway and started to slow down, but he raced right up to me and waved me over.

The airplane had clocked me about one or two miles earlier. The CHP never used his radar.

85mph in a 65mph. Also wrote me for no front plate. I refuse to drill my front bumper for the plate. Ohmygod. Hope I can do traffic school. This ticket is probably $250-$300.

I'm thinking about using stick on velcro until I get the plate part of the ticket signed off. Any idea's from the group?

As for the speeding. I'm thinking I will show up on the court date. The cop who wrote the ticket will probably be there, but, I wonder if the cop from the airplane will show up.

I have always been told that the cop must be there on the court date or they drop the charge. The cops are usually there. However, the cop who wrote the ticket did not observe the infraction, the guy in the plane did.

Maybe I can weasel my way out of this?????

Any thoughts????

stevem



[This message has been edited by stevem (edited 31 December 2000).]

bobafett

same thing happened to me (caught at 85 in a 55, was doing about 120 before that ), ticketed for 75. ticket came out to 137 or something. trafficschoolonline.com did it for me. Read the post regarding Barry's ticket for more info.

Too bad. f'ing CHP!

--Dan

MEnthusiast

Steve,
dont use velcro- if that plate comes off while youre moving, you could damage, perhaps severely, yourself, someone else, your car or their car. Your woes will go from an annoyance (speeding ticket) to a real nightmare. Im sure the authorities would understand that a part is on order- Im sure they wouldnt want you to do something thats not safe.

ME

INVICTO

Best system is V1 with the Uniden Beartracker BCT-7 or BCT-10. It's a scanner that also searches for the state's specific "mobile extender" frequencies used by police and highway patrol. Based on signal strength of these low wattage communications relay radios (roughly proportional to distance away), the Beartracker will provide an audible and visual alert.

Check out http://www.uniden.com/sbhp_BCT7.html

Here's how it works. Each squad car has a secondary radio whose function is to relay communications from the main car radio to the patrolman's walkie talkie. The Bearcat searches for these transmissions. Even if the patrolman turns off the walkie talkie while in the car (most do) they hardly ever turn off the mobile extender transmission (they might forget to turn it back on when egressing the vehicle in a hurry).

Real life example: Geographic bachelor commuting on the weekend from Newport RI to Virginia Beach transits, at a decent rate of speed, the NJ Turnpike. Bearcat Alerts and locks on a NJ State Trooper going north calling for another unit to pick up a south bound flyer. Other units respond, with their mile marker, and as I approach, at less than said decent rate of speed, I cruise on by, unmolested. The radar never went off, I assume they were using instant on and could clearly see that I was not the mark.

This system also works for aircraft traps since it scans VHF aircraft frequencies as well as the aforementioned mobile extenders.

I swear by the combination. It fits my psyche as former electronic warfare bubba.

Steve


[This message has been edited by INVICTO (edited 31 December 2000).]

greg

Remove the period at the end of INVICTO's URL to get to the right page....

INVICTO

I fixed the link.

Steve

Italia

Steve, sorry to hear about your misfortune. I got nailed by the same method a couple of years ago. That f'ing aircraft surveilance is like big brother watching down over us.
The online traffic school sounds like a painless way to get remedy. I went to a comedy traffic school once and that was pretty fun. It just wipes out a day out of your life.
Good luck and Happy New Year.
Carmen

stevem

Steve-

They plane "got me" by timing my cars speed between two hash-marks on the shoulder of the freeway. Therefore, when they radio to the CHP cruiser on the ground I'm already caught. Knowing that the plane is telling the ground cruiser would not have saved me.

I should have been more aware of the potential airplane in the sky. If aware, you can see them before your in the trap.

My problem was that I was on my way to my parents 50 anniversity party. The gig my wife had been planning for 6 months. We were a bit late and she was stressed out. On top of that I had her parents in the back seat. Of course, the whole cop thing had her WAY STRESSED OUT.

I would normally be more observant about potential CHP in the sky. This time I was not on top of my drive defensive game. That's why I got caught.

stevem

stevem

Steve-

After reading your post again I now understand what you getting at. If I had the system you are describing I would know there are CHP's talking to each other, assume air to ground. Gotcha...

It may have worked, it would have alerted me to their presence. Just another piece of hardware for my car.

stevem

[This message has been edited by stevem (edited 01 January 2001).]

MAH

Sorry to hear about your encounter with the CHP. Traffic school is the only way out. As for the front plates, an out of state registration works pretty well.

Mark

ps, are we having a Southern Cal meet? I have been out of town for the past 10 days.

blue max

Invicto,

I'll vouch 100% for the Bearcat scanner. I've heard some amazing broadcasts over the years, including some actual chases in progress.

It's especially useful on long trips. Say NYC to Spartanburg & beyond.

I won't leave home without it.



[This message has been edited by blue max (edited 02 January 2001).]

I was written up by a cop that did not witness the infraction. I decided to go to court and the cop that wrote me up showed. I won because he couldn't argue the infraction so I won by default. Don't know about the airplanes though here in CA. I'm sure they've thought of something to cover their ***.