Can they charge me in these circumstances
Discussion
This happend last night on the Totton ring the events are as follows.
I went straight over a roundabout and had allready shot of down the dual carrige way a few people behind me turned off left at the round about hence not seeing Volvo T5 police car that was now behind me. Further up the road I noticed him slowed down all the proper manouvers etc, but he still pulled me over.
This is where I need the help the police man was on his own!
He asked me to sit in the back of the car so that he could show me the Vascar display ( A small black box with 2 digital displays and a few switchs on it) he explained that as I passed under a bridge the shadow cast by the bridge he used as a starting point and pressed a switch on the black box.
He then sighted another point and as he passed pressed another switch, this he told me worked out my average speed over this distance which was 95 mph(not good).
Question is can I be done for this offence being that there was only one officer in the vehicle there is no video evidence,
Secondly how can this method be taken as accurate when the officer has to take one hand of the wheel to opperate the equipment, sight and mark a spot on the road at which to begin timing and doing all this while in commplete control of his vehicle.
Anyone that knows a bit about this or is apolice man and can give away the trade secrets I would be very grate full as I know this will be 6 points and a big fine which won''t be good for the insurance.
Keith Pickering
superlight T7 KCP
Funny you should ask....
After a similar situation a while back I sent an email to a solicitors asking such a question to get the reply
"You are correct that the police do need corroboration for a speeding offence before they can prosecute you. One police officers evidence if corroborated by a vascar reading is, however, perfectly acceptable for a conviction"
In my view when a cop is using a speed measurement device the cop forms the opinion you are speeding and then confirms this with a laser gun as such.
In the case of Vascar it represents the officers 'interpretation' of your speed and not an exact measurement. In most circumstances his 'human error' is assumed to be the same at the begining and at the end of the check.
I thinks it all a bit too open to his interpretation especially if he is on his own and then it comes down to the old good cop bad cop thing.... and you can guess which the court will beleive!
The replies you have are correct I have previously explained on another post about VASCAR, one officer on his own etc. Its been used for years I for one am accurate in its use as are hundreds of other officers. Take it on trhe chin and slow down from what you have described you were caught bang to rights, so to speak.
The only thing that concerns me is that it measures distance traveled by the cop car and the time between the officers finger clicks not your speed!
I have been done a few times in the past (even by vascar) and i have taken th points because at heart I new i was speeding.
This latest summons however i can not accept as i am 100% sure i was not going near the speed he said. I have also taken a few measurements and mad some calculations. To do the average speed i am accused of i would have to have done 107 around a slip road bend that is pushing it at 75...
One other thing. Can a Vascar check be done through two different speed limits ?
Edited by Marv on Friday 27th July 13:12
The bottom line is that VASCAR is a "technology based aid" that helps the police assertain that the speed limit has been broken. It really is just a glorified stop watch plugged into a ZX spectrum or something equally crap, but was designed to improve the "public service" 
the police do in prosecuting speeding motorists !!!!!! It does exactly what it says on the can and whatever its shortcomings is better than a plods eyeball or wristwatch in giving some sort of corroboration to what plod says. It is not an exact tool and can be misused if the operator is so inclined but thats all down to the individual coppers integrity which is another subject entirely !!!!
the police do in prosecuting speeding motorists !!!!!! It does exactly what it says on the can and whatever its shortcomings is better than a plods eyeball or wristwatch in giving some sort of corroboration to what plod says. It is not an exact tool and can be misused if the operator is so inclined but thats all down to the individual coppers integrity which is another subject entirely !!!! Marv if your sure and confident take your calculations, sketches, photo's, and as much evidence as you can a good one is to get an "expert" (i.e mate whos done some racing/instructing/ or best of all design engineering and got a CV to prove it) to say that the lateral forces acting on the vehicle would make a particular bend impossible at given speed, get technical, get complicated and go not guilty. The thing to remember is that traffic cops are always in court with all sorts of scroat not guilty pleas. If you do your homework prepare a good case and are articulate and correct you MIGHT get off. Its human nature that plod will view it as a routine turn up in court and may well be unprepared for a technical and well prepared onslaught.
Good luck and remember coppers can be and very often are wrong not always intentionally or maliciously but they are only human. That includes JR who proves he's human by helping us constantly for no real reward !!!
On the speed zones bit they never used to be able to but JR will need to confirm if things have moved on and they allow "switching" between zones but I doubt it.
Edited by mel on Friday 27th July 14:38
On the speed zones bit they never used to be able to but JR will need to confirm if things have moved on and they allow "switching" between zones but I doubt it.
Edited by mel on Friday 27th July 14:38 If the officer was using a shadow as the start point then I would want to know what time elapsed between setting the vascar up and him actually doing you.
The shadow will hve moved in that time, so it might be possible for you to argue that the evidence is unsafe.
I'd get a solicitor's advice, if i were you.
C
wt what time he
We do not enforce speed limits within 200m of a limit change, so as a rule what has been sugested would be out. I can see a scenario where you are following a car at say 60 in a 30 which then passes into a 40 I would certainly give that a run at court. Yes VASCAR is down to the acuracy of the coppers left index finger, wide open to abuse, but then most of us do have high proffesional standards, and don't want to put our job on the line for a speeding ticket.
quote:Warning: Speed limits enforced by Sundial !!!
If the officer was using a shadow as the start point then I would want to know what time elapsed between setting the vascar up and him actually doing you. The shadow will hve moved in that time, so it might be possible for you to argue that the evidence is unsafe. I'd get a solicitor's advice, if i were you. C wt what time he
You may be missing the point here a laser has a range of 1000m and a useable range of 600m therefore it can be set up close to the speed limit change but if you check the evidence we always put down the distance the vehicle was away when the reading was taken ie 56mph at 300m etc. Sorry for the confusion on that one
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