Can a police officer write a ticket higher than what was locked in on radar?
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Can a police officer write a ticket higher than what was locked in on radar?
I was traveling down a rural route
posted speed limit was 50 maybe 55 I
Crest at the top of a hill coming down
the other side there was a police
officer of course crusting the top of
the hill I hit my brakes to slow down a
little bit he was saying that the only
reason why I hit the brakes is because I
saw him actually I didn’t even see him
till after I passed but he wrote me a
ticket for 72 and when I requested to
see the radar the radar gun show. I
think it was 65 or 68
Asked on April 25, 2018 under General Practice, Maine
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
Radar is not the only way to establish someone's speed; there are other ways to "clock" them, such as pacing them in a car, or using predetermined markers (so that by how long it takes to pass from one to another, you can calculate the speed), so if the officer measured your speed some other way in addition to radar, he could use that measurement instead of whatever radar showed.
Or if the officer is simply prepared to say in court that you were going 72, they will believe him, not you when you claim the radar gun showed 65 or 68--the court always believes the trained, sworn, neutral (no personal stake in the outcome) law officer over the driver trying to avoid a ticket.
So yes, as a practical matter, they could write the ticket for 72.
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