Everyone's Favourite...speeding tickets.

**Biff** · 9th May 2005, 22:00

Originally Posted by SpeedMedic

Suppose I should tell the whole story.

Lucky - the last thing you need is demerit points!!

Here's a similar story courtesy of a mate of mine who is the comms officer for Greater Manchester Fire Service (UK) (cut n pasted from a recentish mail):

"...Got called to a shout (called out) on the weekend. A factory unit had gone up, and as I was on call I had to get out of my pit (bed) at 3am - fuck was I pissed off. Anyhow, I was panelling (speeding) it along Bolton Road with my blues and twos going in my Discovery and I noticed a Fed (police) traffic car up my ass. I thought he was on the same shout as me so I carried on, but wondered why this cock in a T5 didn't overtake. Anyhow 2 minutes later an on coming fed with his lighs on came towards me swerving into my lane and back out, so I slowed up then stopped, got out of my motor and this wanker of a copper, an inspector, came at me from the T5 with his fuckin baton drawn!! He was fuckin screaming at me, "Why didn't you stop?". I said I was on my way to a shout yadda yadda hence the fuckin disco lights on my motor. He didn't believe me (it didn't help that I was in my jogging botttoms as I hadn't changed!!). He was fucking furious. Asked me for my ID card and gave me a fucking lecture about speeding failing to stop and all manner of crap, even threatened to report me to my gaffer.

After 5 minutes he let me go. What a wanker......" etc etc

There's wankers on every continent and in every proffession in the world.

**Bren_chch** · 9th May 2005, 22:16

Originally Posted by WINJA

WISE UP ,JUST DO A RUNNER IN FUTURE , FUCK THE PIGS , FUCK EM ALL .
THE SYSTEM IS CORUPT

HAHAHAHA!!! Right i know what to do next time!

**Biff** · 9th May 2005, 22:30

Originally Posted by SpeedMedic

Whats similar about that story? Other than a cop was in it. Interesting it was though.

Missed the "ish" off the end of similar.

**250learna** · 9th May 2005, 22:55

Originally Posted by alarumba

Police are farking bastards when it comes to tickets, fucking wankers

I gota disagree with that, i have had some bad experiances with cops (theres a bad seed in every profesion)...being young and driving a "sports" car. (no im not a boyreca...and you wont see me driving round with a cap and a hood on at the same time, looking like a gangster)
But Im always polite and they usualy return the favour. Ive been let off more times than ticketed in my experiance. Depends on who pools you up

**Zapf** · 10th May 2005, 00:57

Originally Posted by 250learna

I gota disagree with that, i have had some bad experiances with cops (theres a bad seed in every profesion)...being young and driving a "sports" car. (no im not a boyreca...and you wont see me driving round with a cap and a hood on at the same time, looking like a gangster)
But Im always polite and they usualy return the favour. Ive been let off more times than ticketed in my experiance. Depends on who pools you up

I had a cop tried to give me a ticket based on the speed he needed to catch up to me when he was like 800m up the road. I was doing just under 60 in a 50 zone and i got a ticket for 80kph. I went right to court with witness and map and calculations. He didn't even show up!

**Krusti** · 10th May 2005, 06:12

Why don't you just not pay it....let your fines build up to 20+ thou then do a couple of weeks PD.

It's not the fine but the demerits that hurt

Think I'm on 75 at moment...never mind

**spudchucka** · 10th May 2005, 06:14

Originally Posted by meister

if there are any cops on this site, i would love to hear a reason...it surely is not because my explanation was above the mentality of those in the infringment bureau, and i am sure you are spending more time on unsolved rape cases in sth auckland, and then of course, it does take time to clear porn off your desktops...

I was going to offer a reasonable reply but then decided you don't deserve one.

**speedpro** · 10th May 2005, 08:29

Coming back from South up the Mangaweka hill in the mighty Legnum I got pinged for 115kmh. My excuse that it was the minimum speed where the transmission would not hunt between gears wasn't good enough. Bit of a pisser actually as on the way south I had been flying in places but returning north I was generally obeying the speed limits except for the odd situation as above. Cop seemed like a decent sort apart from the giving me a ticket bit.

**scumdog** · 10th May 2005, 09:13

Originally Posted by alarumba

Police are farking bastards when it comes to tickets, fucking wankers

Ahh, the best part is that YOU pay us - and we're fucking wankers!!

**scumdog** · 10th May 2005, 09:19

Originally Posted by WINJA

WISE UP ,JUST DO A RUNNER IN FUTURE , FUCK THE PIGS , FUCK EM ALL .
THE SYSTEM IS CORUPT

( A bit like the spelling here)

Yeah do that - every time - and when the law of averages catches up (ya can't beat that one) and you get caught/crash badly you can turn around and sue WINJA for the bad advice and make more money than the fines are worth

Like I care when somebody gets away? I still get paid each fortnight

**zadok** · 10th May 2005, 10:19

While we are on the subject of revenue collecting; Do N.Z static speed cameras (called Multinova's here), only take pic's from the front, and do you have front licence plates yet?
Over here the cameras only take from the front and we don't have front licence plates, which obviously means there is nothing to fear. There is a push by the Govt to introduce front plates, but so far it hasn't happened. It doesn't help when riders go through them deliberately way over the limit giving 'the finger'.

Marty

**scumdog** · 10th May 2005, 10:29

Originally Posted by zadok

While we are on the subject of revenue collecting; Do N.Z static speed cameras (called Multinova's here), only take pic's from the front, and do you have front licence plates yet?
Over here the cameras only take from the front and we don't have front licence plates, which obviously means there is nothing to fear. There is a push by the Govt to introduce front plates, but so far it hasn't happened. It doesn't help when riders go through them deliberately way over the limit giving 'the finger'.

Marty

No front plates, pics only taken from front BUT if the camera is a mobile one the operator can write down your number and post you the ticket.
No demerits from a speed camers ticket.

**Lou Girardin** · 10th May 2005, 15:31

Originally Posted by scumdog

( A bit like the spelling here)

Yeah do that - every time - and when the law of averages catches up (ya can't beat that one) and you get caught/crash badly you can turn around and sue WINJA for the bad advice and make more money than the fines are worth

Like I care when somebody gets away? I still get paid each fortnight

You think he's got money?

**marty** · 10th May 2005, 16:46

Originally Posted by spudchucka

I was going to offer a reasonable reply but then decided you don't deserve one.

maybe it was that attitude that got him the ticket in the first place.

probably not a good time to tell that i got let off a 116k this morning......by someone who i had never met before.

**Phurrball** · 10th May 2005, 16:48

Bad luck mesiter,

This probably doesn't help your situation, but it is an approach I have used in the past to make me feel a little better, and to make sure that the police dot all their I's and cross all their T's.

I'm not sure how you were 'snapped', but you are entitled to make sure that all the equipment used was properly calibrated and up to spec.

Tickets I have had in the past have taught me these things, all of which are information you can request:

Certificates of accuracy are issued for all police speed radars once a year, and this certificate must be up to date.

Highway patrol officers test their radar daily before they go out on the road, and record the results of this test in their log books - you can ask to see this at the road side, or request a copy. (I'm not sure if this is necessarily a legal requirement, or if general duty officers do this)

If a patrol car was used, you can request a certificate of accuracy for the speedo of that car - this is not so relevant, but police can guage your speed using their speedo - the radar, to the best of my knowledge, fires off a pulse at the ground to determine patrol car speed, rather than using the speedo.

You can certainly request copies of this information under the Official Information Act, and anything else you'd like to know (Like $$ collected by speed cameras etc if you're interested).

I'm not sure what the deal is with speed cameras, having only been snapped once (and not being too pissed, as the fine wasn't big, and the photo was hilarious) but I'm sure the equipment used is subject to similar calibration, and you could request info on this.

I suppose you could request evidence that the radar operator was trained appropriately - but that could be possibly be denied on Privacy act grounds if it identifies the individual. (Don't see why this couldn't be edited out).

I don't know if any of this is of interest to you, copies of the OIA are available at Whitcouls, and online I think - although I don't think you'd have to necessarily quote section numbers for a request to be successful - just be very specific about the information you want.

My advice from a tutor (who practices) was to pay up - as going to court is expensive, and the police are not at all keen to allow any precedents to be set! (My assertion, not his!)

I ended up getting an entire police operation, calibration, and training manual for police radars and laser guns with my request - a very interesting read!

This probably won't get you out of the fine, but it is nice to keep the b*stards honest - and to compel them to do something for you.

2 things to point out - requests can be denied if they are vexatious (But I can't see how getting this type info could be!) and organisations *can* charge for the information (copying costs etc) but usually don't for such a small ammount of info.

Further to my rant, it is attitudes like that of scumdog in this thread that led me to install a radar detector in my car when I lived just out of Dunedin ( Car is an '82 laser 1.3 that is a feeble, out of tune pissbucket - sad that I need a detector). I have noticed since moving to Auckland that most of the general duty police cars up here don't have their radars on, whereas those in Dunedin usually drive around blazing with radar. Perhaps Auckland cops have better things to do...

(That said HOW a cop behaves when writing you out a ticket makes a huge difference - some are complete w*nkers who give all cops a bad name, soem are pretty OK in their attitude - the w*kers in my experience have been young highway patrol cops, and the OK ones mostly older guys with a bit more life experience under their belt perhaps...)

IMHO, I see a need for speed limits, and the need to police them, but the current application of the law makes a mockery of the purpose of the legislation - which is surely to promote *safe* roads rather than ticketing anyone slightly above the limit as a matter of policy.

/End my rant - phew