Welly to Mana speeding - One for the legals

[Babelfish]

I was ticketed last week for doing 125 between Wellington and Mana. Well, not ticketed exactly, but written into a little black book and told the ticket will be in the mail. I am not certain the charge can stick though, and thinking on it post event, I'm not convinced it was warranted.

I'll play the game and if its a fair cop I'll take the punishment but I cant help feeling this guy was just after a bit of a run before knocking off for the day.

I was in peak traffic, about 6pm travelling home to Kapiti a pretty much keeping to the limits. Now I was sewing the traffic a bit, and possibly changing lanes between gaps more sedate people wouldn’t, but not overly dangerously imho.

However, as I entered the motorway from the onramp off Aotea Quay I was unwittingly spotted by a motorbike cop who apparently took umbrage to my manoeuvrers. This he told me after catching up to me in Mana.

Now, he told me it had taken me 7 min to get from Wellington to Mana. The distance is 22.5 km going off google maps, which means I would have had to be travelling 191km/hr in peak traffic. In reality I was fluctuating between 90 to 100, with possible excursions to 110 if I wasn’t looking

He told me he spotted me zip in from the on ramp. Fair play, I zipped in. He then said he had to reach excessive speeds to try and keep up, at times reaching 145 km/hr. This is possible in my opinion if he didn’t get the gaps in the traffic that I got. Admittedly, his requirement for gaps are probably wider than mine.

He got another office in a car to pull over on the motorway to spot me going past, who said at the time I was 5 cars ahead of the motorbike cop. The car, which I saw pulled over and wondered what he was up to, was about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way to Mana. Almost immediately after the bike pulled me over, the car arrived so I had the full swat team in action.

Now he told me he never actually clocked me, as that would have entailed turning his radar on and he was too busy controlling his bike (how safety conscious). However, taking the 7mins into account, and the fact that he had to ride up to 145km/hr, he decided he'd do me for 125km/hr.

He then asked for my license….which had expired! Shit and bugger I thought. But he decided to "be nice" and let me off for that one, saving me $400.

I was good about the process, polite and apologetic, but the more I thought about it the more I wondered whether they actually got the right bloke. Yes, I probably needed a slap for sewing the traffic. Yes, the speeds I was going, while not above the limit, are not THE safest for the environment (i.e. I should just be tucked behind a car and pretend I'm one of them).

However, if he didn’t clock me, and wasn't actually right behind me to witness the gaps I was working with, do I have a chance to get off this? The mere fact he thought it took 7 minutes is ridiculous, and using this to guage my speed surely is a little shite.

The other question I have, is if I decide to dispute this, can he bring other charges in, such as the expired license, or dangerous driving?

If I am to dispute, are there any particular gems I should focus on? Can it be dealt with via a letter, or is a court appearance mandatory?

Thanks for all help in advance.

[Krusti]

Did he have you in sight the whole time and or did he have your plate number at the start?

If not how can he prove in court that it was you? Unless of course you admitted to him that it was.

Problem is though that you can not deny riding on an expired licence.

What was his reason for not giving you the ticket there and then?

My opinion..........if the ticket arrives.....pay up.

[imdying]

How much is the fine, and how many points does it carry? They probably can't put points on your license cause you don't have one

[sAsLEX]

So whilst struggling to control his bike he is doing kinematic equations in his head to work out your speed?


Fight it.


Happened to a guy near Mokau similar thing, cop chased him and guessed his speed, judge threw it out.

Patrick knows the one I am talking about.

[skelstar]

Mate, take the ticket. You were lucky

[Nat]

I was pulled over on my way to work quite a while ago for speeding. Police man took all my details and said he'd send out a ticket in the mail.

I never received any ticket in the mail, I figured he must've just thought it was too borderline to bother with. Hopefully your's will be the same. I figured since he took my name and license number that they wont be so lenient next time, but who knows?

[The Pastor]

post up when and if the ticket comes.

[Karma]

Now he told me he never actually clocked me, as that would have entailed turning his radar on and he was too busy controlling his bike (how safety conscious).

Yeh, that's a lie.

I'm sure there's something in the police guidelines for speeding that they're not actually allowed to operate the radar whilst the bike is in motion.

[Korea]

When all is said and done, you got off pretty lightly (probably on account of the creative means your speed was tested).

If you fight it, you may get the whole works:

• Driving unlicensed
• Exceeding the limit
• Points

If you weren't unlicensed at the time, I'd say you gotta fight for your right (to party?).

As it stands...
Nod and smile apologetically was the right choice.

Now, renew your bloody licence~

[Freakshow]

If you go and get your licences renewed ASAP they probably will forget about it and it is not like you lost your licence due to any reason. Anyway you would be fighting a ticket that states speeding it won't mention no licence and therefore they have missed their opotunity to follow that up.

[mark247]

Send a letter in to the Police Infringement Bureau and tell them what you told us basically. I got a $400 fine for riding a 400cc on my learners and I wrote a letter in saying how i was in the middle of applying for my exemption so i could ride one ( which was accepted. ) I did not get let off the fine though because in the letter they sent me they told me that had reviewed the cops notes and the original reason for pulling me over was infact for speeding, not just a random check. Because of this they just told me to pay up but i did not add on a speeding fine, which they possibly could have done. Just do what i did but hopefully you will be a bit more lucky. Basically what I am trying to say is that I do not think they can add on more fines if you try to fight a fine. Each ticket is dealt with totally individually.

Since then i was given another $400 fine for the same thing, only that was a random check. They wrote "DIVERSION" on the ticket, i sent it in saying that it was a random check etc etc and i was let off that fine. If they were able to look back and change their minds because I had got a fine for doing the same thing ( and obviously hadnt learnt my lession ) then i think they most likely would of told me to pay up again.

Good luck!

[swbarnett]

Get your license renewed and fight it. If you weren't doing 125 or anything near it they need to be brought to task for their terrible judgement and abuse of power. The speeding and expired license are two different charges. If you get off the speeding ticket you probably won't be charged for the lack of license because of double jeopardy (both charges would relate to the same incident) and the fact that the cop didn't report it at the time. I got given a minor ticket once by a cop that agreed with what I'd done to stop potential larger problems (he didn't want to ticket me at all). Seek a lawyer's advise to confirm this. This is just from my experience.

Problem is though that you can not deny riding on an expired licence.

He wasn't charged with this at the time so it's really a non-issue as far as the speeding ticket is concerned IMHO.

[Patrick]

Happened to a guy near Mokau similar thing, cop chased him and guessed his speed, judge threw it out.

Patrick knows the one I am talking about.

I know OF the incident from KB only... A "Guess" is never going to work.

... and said he'd send out a ticket in the mail...I never received any ticket in the mail,. Hopefully your's will be the same.

Keep ya fingers crossed... it might never happen...

....Now, renew your bloody licence~

If you haven't already done so, perhaps he is watching to see if you do... If you don't, the ticket is in the mail.....

Get your license renewed and fight it. If you weren't doing 125 or anything near it they need to be brought to task for their terrible judgement and abuse of power. The speeding and expired license are two different charges. If you get off the speeding ticket you probably won't be charged for the lack of license because of double jeopardy (both charges would relate to the same incident) and the fact that the cop didn't report it at the time. I got given a minor ticket once by a cop that agreed with what I'd done to stop potential larger problems (he didn't want to ticket me at all). Seek a lawyer's advise to confirm this. This is just from my experience.

He wasn't charged with this at the time so it's really a non-issue as far as the speeding ticket is concerned IMHO.

Nothing to fight yet... he hasn't been ticketed...

Perhaps he (the cop) was following at a constant speed of 125 for a few hundred metres as he the bike rider was pulling away? This is called "Pursuit Mode" and not a "terrible lack of judgement or an abuse of power..."

Double jeopardy???? Bush Lawyer??? Two offences, one incident = 2 fines... but in this case, he has been let off the licence matter ($400 instant fine and forbidden to drive there and then at the roadside until licence obtained BTW...) and "MIGHT" post out a speeding ticket... might not... if he has sorted his licence, as it shows "enthusiasm" to rectify a problem...

[RantyDave]

I'm not a legal, but I say keep your head down and pay it. You don't want to draw attention to your license being out of date and potentially having a "riding like a twat" charge added to the shopping cart. There's the car zapping you too - had it been just the bike with no radar I guess it might have been worth it.

Just pay it and thank your lucky stars for the rest of the points and dollars that aren't going to be tagged on.

Dave

[carver]

what are you riding like that on the road for-your a noob babyfish..
i hope squids like you wont impact my acc levvies.
if your going to be a idiot like that, you should do it on the track.
dont come crying to me when that extra impact from speeding puts you in hospital.
no offence though....