Hey, I'm just wondering what are the legal rights of cops when it comes to issuing speeding tickets? My friend was doing 140 km/h between Benalla and Yarrawonga, and a cop pulled him over for speeding. The cop didn't have a radar gun with him, so he only booked my mate for doing 115. Are the police allowed to book people without getting a reading on a radar? I'm not looking to put down cops, and the stupidity of my mates driving is not in doubt, so please keep this clean... Thanks.

hmm im not sure but i reckon in cases like that it should. cause if ya see some1 going 140 u know they are speeding!

"It looked like he was going fast".. it doesn't work if he contests it in court. No radar, no proof. But they might just take the coppers word for it.

But its the same as someone saying "It looked like Elvis".. there's nothing to prove it was Elvis.

Dunno about where u are, but if he was on his P’s in QLD, getting booked for 115 and not 140 is the difference between keeping his licence or not.
Regardless of wether the cop can prove it or not, your friend knew he was speeding, he got busted doing it, he was let off lightly, so he should shut up and cop it sweet.

And Blackice: what if he says “I followed the offending vehicle for X-amount of time at 140KPH?”

All police cars have calibrated speedo’s for this purpose, there was an issue with the WRX’s that the NSW police had on trial, their speed’s weren’t calibrated to police regulations, so all the speeding tickets that had been issued by officers in the WRX’s were declared invalid

Well he's got a NSW licence and was booked in Vic, not too sure about what rules apply for that. Anyway, he said he wont be contesting it, even if he knows he can get off... I was just surprised that a cop would hand out a ticket without any proof of what speed he was doing. Thanks for the help .

if there isnt any proof, there aint no crime.
take it to court, and it will be dropped.

when u get booked, u have every right to ask to c the radar reading, if they cant show u, there is no proof. if they show u and u were speeding, ask to c the calibration certificate, if it is out of date (99% of them are) it also voids the ticket.

trust me on this, i have a speed problem, and knowing this has gotten me out at least 15 speeding tickets.

also, if they want to be smart about it, always get their name/rank/badge number, and report it to their superiors, every complaint has to, by law, be investigated.

Ummm....I think you'll find its perfectly fine for a copper to book you for speeding if you're over the limit and he's following behind you....

If this wasn't the case then how did people get speeding fines about 10 years ago when barely any cop cars had radars?

You’d be entitled to argue the point if you were doing 5 kph over the limit, but 140kph is a bit OBVIOUS.
I mean, there’s just a *small* difference between 105, 115 and *140*

I regularly travel over the speed limit, I don’t do it when the driving conditions are unsuitable, or where it’s unsafe, I haven’t been busted yet, but when, not if I do, I’ll accept the consequences if it’s a legitimate ticket.

exactly... in teh olden days the cops would hav eot follow the car for a certain distance and time how long it took, do the maths and work out their average speed over that distance, and if the cop was doing 110 (the limit on that road yeah?) and ur mate was doing 140, its gonna be pretty obvious to teh cop that he was pulling away from him... dont try and contest it.. if he had his full licence, maybe, but not on ur p's...

Police do not require a radar to issue a speeding ticket. In fact if they went to court and stated that they only reason they issued the ticket was becasue of a radar reading it would more likely to be tossed out. The police issue the ticket on estimated speed and also on supporting eveidence of the radar device. Most Traffic Police are able to give expert evidence on estimating speeds of vehicles as that is what they do for a living. Now before anyone jumps in and says that you cant estimate vehicles speed at 133kph, I agree. But you can estimate a vehicles do 140 as opposed to doing 100kph or even 120kph. The radar device in this case could then be used to support the facts.

In regards to police vehicles that are following a vehicle doing 140kph and they remain a constant distance from the vehice (ie the police vehicle does not increase or decrease distance)over a set distance of say 500 - 600 metres and the police vehicle has a correctly calibtrated speedo, then it stands to reason that if the speedo in the police vehicle is showing 140 then the offending vehicle must be travelling at 140.

Cheers
Dave

in recent times, it has become a known fact that all speedoes are different in calibration. therefor, all cars used by the police force (in nsw neway) require calibration certificates to be accuratly used as a vehicle in which they can pull over a speeding car.

sure, they can pull u over and say that u are speeding, u have only broken the law when u admit to it, unless they have some form of proof to back their side of the story up aka radar/follow u and do a speed check (PROVIDED THERE IS A SECOND POLICE OFFICER IN THE CAR AS WITNESS)

they can only book you without proof, when u admit it.

i once did some seriouse speed in a place where i shouldnt have, was seen by a policeman on the side of the road. i was obviously doing in xcess of 150 in a 60 zone. foolish i know yes, but it was done

10 mins later 3 cop cars came to pull me up and tell me i was doing 3 times the speed limit. i said no, i wasnt, i was doing the speed limit or less. they asked me continuously, went over my bike etc etc for half an hour. in the end all they could do me for was no p plate.

so yeah, no proof/no fine.

[ July 20, 2003, 17:12: Message edited by: vs ss ute ]

I wont get into a slanging match with you. You advice is incorrect. Remember that when giving evidence under oath a police officer will relay the details to the court as would the offender. The magistrate would then make a judgement on the case. Your expierence in getting pulled over doing 3x the limit and being let off has me baffled.

EDIT: They proberbly were not 100% sure they had the right motorcycle, therefore would not, or at least should not, issue the ticket.

[ July 20, 2003, 17:23: Message edited by: DCR ]

DCR, the laws dont' relate to commons sense, so it's easy to be baffled.
they don't need proof "as such"
you can ask to see the reading on the radar, and if they refuse, they can't fine you. but i believe once you've been given the ticket and leave the scene, negotiation is over.
they can follow you for 5 seconds at your speed, and fine you according to their speedo.

chances are the police officer will give evidence to say that your mate admitted to driving at 115, which is sufficient proof.

since he was doing osmethign foolish anyway, he'd be best toi accept it and reassess his habits.

As long as your friend didn't admit what speed they were doing, I say "Go to court".

It also depends on the zone. For example, if it was a 60 zone, and your friend was doing 140, and got done for 115, then its time to contest in court.

There is nothing wrong with contesting a speeding fine. You can even use it as a learning process, so in the future you know when you are in the right/wrong.

They will not lock you up, add extra charges, etc. if you contest it. All they will do is either go through with the 115km/hr charge, or dismiss it.

Then, if you loose you will be out court costs (in W.A. its about $45).

I think you have a good case. As far as I know, they can't book you without proof. That is, an exact speed measurement, and not a guess.

Look up the laws online if you have to, or email your local Police.