Fighting a photo radar ticket (Portland: lawyer, legal, pay)

[PNW-type-gal]

Call the court clerk, be nice and they will (very likely) reduce the fine. You are in a special condition because you are now out of state and your options are more limited than they'd be if you were here.

It's not like the "trap" was set up to catch out-of-staters (about two years ago, I drove that bridge about 3x a week and more than half the time that white van was set up in the exact same place to catch speeders).

You were speeding; pay the fine after trying to get it reduced.

[cdelena]

Originally Posted by Venusian_Artist

Exactly. You don't know squat about Portland; you are talking to someone who does know.

No, but the law works the same way most places. Have you asked for a trial and filed for discovery of prosecustion materials? Have you gone to court and questioned your accuser, asking about the radar calibration? You made some sweeping statements about what is possible and I was simply saying my experience (and advice) is different so maybe more is possible... even in Portland the adversarial system of justice must work to a certain extent.

[Nell Plotts]

The adversarial system works just fine in Portland BUT given the original poster's distance the question is the most successful approach. Sometimes just writing a letter pleading for mercy, pointing out that you have no previous speeding tickets and it is not your habit to exceed the speed limit, gets the desired result. Pay the full requested amount. Odds are you will get part of your money back.

[Venusian_Artist]

Originally Posted by cdelena

No, but the law works the same way most places. Have you asked for a trial and filed for discovery of prosecustion materials? Have you gone to court and questioned your accuser, asking about the radar calibration? You made some sweeping statements about what is possible and I was simply saying my experience (and advice) is different so maybe more is possible... even in Portland the adversarial system of justice must work to a certain extent.

A little background: I've been pulled over nine times in my life. I've received two speeding tickets, one I fought in court and won. I know how to spot and avoid speed traps; I know what to say and how to say it to avoid tickets.

I have a Valentine1 hard-wired to the roof of my car. It is the most sensitive portable radar detector known to man. I also have Laser Interceptor jammer diodes wired to the front of my car. I use them to jam police lidar--oh, the stories I could tell. I also have a Cheetah GPS rearview mirror. It has a database of all redlight cameras and fixed speed cameras in the Western world, based on filed engineer reports. I have it wired to my V1, to control the output warning signals, and filter false alarms.

You can't see any of this from outside my car, even if you're an officer peering through the window getting my information; it's all concealed. Yeah, I'm heavily invested in speed enforcement countermeasures.

To answer your question, here's a list of what I ask for when I appear in court:

1. A copy of the police operating manual for the radar unit--if the cops don't have this, they can't say that they know how to use the device.

2. The serial number and certification match of accuracy for the tuning fork.

3. A copy of the maintenance record for the last twelve months for the unit, matched by serial number.

4. A copy of the officer's certification through the police department to operate the unit.

5. A copy of the police department's official policy and procedure for radar equipment testing and operator training standards.

6. All engineering reports and studies performed in the determination of the posted limit on that section of Highway, including, but not limited to, the most recent 85th percentile speed measurement and any collision data used in the determination of the posted limit.

7. A listing of traffic tickets issued by the Officer for the month of citation, to include: date and time issued, alleged violation, and disposition, (if determined).

8. A total tally of all traffic tickets issued by the Police Department for the month of citation, to include: date issued, alleged violation, the DSN of the issuing officer, and disposition, (if determined).

Get the picture? Anyone looking for more info on how to fight a speeding ticket needs to hang out in my world: Radar Detector Jammer Forum will get you started. I post under the same user name there, but not recently.

[vihad]

Write the ticket issuer and tell them you were not driving the vehicle in question.

I will tell you the name & address of the person who WAS driving your car. ME. I live outside of the U.S. The ticket issuer will send me threatening letters as long as their letters are not returned, but they will be unable to do more.

Send me an email if you need my help.

ad_valorem -at- yahoo -dot- com

[fearnofish]

Face it you were speeding you got caught so pay the fine and whine about it later. I am not saying i agree with the speed cameras but if you don't pay it and happen to driving in Oregon one day and a officer pulls up behind you and runs your plate and it comes back with a FTA or whatever they decided to put a judgement in for then he could stop you and you would get to spend a night in the county jail... how fun. Don't be a typical "Californian" and just pay your fine and move on.

[pdxdriver1234]

Anyone ever thought of a ballot initiative to ban these vans? Could be an easy one...

[TechmanOR]

If you ignore it, it will go to collections and your credit score will take a big hit.

I'm not sure where I read it, but I read a story from a person who got a photo radar ticket in Oregon with an out-of-state registration and an old address. He didn't receive the ticket and he only found out about it after it went to collections and got a call from the collection agency after they finally tracked him down.

He claims his credit score took a 100 point hit.

[angelbug]

Originally Posted by Venusian_Artist

I have a Valentine1 hard-wired to the roof of my car. It is the most sensitive portable radar detector known to man. I also have Laser Interceptor jammer diodes wired to the front of my car. I use them to jam police lidar--oh, the stories I could tell. I also have a Cheetah GPS rearview mirror. It has a database of all redlight cameras and fixed speed cameras in the Western world, based on filed engineer reports. I have it wired to my V1, to control the output warning signals, and filter false alarms.

You can't see any of this from outside my car, even if you're an officer peering through the window getting my information; it's all concealed. Yeah, I'm heavily invested in speed enforcement countermeasures.

Wouldn't it just be easier and cheaper to obey the speed limit? What's your rush, anyway?

[Venusian_Artist]

Originally Posted by angelbug

Wouldn't it just be easier and cheaper to obey the speed limit? What's your rush, anyway?

I rarely drive more than ten over the PSL. Which, given how artificially low limits are set in Oregon, is right with the flow of slow-moving traffic.

If, however, you drive in rural Oregon, you will get nabbed for going as little as 2mph over the PSL. This is the norm in many of the coastal towns. And then, of course, there are inland hamlets that specialize in using speed traps to catch Portlanders and out-of-staters, like Stayton, Oregon.

Suffice it to say, my countermeasures have paid for themselves many times over in missed tickets. FYI: I've never even been in a fender bender, never mind a serious accident. There's nothing unsafe about how I drive; I couldn't tell you the last time I pushed it past 75mph.