Appeal of speeding ticket (photo radar) in Portland (Beaverton, Beaver: neighborhood, purchases)

[mikensay]

I just got back from court, fighting a speeding ticket that I'm convinced was not accurate. I won't go in to details but my complaint is that basically the judge did most of the talking for the cop when I raised questions and then when I started to ask additional questions, the judge said that my defense wasn't strong enough and that the photo radar and the cops visual of me was very stong evidence against me and that the radar device is virtually unbeatable and found me guilty. I didn't get to finish my questions when the judge made his opinion. I think I was railroaded.

I asked the judge my appeal rights and as I understand it, I can only appeal on the basis of him not following law or process.

But I guess the appeals process will cost me dearly. Any suggestions?

If you're one of those, don't speed and you won't get a ticket people, please refrain from answering.

One more person not for the cops.... I'm not alone in Portland.

[Venusian_Artist]

Did you check out this thread? I laid out my in-court defense in detail in the last post.

What you've just experienced is the problem with fighting tickets: it's all about the judge's discretion. If you get a ticket in Beaverton, for example, you have very little chance of weaseling out of it. The cops and the judges are all buddies, and the cops are paid two hours of overtime (minimum) to show up--pretty much negating the possibility of a no-show.

My advice to you: don't get caught. Learn how to spot those vans, invest in a decent radar detector, etc.

Barring the above, I'll just ask the obvious: why are you convinced you weren't guilty, and what are you hoping to get out of posters here by starting this thread? All appeals cost money and you already made your stand in court and lost. Your options are limited.

[mikensay]

Funny, the cops and the judge seemed to be getting along quite well in this case too.

As far as not getting caught, that's the thing, they're banking on people being human and though I know I wasn't going that fast, I appreciate the cops and the government that much less for these types of actions.

Anyway, I turned onto the block about 30 feet from the radar van. I don't see how I could have gotten from zero to 38 mph as they say. The judge, though I understand what he was saying, said, you could have been circling the area and come from a further distance. Which is a croc, I know where I was coming from, but I couldn't prove it other than telling what I was doing in the neighborhood. To me this is not justice but rather government being a pain in the arse

Yeah, I figured my options were limited, but thought someone might have a bit of info that I wasn't aware of.

[Venusian_Artist]

Well, I feel for your situation--seriously. It is total B.S.; Photo radar vans are the toughest to anticipate. For one thing, they emit such a low power radar signal, pointed at the ground (rather than out like moving radar,) that I can visually spot them at about the same time my radar detector goes off, so there's very little warning.

A trick that's worked for me, though, when I know one has caught me speeding and is setting up for the photo, is to switch lanes away from the side of the road, about thirty feet from the van, and then put my right arm up like I'm scratching the back of my neck as I'm going by. Make sure your elbow is parallel with your nose, and your fingers are on the back of your neck, for maximum coverage.

This essentially blocks your face from the side and front (where the photo is taken,) but not your vision of the road in front; it also looks like a perfectly normal action. You can even turn your elbow in a little more, to block facial recognition from an angle of one to three o'clock (twelve being directly in front of you,) if you're not sure when the picture will be taken.

The police department essentially throws out any photos where they can't absolutely make out your face. I can't prove that the technique has saved me, but I've sped past quite a few vans, had the flash go off, and never (knock on wood) received a ticket in the mail.

You can also get license plate covers that obscure the numbers when viewed from an angle. Although, I personally think that putting anything on your plates gets you extra attention from the cops, some people swear by those things, though. Check out the radar forum in my link above for more info on that.

Truth be told, there's a lot of p*ssed people out there just like you, and it all starts with one ticket. You can burn a lot of cash on countermeasures in response. I personally rarely go more than ten over the speed limit, and my purchases have already paid for themselves in saves from tickets. Damn tax collectors with guns...

[Sprightly]

What the heck do these vans look like? Where are they?

[pdxdriver1234]

Has anyone thought aboiut a ballot measure to ban speed trap vans like these??

[TechmanOR]

Originally Posted by Sprightly

What the heck do these vans look like? Where are they?

If it's on a bridge marked "speed photo enforced", the equipment maybe installed on the bridge structure itself. There is plenty of room, ya know.

[TechmanOR]

I believe Beaverton Police sends the letter to registered owner, as long as they nab a readable picture of the plate.

The registered owner will have to mail in a photocopy of their driver's license, front and back along with a signed statement which reads "I truly swear or affirm under the penalty of law that I was not the driver of (the car) when it was detected in violation on (mm/dd/yyyy) at (time) at (place)"

They will then review it, and determine if they believe you were the driver. If they find out you were the driver, you could find yourself in trouble for lying under oath.

If the vehicle is registered in a business name, the business will have to pay the citation unless the business provides the driver's information.