I got nailed

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by Brucelee

"they get a cut of the revenue, and so does the city."

...Nor, is the law set in stone that a live person be the one to write you up.

Sorry, this boat has left the dock...

Hi,

You can't buck City Hall, but, the loss of freedom I was referring to was the right to face one's accuser and question them. With a Radar, a Person is operating this and you can question their competancy or the state of the equipment. The Laws which were sucessfully challenged on these issues are another example of Judges making Law (not their Function) rather than enforcing existing Law, but that's another thread on another Forum.

Here in MN, you can subpeona all the maintenance records on the Radar Unit and ask, at the scene, for a calibration readout of the equipment. The Officer presses a button on the Radar and the readout must return to 0MPH, any other number and the unit is off.

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[denverpete]

Actually, the speed trap Rail26 got caught in doesn't even use radar. Apparently Arizona is a testing bed for a company which uses wires embedded in the road. The Arizona legislature stated that their two sites are just "tests" - but when has anything like that ever gone away after testing? I don't know about California, but one of the reasons they are doing this is that there is no money out of pocket. The company pays for everything and the city or state gets a cut of the revenue. According to many in the "know" these companies are the next "big thing" to invest in.

In Colorado, the whole revenue thing is also in play. Now what's really interesting is that photo radar in Colorado is in a bit of a grey area. The courts ruled that in order for a ticket to be valid, it must be served (you have the right to face your accuser). Photo radar tickets in Colorado carry no points and don't go on your driving record. Photo radar sites must be posted (although it can be for a general area - not right at the site) and there are limitations on where they can be set up (I believe around school zones only).

There's actually some debate in Colorado as to whether you even need to pay them. If you don't pay, they double the fine. If you still don't pay - nothing! The only way they can FORCE you to pay (in Colorado) is to actually find you and serve you the ticket. Everyone has heard of the guy who got a photo radar ticket and mailed in a picture of money - then received back a picture of handcuffs? That was Colorado....