7 Steps on How to Beat Your Speeding Ticket in Court and Win!

Roy Reyer 1 7 Steps on How to Beat Your Speeding Ticket in Court and Win!

7 Steps on Beat How to Your Speeding Ticket in Court

With over 41 million speeding tickets issued each , year in the US 112,000 each day , there is a good chance that you may have recently received one.

Regardless if you feel that your citation was disserved or not, you will want to be treated fairly by the system and if you’re considering fighting your ticket in court you will need to have an how understanding of the system works to . win

Because of this I created . this eBook

My moniker is Radar Roy, I retired from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in 1995 as a Lieutenant after a 20-‐year career in law enforcement to pursue a new career helping people just like id you avo and beat speeding tickets.

I did this by launching a website RadarBusters.com and provided tips and strategies on how to avoid speeding tickets, how to beat your ticket in court and began reviewing the us vario speed counter measurement devices such as radar detectors and jammers.

Then a few things unexpected happened.

First a reporter based in Hartford Connecticut contacted me regarding an investigative report she was doing about the Connecticut State police department forgetting to perform their yearly certification on their radar guns and requested my assistance.

This resulted in the dismissal of over 250 speeding tickets.

Then I launched a website RadarJammer.com where I debunked the myths of radar jammers and challenged a company who were marketing such devices, Rocky Mountain Radar, with a $50,0000 reward to prove that they worked as advertised.

This resulted in my challenge being reported in newspapers and TV stations across the US, which eventually led the Federal Communications Commission to investigate and fine the company for misleading advertising.

And right after this magazines and other media outlets began calling me, asking me my permission to publish my articles and reviews and to do cameo appearances in television documentaries.

Roy Reyer 2 7 Steps on How to Beat Your Speeding Ticket in Court and Win!

Soon I was branded as being the world’s expert in speeding ticket avoidance tactics and How products. to Beat Your Speeding Ticket in Court and Win!

In this eBook I have bottled up my 40 plus years of training and experience and share my expertise with you in this easy to -‐ follow 7 Step process on How to Beat Step Your Speeding – 1 The Stop Ticket in Court and Win!

The most CRITICAL time for you to establish your defense is during the stop!

You need to begin documenting everything in you head from the moments prior to the officer activating his red and blue lights to the moments after you were cited.

Then after this go to a safe place and begin taking notes. What time of day was it? What was the traffic like? Were there any witnesses? How fast was it that I was going? What was the officer’s name, what did he/she say to me? What type of device did he use? What did I say to the officer that he could use against me?

You may also want to go back to the location and pull out your cell phone to begin taking photos and/or videos!

Now if it’s been some time after the stop you will need to refresh your memory and What basically to go do through and not the do same process. during the Stop

A traffic stop for even the most minor infraction is perhaps one of the most dangerous times for an officer.

He doesn’t know you and has no idea if you have a criminal past or not.

Because of this he is watching exactly what you’re doing and his stress level high.

Roy Reyer 3 7 Steps on How to Beat Your Speeding Ticket in Court and Win!

Therefore it would be in your best interest to reduce his stress level

1. DO NOT get out of the car unless the officer tells you to. 2. DO NOT reach under the seat or into your glove box for your registration. 3. OPEN your window slightly (till you know he/she is a real police officer) 4. PUT palms up on the steering wheel. Be 5. Careful LIGHT Up How the You interior Answer of the your Officer’s car Questions with the inside dome light.

Do you know why I pulled you over After the officer asks you for your driver’s license, registration and insurance card he will typically ask, “ ?”

Now this is a trick question if you think about it.

If you answer yes, I was going a little to fast you’re admitting to him that you were speeding.

If you answer, no, I wasn’t paying attention then your admitting that you’re not a very alert or defensive driver.

The officer is documenting what you say and do either by taking notes and/or by an electronic recording device, which No I the don’t officer officer, will can use during your trial. you please explain the reason to me? So the best way is to perhaps answer, “ Work on Try”ing to Become His/Her Friend

What is the best way to become someone’s friend?

Act like you’re interested in what they are doing, ask questions and most importantly be polite.

Your goal is to get as much information out of the officer without raising his suspicions that you’re also documenting everything he says and does.

Here are a couple questions you can ask:

What type of speed measurement device did you use to catch me with officer? Can you show it to me? I would like to learn more about the device you used.

Roy Reyer 4 7 Steps on How to Beat Your Speeding Ticket in Court and Win!

Now the officer is under no obligation by law to show you his/her radar gun or laser gun, but if they do: Note the make and model Is the speed the officer claimed he clocked you at displayed? How is power supplied to the device? If it is a radar gun note the condition and location of the tuning forks Step Take – 2 Begin note of Your the volume Research setting

Types of Speeding Tickets

There are basically different three types of speeding tickets by law across the US and the each state has their own terminology to explain and/or to enforcement them. Presumed They are: reasonable and prudent. – Allowing you to drive over the speed limit as long it’s “ Absolute ”

– You’re charged with driving over the posted speed limit on that Basic roadway.

Presumed – Driving Speeding to fast Tickets for the conditions during the time of the infraction.

States with presumed speed limits allow you to drive over the posted speed limit as long as it’s reasonable and prudent to do so.

An example would be you’re the sole driver on a flat highway in the middle of nowhere and the posted speed limit is 65.

Now it wouldn’t be unreasonable for you to exceed the speed limit to lets say 75 would it?

However if you were driving in rush hour traffic where the posted speed limit is 55 and you were driving 54, your speed would be considered greater then reasonable Absoluteand prudent.

Absolute is the easiest to explain, if the sign says 55 the speed limit is 55. No ifs ands or buts!

Roy Reyer 5 7 Steps on How to Beat Your Speeding Ticket in Court and Win!

Basic

Similar in many respects to presumed and often used in accidents when you fail to control your speed to avoid a collision.

An example would be your stopped at a stop light behind another vehicle and you don’t have your foot on the brake. Another car taps you from behind, causing you to hit the car in front of you. Now even though the car that hit you was the cause of accident you could still be cited “for failure to control” because you didn’t have your Classification foot on the of brake. Speeding Tickets

Depending on the jurisdiction and the statue the officer cited you under your Misdemeanor: speeding ticket would be either classified as a misdemeanor or petty offense.

Misdemeanors are criminal violations with the maximum punishment of 12 months or less in jail.

And depending upon the state you were cited in there are different levels of misdemeanor crimes.

As an example Arizona has 3 levels of m misdemeanor crimes with a class one being the most serious.

The most serious of the speeding violations is criminal speeding, which are typically Petty given to Offense: drivers who were cited for driving over 25 mph the posted speed limit.

Classified as a minor crime or summary offenses with no jail time.

Because each of the 50 states uses one form or another of the types tickets, it’s important to understand first what statue and the interpretation of that states law means for you to begin the process of mounting your defense.

This is easy to do by just by going to Google and typing in “Speeding Tickets + State” or the statue you were cited for.

Look for .gov websites as these will typically be the best resources for you to begin your research.

When you find the correct statue, print it out on your printer, read through it very carefully. Roy Reyer 6 7 Steps on How to Beat Your Speeding Ticket in Court and Win!

Pay special attention elements to the of the offense and if they correspond to what How the officer Were cited You you for. Caught?

Next in your in prelim ary research you need to know what type of device the officer used so you can begin doing additional research later on.

Police use various types of equipment and strategies to measure your speed and the Visual most common Observation: are:

One of the first steps in certification for both police radar and laser is the officer being able to visually estimate the speed of vehicles, typically within 5 mph.

Now this may sound easy, but it’s not.

Larger vehicles often look as they are traveling faster then small and vice versa.

And because the visual observations of an officer are so important in the court of law, traffic enforcement training programs spend a considerable amount of time Pacing:honing the officer’s skill in this area.

An officer follows behind you, or in some cases, drives in front of you at the same speed for a given distance. estimate

The greater the distance the officer paces you, the more accurate his of Aircraft your speed Speed will be. Enforcement:

An officer or in some cases, a trained civilian fly’s overhead measuring the time it takes you to get from one point to another that has been previously measured out.

These points are typically white lines painted on the road but can also be a guard rail or some other feature that can be easily seen from the air.

After the officer in the aircraft calculates your speed, they would notify an officer on the ground, noting your vehicle description, speed and direction of travel.

Roy Reyer 7 7 Steps on How to Beat Your Speeding Ticket in Court and Win!

VASCAR:

Visual Average Speed Computer and Recorder amounts to a timing device much like a stopwatch, coupled to a computer.

An officer uses VASCAR to visually measure the time it takes you to travel two points by pressing a button to start the process and again to stop the process.

Your Stop average Watch: speed between these two points is then displayed to the officer.

Here the officer again measures your speed by calculating the time it takes you to get from point a to point b.

The most popular way has been by using a stopwatch and then the officer refers to a sheet that has with the speed calculations, or pulls out a calculator.

However today there are apps they can install on their smart phone that can do this Police for them Radar : automatically and a lot faster.

The most common speed enforcement device is police radar.

Basically a radar gun transmits a microwave radio signal, this signal then is reflected back to the radar gun and the radar gun calculates your speed by what is called the Police Droppler Lidar: shift.

Gaining in popularity is police laser guns.

Instead of transmitting a radar signal, laser transmits a very low powered beam of light in the infrared spectrum.

This beam of light is then reflected back to the police lidar gun and your speed is calculated with the receiver making about 120 distance measurements each second.

Roy Reyer 8 7 Steps on How to Beat Your Speeding Ticket in Court and Win!

Step – 3 Is it Worth the Fight?

As the following steps after this step will be very time consuming and in many instances costly, it is important to know if it worth all your time and trouble moving forward.

If you were cited for a petty offense where the fine may only be a few dollars and no points on your license it would be in your benefit to just pay up.

On the other hand if you’re facing a criminal speeding ticket that can cause the suspension of your license or if you hold a commercial license, it’s certainly worth Step all this – 4 Identifying time and money the moving forward. Weaknesses of the Speed

Measurement Device Used

Now that you’re committed in moving forward its time to identify the weakness of Why the device Pacing and/or Fails method used.

One of the most common ways an officer uses to catch speeders is pacing and because it’s a visual observation along with several mechanical and procedural The factors Distance it’s prone for Factor errors.

The further away an officer is behind you and in some cases front of you the more difficult it becomes for them to keep an equal distance at all times during the pace.

This is why officers are trained to use a method called a bumper trace.

Here the officer paces you by keeping an equal distance between the rear of your vehicle and the front hood of his/her vehicle.

This technique works very well on flat straight stretches of road, however is difficult if not impossible to do in mountainous and/or curvy roads.

Therefore pacing is more accurate to closer the officer is behind you.

Because of this it is important for you to recall during and/or after your stop if you took notice of any vehicles that were following you along with the terrain, the traffic flow and the lighting.

And then during your cross examination of the officer ask these types of questions. Roy Reyer 9 7 Steps on How to Beat Your Speeding Ticket in Court and Win!

Speedometer Calibration Reports and Vehicle Maintenance Reports

For an officer to issue you tion a pacing cita it’s very important that the vehicles odometer and speedometer be calibrated at least every six months and that the officer make these calibration reports available to you under subpoena as you’re preparing for your defense.

Also any tire ware, or new tires and even a spare tire replacement will impact the calibration certification, thus the vehicle maintenance reports of the officer’s vehicle Why are something VASCAR else Fails you will want to review.

VASCAR needs human interaction and anytime this happens there will be problems.

Some of these problems include:

The ability to clearly see the vehicle exact location when he activated the VASCAR device and the ability to see the exact location of the ending point. The officers reaction time to press the buttons The accuracy of the vehicles odometer to measure the distance

Again calibration reports of the odometer, the VASCAR unit itself and vehicle Why maintenance Aircraft reports Speed are Enforcement critical Fails when preparing for your defense.

As being a FAA general aviation licensed pilot I know how hard it is to fly a plane while also trying to focus on what is happening on the ground.

Because of this some agencies have two people aboard the aircraft, the pilot and the Fixespotter.d Point Distance Markers

The first thing you need to find out what the fixed point markers were that the officer used to measure the distance traveled and the method they used to obtain the measurements.

Example, if the officer used VASCAR to measure the markers you would want to subpoena the calibration reports of the odometer, the VASCAR unit itself and vehicle maintenance reports.

Roy Reyer 10 7 Steps on How to Beat Your Speeding Ticket in Court and Win!

If the state highway department did, how did they establish the distance of the marker points?

Then armed with a measuring device you may want to go out to the location in How question Visible and Are measure the them Markers yourself from the Air? to see if they are accurate.

Next you would want to confirm that there is nothing that could block the spotter’s Stop observations Watch from Error the air such as trees or buildings.

Since your speed was calculated by using a timing device that required human intervention the officers calculation could be off because of his reaction time or a faulty timing device.

So items that you will want to subpoena are the officer’s training records, any medical records that could negatively impact his reaction time and perhaps even consider having an outside firm verify the accuracy of the timing device, because Pevery olice second Radar counts!

There are basically two types of police radar guns; dash mounted that have an external antenna and hand operated.

And next we have two categories of police radar: Stationary, which can only be operated while the officer is parked Moving radar, which can be operated in ether stationary or moving mode. Moving radar guns have two radar antennas, one measuring the patrol cars speed and the other measuring objects moving toward and/or away from the patrol car

Stationary radar guns are typically older guns; therefore there are two major things you need to focus on during your research.

2.1. Was the officer using a stationary gun while moving? If so this is an easy citation to get dismissed as the manufacture does not recommend it The maintenance and the yearly calibration reports of the radar gun and tuning forks. (more about this later)

Roy Reyer 11 7 Steps on How to Beat Your Speeding Ticket in Court and Win!

How Radar Works

Police radar is a microwave radio signal that is transmitted for miles in a wide cone, because of this having a good radar detector is important item for you to consider in avoiding future speeding tickets.

Now once radar hits an object the signal is reflected back to the gun and differences of the radar beams received waveform is measured through its Droppler shift, by a computer inside the radar gun. This then translates the speed, which is then displayed on the officer’s radar gun.

Now there are things that can interfere with the officer’s reading like other cars and trucks that are traveling in close proximity.

Because Target Identification of this the officer receives training is what is called target identification.

A police radar gun will focus its attention on the fastest moving object and/or the largest moving object it detects.

However during this process the radar gun may shift back and forth between other objects that could even be behind you, outside of the officer’s view.

Because of this a great deal of the officer’s certification on police radar involves target identification.

To properly identify a target vehicle an officer must check these three things:

1. The Officer must visually estimate the speed of the vehicle 2. This visual observation must match the display’s speed 3. This visual observation must also match the Droppler shift audio output from the police radar gun

Being involved in law enforcement for over 20-‐years, I know that officers HATE listening to the squeal of the tone emitting from their radar gun, so they typically turn off the speaker, which is NOT recommend by the manufacture.

Because of this if you have an opportunity to look at the officers gun pay special notice as to where the audio setting is.

This is also an area that you will want to question the officer about during your Shadow cross-‐examination. Error

Roy Reyer 12 7 Steps on How to Beat Your Speeding Ticket in Court and Win!

The shadow error occurs when the officer is moving, using a moving radar gun and the moving radar’s patrol cars antenna incorrectly locks onto a large moving object like an 18 wheeler that is in front of the patrol car and adds the speed differential to the approaching vehicles speed.

Now the newer police moving radar guns include an interface that connects to the vehicles speed sensor, called a VSS interface.

Because of this it’s again important to recall the facts prior to the officer pulling you over RFI and if the officers radar gun ace had a VSS interf installed.

RFI stands for Radio Frequency Interference. Many poorly shielded radar guns speed-‐readings will go blank a when commercial radio or police radar is keyed up.

Police radar guns have a visual readout that is RFI to notify an officer when is detected, therefore its part of your defense to question the officer about this feature Cosine and if Angle he paid Effect any attention to see if this RFI indicator was being displayed.

The greater the transmission angles of the gun to the target vehicle, the greater the errors may be.

Who does the error favor?

Well if it was a stationary radar gun, the error is in YOUR FAVOR!

An example would be a stationary speed radar/lidar gun transmitting at a 10' degree angle from the approaching target vehicle. The target vehicle’s actual speed is 60 mph but the radar gun shows 59 mph.

However if it is moving radar the consign angle could put you at a disadvantage.

Moving radar was developed so an officer could measure your speed while he is driving.

To do this the moving radar has to capture the speed of his vehicle and the speed of your vehicle and then the internal computer displays both his speed and your speed on the display.

The speeds are computed accurately as long as the officer is within a ten-‐degree angle as you approach.

Roy Reyer 13 7 Steps on How to Beat Your Speeding Ticket in Court and Win!

However if your vehicle is at a greater angle then this, it’s anyone’s guess who has Calibration the edge. Errors

An officer is required to perform a calibration check of his radar gun prior to and after issuing any citations during his shift and it is recommended that they document this in either a calibration log and/or in their notes.

Typically this calibration check is done at the beginning of his shift and at the end.

The calibration process starts an with doing internal calibration test by pressing the calibration self test and activate internal tuning forks.

During this test the display of the gun is also tested.

Once the officer does this test then he is required to do his external calibration tests.

The first phase of this test is using tuning forks, supplied and certified by the manufacture for the radar gun being tested.

Moving radar guns require two tuning forks to perform this test.

After the radar gun passes this test the last phase is confirming that the displayed Tuning speed of Fork the Errors officers patrol car matches the speed of his speedometer.

Tuning forks are supplied by the manufacture and certified to the speed marked on each of them.

Now when the officer has the outside tuning fork of its protective sleeve they must be careful not to drop them or hit anything metal as they could chip, causing them to be defective.

Because of this you will want to subpoena the officer ahead of time so you can inspect the tuning forks for d any chips an to make sure that they are from the Yearly manufacture Manufacture of the gun. Certification of Radar Gun and Tuning Forks

The manufacture and many states require that a manufacture-‐trained technician test the radar gun and tuning forks once a year to certify the gun and tuning fork’s accuracy.

Roy Reyer 14 7 Steps on How to Beat Your Speeding Ticket in Court and Win!

In 2005, a news reporter from Hartford requested my assistance in her investigative report. She explained that she discovered that the Connecticut State Police had forgot to do their yearly certification fo test r over 4 years.

After her article published over 250 speeding ticket cases were dismissed.

Because of this requirement it is STRONGLY recommended that you subpoena these Police records Laser from the police agency.

Out of all the speed enforcement tools the officer can use to catch you speeding, a citation from an officer using a police laser gun is the hardest to beat.

However on the flip side, it is VERY easy to defeat an officer’s laser gun if you have the right equipment.

Police laser guns transmit a very narrow, low powered beam of light in the near infrared light spectrum.

It is so narrow at 500 feet the beam is only 18” wide and the officer is trained to aim at the most reflective parts of your vehicle which are typically your headlamps and license plate.

Once this light beam strikes your car, it is reflected back to the officer’s gun and again its returning waveform measured through its Droppler shift and the internal computer displays the speed.

Because the beam is so narrow and officer can use it to target an individual car in heavy traffic

As the officer is targeting you vehicle the light reflected back to his gun is measuring the distance in change of the moving object 120 times per second, therefore it is Why important Laser for fails the officer to hold his gun steady to obtain a reading.

Because of the accuracy of a police laser gun there are only a few defenses that would be helpful to you in beating your case and those are:

1. The officer was not properly trained and/or police certified in lidar enforcement 2. The officer failed to do an internal calibration test prior to and after issuing your citation 3. And the Judge Stanton Ruling

Roy Reyer 15 7 Steps on How to Beat Your Speeding Ticket in Court and Win!

The Judge Stanton Ruling

In 1996 New Jersey Superior Court Judge Reginald Stanton ruled that an officer could not target vehicles further away then 1000’ due to the laser guns one millididadian beam divergence at 36” at that distance.

Anything further than 1,000 feet, the laser gun could incorrectly target an adjacent vehicle.

Now this case law applicable is ONLY to New Jersey, however you can bring this Step case up – 5 Preparing as evidence if for the Trial officer targeted you further then 1,000 feet away.

Now armed with all this information I have already shared with you, your next step is to spend some time over the next few weeks preparing for trial.

How Because to Request of this a your Continuance first assignment is to request a continuance.

To request a continuance you need to submit a written request before the court at least one week prior to you trial.

Explain in your letter that you will be needing this time to prepare your defense by interviewing witnesses, issuing subpoenas, obtaining photos from the scene, to obtain the manufacture manuals for the device used by the officer.

The more complex you make your request, the longer you can ask for a continuance!

If you do not hear back from the court prior to your scheduled trial date, call or visit Elements the clerk of of the offense that court to find out why and make your request again.

The first step in putting it all together is reviewing the statue you were cited for to make sure that all the elements of the offense is applicable in your situation.

An example would be that the officer issued your citation for speed greater than reasonable and prudent and not for absolute.

So your focus on your defense is to prove to the court that your speed was reasonable and prudent during the time of your offense.

Roy Reyer 16 7 Steps on How to Beat Your Speeding Ticket in Court and Win!

You could show this by: Obtaining traffic surveys for the road Videos/Photographs of the area at the same time of your offense Maps, Accident Photos reports and for Diagrams the area

Next assemble maps, photos and diagrams of the area where you were cited, so you Subpoena can better Witness explain your defense during your trial.

Were there any witnesses that corroborate can your case? If so you would want to subpoena them even if it’s your best friend who was with you during the infraction.

Why?

Because a subpoena requires them to appear and if there is some reason that they did not that is outside of your control, you could request another continuance.

One thing however to consider subpoenaing witnesses is to make sure that they will Subpoenanot be Documents a hostile witness which could damage your defense.

There are a number of documents that you can request a subpoena for and they are approved by the court and not provided to you in a timely basis, you have another reason to request another continuance.

Some of the documents you may want to consider are: The officers training records and disciplinary actions taken against them Manufactures manuals for the device the officer used from the department (often these are lost or misplaced) POST (Police Officers Standard Training) guidelines for your state regarding the training and certification for the device the officer used to measure your speed The daily calibration logs for the device used to measure your speed and tuning forks if applicable The yearly manufacture and/or state calibration records for the device Vehicle maintenance reports if your citation was due to VASCAR or pacing Any notes taken by the officer and/or visual spotter if aircraft enforcement Any other documents you feel may be of benefit in your case

Roy Reyer 17 7 Steps on How to Beat Your Speeding Ticket in Court and Win!

How to Subpoena Have ’s Issued

Rules vary from state to state and even from court to court so the best way to begin this process is to visit the clerk of the court and ask what the proper procedures are.

There is typically a few forms that you need to complete and the court may charge you a processing fee.

Also be prepared to pay any additional photocopying and/or administrative fees Organize when requesting Your Testimony any documents and from Your the Witness officer Testimony or their agency.

Remember it’s your word against the officers and because of the officers training and experience the judge will typically give the officer’s testimony more weight.

Because of this you have all your notes, photos, charts ready its time to begin the process of organizing your testimony and your witness testimony.

Lay out your battle plan, and practice your presentation over and over again in front of a mirror, your spouse and even your friends.

Prepare If you for cannot the convince Cross yourself Examination and/or them how will you convince a judge?

The prosecutor during your trial will have an opportunity to cross-‐examine your testimony and your witnesses’ testimony during your trial.

So think beforehand what questions they may ask because their job is to poke holes Go in your to testimony. Another Court and Watch Similar Trials

Find another court in your area and watch the process and take notes. Was the defendant in that case prepared? What would you have done differently How were they dressed? How did the officer explain the situation? How did the defendant explain the situation? Whom do you believe in the most?

Roy Reyer 18 7 Steps on How to Beat Your Speeding Ticket in Court and Win!

Prepare Your Opening Statement

Here is your opportunity to briefly explain to the judge why you’re not guilty of the crime.

Write Memorize Out this Questions and have You’ll it Ask down the to Officer 30 seconds or less. on Your Cross Examination

This is the hardest part of this entire process as it’s your chance to poke holes into the officer’s testimony, but if you did you homework correctly you should have plenty of ammunition.

Here are some examples of questions you can use:

Radar Gun Calibration Test Question:

Officer isn’t it true that the manufacture recommends that you calibrate your radar gun prior to its use and after its use and that this be recorded?