Detecting Speeding in Dinwiddie

Speeding is a common offense in Dinwiddie, which is why it is important to know how police determine whether someone is speeding or not. There are a couple of different methods for detecting speeding in Dinwiddie. Police officers often rely on radar, LIDAR, and pacing. These methods are mostly accurate, but inaccurate speed detection practices can lead to an undeserved speeding ticket. If you believe you have received a ticket as the result of an inaccurate speed reading, it is vital that you get in touch with a skilled speeding lawyer who can contest your speeding ticket.

Radar

Radar is the most common tool used when detecting speeding in Dinwiddie. LIDAR is also used, but LIDAR is a more expensive unit so it is not used as commonly in Dinwiddie. Occasionally someone will pace a vehicle, but that is not common either.

The weight of a radar reading is very high as long as the officer testifies that the equipment was calibrated before their shift, was bound to be working properly, and describes a scenario where radar commonly is effective as far as it was not raining and they were able to isolate the vehicle. The court will generally take the officer’s word for it. Instruments used when detecting speeding in Dinwiddie are very accurate.

There are very few defenses to radar gun readings in court. A person wants to pay attention and make sure that the system was calibrated and working properly. They want to make sure that it was a situation where radar is effective and that it was not affected by weather. They want to make sure the deputy or trooper got the correct vehicle and identified the driver associated with that vehicle. They testify thousands of times; they know what they are supposed to say.

Pacing

Pacing is when a person essentially eyeballs a vehicle’s speed. The police are estimating a rate of travel.  When officers use pacing to gauge speeding, are not using radar or LIDAR to get the exact number. If an officer has received sufficient training, pacing can be a valid method of detecting speeding in Dinwiddie. If not, there can be issues with accuracy that can come into play which is why it is not as commonly used as other speed detection tools. That being said, pacing is admissible evidence of speeding.

Issues Regarding Accuracy in Speeding Cases

It is as accurate as radar or LIDAR. A person is not going to get an exact number. It relates a lot more to the time period they had to see the vehicle to pace it and where it was in relation to where the officer was. For instance, was it coming towards them, was it going away from them, or was it perpendicular? The court is going to need a lot more information about how a person estimated the speed and how long they have been in law enforcement before accepting testimony for pacing as far as beyond a reasonable doubt and as compared to radar, which is very straight forward.

There are also issues with speed detection instruments. These issues include the calibration of the instruments, identification of the vehicle, whether or not there was a large group of vehicles, the weather, the time of day, and the flow of traffic. However, it is uncommon for an officer, trooper, or deputy to admit to operator error.

Defenses Regarding Speeding Cases in Dinwiddie

Some defenses would be that the law enforcement’s representative does not have the experience. If it is someone new, like someone six months out of the academy who has not written thousands of traffic tickets and has not eyeballed thousands of drivers at certain speeds from different distances, they are going to want to get into how long they had to look at the vehicle, where they stopped at the time, were they traveling, were they traveling in the same direction as the vehicle or away from them, and were they able to gauge whether or not the driver was speeding or not. Detecting speeding in Dinwiddie requires experience as well skill. A person can contest the police’s version of events and ask to see the officer’s radar calibrations, but it is seldom well-received. If someone wishes to contest their ticket, it is best to contact a Dinwiddie speeding ticket lawyer.