Virginia Beach Law Enforcement Speed Recording

The officer typically uses equipment to record the speed of your vehicle, which comes with paperwork that shows what equipment to use and whether the equipment was properly calibrated and maintained within a certain period of time. Officers are generally well respected by the court so their testimony tends to be strong and they don’t have incentive to lie. They’re typically believed by the judges, unless the defendant or there Virginia Beach speeding ticket lawyer can provide reason to do otherwise.

What If I Wasn’t Going That Fast? Is It My Word Versus The Officer’s?

In the officer’s testimony in court, the officer needs to explain exactly how he decided that you were speeding. He has to testify as to the accuracy of the method that he used as well as the reliability. If he used his radar gun, for example, he needs to show a certificate of calibration for the radar gun that shows that it had been calibrated within a certain period of time by somebody who was qualified to calibrate it accurately.

If the officer doesn’t have a certificate of calibration it’s possible to have his testimony thrown out and then the case will be dismissed. So while it may seem like it could be your word against the officers, really the officer has a lot more evidence on his side to support his view. If the only thing that you have is your personal opinion that you weren’t going that fast, there’s nothing to back it up, then the officer’s word is going to be stronger.

What is The Weight of RADAR Reading as Evidence in Court?

Stationary radar and LIDAR are considered to be extremely accurate when they’re properly calibrated and maintained. This is definitely strong evidence in court that somebody was speeding as long as the officer can demonstrate that he has a certificate of calibration to show that the equipment was functioning properly.

Traffic instruments used in Virginia Beach are extremely accurate. This means that unless that your attorney can show otherwise, there is no reason that they will not be accepted as strong evidence in court.

Locking on to the wrong object is definitely an issue that can happen with radar and LIDAR but it’s difficult for people to prove it in court. It’s especially common when there’s a lot of traffic as LIDAR equipment needs to be used and held very still in order to properly lock on to the right object. If the officer twitches or if he moves or he’s not pointing it exactly right then it’s possible for the reading to be inaccurate and actually lock on to a completely different vehicle or to be skewed by something else.

The defenses for the LIDAR are generally the same as those for radar. These include user error as well as making sure that the equipment was properly functioning and calibrated to ensure its accuracy.

What is “Pacing” in Virginia Beach Speeding Cases?

Pacing in Virginia Beach speeding cases is when a law enforcement officer targets the vehicle that they believe to be speeding and gets behind the vehicle and matches the driver’s speed. While he matches the speed, the officer then looks at his speedometer to determine how fast the vehicle was going.

This may seem like a less reliable measure of speed, and it often is, but pacing is still admissible evidence of speeding in Virginia Beach courts.

Pacing is definitely a controversial method and many times people are surprised to learn it’s that easy to get something like that admitted into court because there are a lot of issues regarding the officer’s own user error. For example, if the officer was slowly gaining on the driver and didn’t realize it, he could be looking at his speedometer, which is registering a much higher speed than the driver is actually traveling. In situations like this, it’s important to work with an attorney who understands how to challenge the officer’s testimony and establish reasonable doubt as to the accuracy of the charges.