OHTA.ca

I was ticketed for 145 on the ETR 407, a 100 kph zone.

I was caught by radar.

Ticket was not reduced. I was driving in the passing lane and officer was in a car on the right /outside under a bridge behind the concrete barriers so i noticed his car nose as I came up close.

I am positive I was driving 128-130 kms, not 145, but either way, I was being followed by a friend as we were heading to the same destination.

What I did notice was there was another SUV of the same color coming out to pass me on the right side so he must have been going faster that I was and signifigantly faster to be noticeable.

The officer stated I was doing 145 and I asked how he was sure it was me and not another car, he said he had me "targeted"? He they went to his car and brought the radar device to my window and it showed 145. I again asked, how would this show it was my car and not another? He just repeated I was targeted and it was me.

My question is, what does he mean I was "targeted"? How can he be so confident it was me? Is there any info on the radar if these also take video or pictures to show it was me?

I will fight this due to I am positive I was not going 145, I know everyone says that. I will select option 2 which is to speak to a prosecuter first. I assume they will offer to reduce since it was not reduced at time of ticket. I assume this from reading here what seems to be automatic.

Any advice would be appreciated how to deal with this in the best way possible and what do I need to prepare in regards to info, go take some pictures , request somthing from the co-worker who was following me?

I am happy to share any results as this carries on.

Youll want to start by requesting disclosure to see what type of device the officer was using and what his observations were. One of the first things to determine is what type of device was used to obtain your speed. Are you certain it was radar? There are also handheld laser devices for measuring speed. They have aiming sights and can easily target specific vehicles. Radars have a much larger beam and are harder to target specific vehicles with in heavy traffic, but it can still be done.

In terms of your defence, dont assume that the officer obtained your speed at the time you saw him. Typically police will have already locked in your speed well before you see them. Again, disclosure will clarify this. If there were other vehicles in the immediate vicinity of where you were targeted, it might help to raise reasonable doubt about whose speed the officer recorded. Im not sure about having your friend testify. Saying you were only going 30 over instead of 45 usually doesnt help in Court. Once they know you were speeding, theyll typically accept the officers evidence about what the speed was.

How you wish to proceed is really up to you. As you said, youre pretty much guaranteed a plea deal to a reduced speed. Its up to you if you want to gamble on the big win or just take the deal. Id suggest checking with your insurance provider to see if they classify 45 over as a major or minor offence. If they do consider 45 over a major offence, you might be best to take a plea deal to avoid the increased insurance rates upon conviction.

I don't believe any Ontario officers still use radar. It's all lidar. It's aimed at your front plate as it's the most reflective part of your vehicle. Traditional radar would send a beam that expanded in width the further the target was. This would make it harder to pinpoint a vehicle in traffic. Lidar doesn't have this problem. The beam expansion is very minimal and wont expand past the sides of your car. This is what he means by "targeted".

(a) You'll have a hard time convincing anyone the gun was picking up anything other than your car.

(b) Your witness isn't going to come in handy when he states you were doing 130, not 145 in a 100km zone.

Since you're committed to the fact that you were doing 130, I don't see why you'd have any trouble getting it reduced to something close to that. If the ticket hasn't already been reduced, which is hasn't, you shouldn't have too much difficulty should you decide to take this route.

bend wrote:I don't believe any Ontario officers still use radar.

Id strongly disagree with that. While laser is popular, I still see tons of handheld radar units in use. Its also the only option Im aware of that works from a moving vehicle.