Quote:
Originally Posted by Redlines_Daily
I was driving on hwy 1 east bound towards vancouver from North Van. I passed through the tunnel after the bridge. As I was coming out of the tunnel I noticed a police car parked at the exit facing the same direction as traffic flow. I passed him doing around 90km/hr(possibly 100, Im not exactly sure). He pulled me over came up to my window and told me I would be losing my car for 7 days for traveling at 143km/hr. I told him I was not traveling that fast and I asked to see the radar. He told me I cannot see the radar because he did not get a lock on me. I asked him how he radared me when he wasnt in the tunnel and could not see the tunnel from where his car was sitting. He told me the radar shot backwards from his car into the tunnel, hit the fastest object and came back. He knew it was me because he could hear my car and was watching me in his rear view mirror. He later told me that he radared me at 111km/hr as I passed him. The ticket he gave me is for $485 and is cited as excessive speeding. He also impounded my car for 7 days. I believe the speed limit through the tunnel is 70km/hr.
I am wanting to dispute this ticket as I don't believe he has radar evidence of my speed. I am willing to accept a lesser charge of speeding at 20km/hr over(the speed I believe I was traveling at) or IF he does have a radar read out of me at 111km/hr, then I will accept that charge as well.
If I ask to see the radar, does the officer have an obligation to show me the read out? Also, is he correct in his statement that he can shoot the radar backwards into the tunnel without visual confirmation and without a lock on the target vehicle? It sounds a bit fishy to me..
Also, I don't know if I believe he even clocked me at 111km/hr..it sounds like he made that number up so I would be in the 40km/hr+ range to give him reason to impound my car..and he refused to show me the radar as evidence.
Any help or advice on this matter would be much appreciated. Thank you,
-J
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Disabled man stranded, car impounded for speeding - British Columbia - CBC News
May be of some use to you given radar is regularly cited as having a 2kph margin of error, that could potentially put you at 109, and therefore under 40kph. Definitely an argument to make when requesting a review.
Unfortunately, in this case, the fellow was forced to go to the media in order to get the police to properly review his claim.
Pretty embarrassing when the media is what forces law enforcement to provide a fair trial.
I suspect with the public now knowing about the real reliability of radar, we are going to see a lot more *103kph, *113kph, *123kph etc. excessive tickets being handed out
EDIT: I completely forgot, for 7 day impounds there is no review process! In this case the officer can impose a penalty without you actually being found guilty.
Your best bet would be to fight the charge in court. If the JP accepts the margin of error argument, you may be able to further pursue a case for a refund of your fees? Unfortunately no process exists for you to collect compensation for the inconvenience of being without your vehicle for 7 days and missed work or other financial burdens as a result, despite the fact the impoundment was unconstitutional.