Has anyone ever been given a speeding violation where the car in front of you is the only one that was actually caught on the radar? He pulled us both over at the same time, but for me he told me i was "right behind him". Do you think this will hold up before a judge? I think you never know how it will play out and then i would lose out the chance to just take a defensive driving course.

 

It will hold up if the officer shows up to court. Officers write speeding tickets based on two things: their observation of the speeder and a visual estimate of the speed, and radar to verify speed.
They estimate the speed based on their training and experience, then verify with the radar.

Knowing that, if he saw you and the other car going the same speed, and the car in front got hit with the radar, then you must have been going nearly the same speed. I can tell you that it is easier than one might think to visually estimate speed if you have some practice, and are familiar with the road layout. It is also pretty easy to tell if two cars are going the same speed.

 

how fast was the other guy going? I would fight it if he didn't hit you with radar and the other guy was doing 5 over or so. but if you were both going way over the limit it may be futile. how does the cop not know the guy didn't just finish passing you? how close behind this guy were you?

 

I tried to say that he had just passed me and I got in behind him. We were both in the left lane, and I guess I was fairly close. He clocked him at 13 over.

 

Like I said, if the cop could tell that you both were going the same speed, then the ticket is valid. And believe me, it is not that hard to tell if he has spent a lot of time running radar at that location.

I run radar on occasion and when I do, I play a game with myself called "guess the speed". I guess the speed, then hit the radar. I'm almost always within 3mph + or -. And it is very easy to tell if the car behind the one I'm hitting with the radar is going faster or slower by any significant amount. (5mph or more).

I'm not saying you can't try and fight it, just that it may be harder than you think. Cops don't just get handed a radar unit and told "go use this and write tickets". We do get trained on the function of the unit, basic radar theory, calibration, and practical applications in the field. Before I ever got to write a ticket I spent 8 hours in the classroom, and another 4 in the field with a training officer by my side just using the unit and not writing anything.

 

Go to court, plead guilty. The judge may give you a break on the points because you took the time to go to court.

 

I thought you were asking about one of these...

 

Umm.. were you speeding?