For most traffic violations, the case comes down to the ticketing officer’s word against yours. This “word,” in most cases, is merely the officer’s issued traffic ticket. Many people fail to show up to the court date provided by law. With no one to contest the traffic ticket the judge simply presumes guilt on your part or even worse issues a warrant for your arrest. The opposite is true if you have a skilled professional fighting for your rights.

Let’s use a typical speeding ticket as an example.  Few people know that you may and should ask the officer to provide more evidence to prove guilt other than the officer’s testimony and the existence of a speeding ticket. In most cases the ticketing officer does not have any physical evidence although, if requested, he is required by law to provide it during your trial. If he cannot provide it, there is a good chance the judge will find the evidence against you is insufficient to find you guilty of speeding.

This physical evidence comes from testing and calibration of the mechanisms used to capture your speed. These include Radar (Radio Detection And Ranging), and pacing (following you at the same speed and reading the speedometer), among others.   All types of speed capture devices need to be tested and calibrated regularly.

Radar guns must be tested before and after they are used to detect your speed. This procedure ensures proper functionality. Radar guns are typically tested using manufacturer issued tuning forks. The tuning forks are calibrated to a specific speed, and the radar gun must read the tuning forks speed no more than 1 mph above or below to be considered properly functional.

Tuning forks, speedometers, or any speed capture device must be calibrated by someone licensed to so.  The officer is typically not the person that calibrates the device. Licensed personnel must calibrate tuning forks within the six months prior to your offense, and whenever they are so much as scuffed, there is a possibility that they will not be able to properly capture the speed of your vehicle.  Licensed facilities must also calibrate speedometers within the six months prior to your offense.

The law requires device calibration and testing be logged. This is where the physical evidence (or lack thereof) comes in to play for the client.  There are different logbooks that must have entries every time a radar gun is fixed or calibrated. The same holds true for any police vehicle that goes in for repairs or calibration. If the police officer does bring the logs you will be able to check those dates against the date you were speeding ticketed.  The officer must keep a log of all arrests and speeding tickets issued. Most of the time the officer will not have any of these logbooks when they come to your hearing. This leaves the officer with no evidence that the device was tested and calibrated properly.  The judge will be forced to rule in your favor.

These are just some strategies Lexstop uses to fight your traffic, speeding, or accident tickets. For more information regarding your speeding or traffic ticket, call a lawyer at Lexstop at 1(888) 888-0020. You may also fill out an online form at our website www.lexstop.com, and a Lexstop attorney will get back to you as soon as possible.