Can a speeding ticket be based CHP Radar, Officer Estimates and skills and training?

Anyone can operate a RADAR or LIDAR (laser) unit. But a trained and certified operator has gone through an instruction course to operate it properly.

Step 1: Calibration of the unit. With RADAR proper calibration is checked with tuning forks. With LIDAR, it is aimed at a spot a known distance (usually 100-150 feet away on a wall) to make sure accurate distance is displayed and the beam is still aimed straight.

Step 2: Visual estimation of speed. In order to get certified (at least with my department) you must be able to estimate the speed of vehicles within 5 mph of actual speed (verified by the instructor using either a RADAR or LIDAR). After doing many cars, most officers can get within 2 mph of actual speed.

Step 3: Confirmation with RADAR or LIDAR. Once the officer obtains a return, it must be within the allowed margin of error for visual estimate in order to be a valid clock. A clear tone on the unit indicates a solid speed measurement.

With RADAR, the radio wave beam is wide and the officer must rely on his/her training and visual estimation to make sure which vehicle the unit is reading. With LIDAR (laser) the light beam is very focused (approx 3 ft wide at 1000 feet) and is aimed at a SPECIFIC vehicle. There is no guessing which car is being clocked because the red dot in the sight is aimed at the car.

If the officer was at a 45 degree angle to the oncoming vehicles when the clock was obtained, then you were actually travelling much faster than the approximate speed of 93. Angles work in favor of the speeder by providing a lower speed return due to what is called cosine (mathematical term, for those that don't know).

This long drawn out answer is basically to help you understand that you will not beat the officer in court simply based on "how do you know it was me?". The only way, realistically, is if he does not show up for the trial.

As far as the poster that stated the officer was not properly trained because he used laser and radar together when describing the instrument, that is not necessarily the case. Most officers use the terms together when speaking to violators because folks tend to look at you with that "Huh?" face when you tell 'em they were clocked with LIDAR, a LIght Detection And Ranging instrument.

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Can a speeding ticket be based CHP Radar, Officer Estimates and skills and training?

I recently got a ticket on Highway 5 for speeding (93 mph). When I asked officer how he arrived at the speed, he said, "we use laser radar, my skills and training and my estimate of your speed. It was about 8 p.m. at night, there were several cars in front and behind me.

The officer was...

Radar and laser are two different things. If the copper thinks thay are the same then he may be a bit stupid or a bit badly trained. He used his speed and judgement to decide if you were speeding (93 didn't take a lot of skill)and then used the laser to measure your speed. The laser will measure your speed in less than a second and will be very accurate, so it isn't really an estimate. British laws do not apply, but in the UK if you get a ticket you can ask to see the calibration certificate. The speed gun should have been calibrated when the officer came on duty.

He may be pulling a fast one. Its worth asking the question about calibration because he may be guessing your speed and bluffing about the laser radar thing.

Good luck

Chp Radar

In my 25 years of law enforcement I spent 5 years as the traffic Sgt. and had to answer this question many mnay times. An experienced officer in the operation of radar can tell which car the beam if picking up. See Police Radar throw out a wide invisible beam and the vehicles approaching force the beam back into the radar and it calculates the speed that way. I have set and watch cars coming toward me and could pick out the speeder before they ever got to my radar beam. It is called experience and training. Also the speedometers on our squad cars were calabrated weekly to make sure if we used the vehicle speedometer to make the charge, it was a good charge.

It is hard to explain unless you sit day after day watching traffic. It can be done. I can pick out the speeder as I said even before the beam hits them. Trust me..........Nothing like a trained, qualified traffic officer.......Good luck with your case

Don't forget, police officers have a lot of practice with speeders (and therefore judging speed). And, if you were going 93 (or anywhere near it) even in a 70 zone (you don't specify in your question; if you were in a 55, 45, 40, etc, it would only be more obvious), it's going to be pretty obvious that you're exceeding the posted speed limit, and by how much (relative to other cars driving the speed limit).

I think you are toast on this one. A judge will believe a cop over you every time. It doesn't matter if you are right or wrong, that is just the way it goes. You might consider getting a copy of the police report and subpoenaing every officer involved. If one of them doesn't show, you are off the hook. Another idea is to check on the calibration of the laser gun. I know radar has to be calibrated every two weeks, but I'm not sure on laser.

Of course you were just devastated in his rudeness you were so insulted. Easy to come in this site and make claims as to what took place and you were not speeding. We as readers can not verify your claim. You have the right to fight the ticket, there is a chance the officer will not show up at all and the ticket will be dropped. If the officer shows up,you still can state your case, You will still have to pay it. Either way you will lose out.

You can fight it if you like, but the officer should be pretty good at estimating your speed, even without radar. If the highway was busy at the time, the task would be even easier because there would be a lot of automobiles to compare yours to

You should always fight every ticket in court but yes that is actually what the law is , a police officers is "trained" to be able to determine how fast someone is driving......total BS in my opinion but they technically are , usually they will say they guessed you were driving a certain speed and then confirmed it with radar/laser