You know the feeling. You are in a hurry to get to an appointment, pick up the kids or meet a friend and you see the blue lights come on behind your car. Where did that police officer come from and how did he know that you were speeding?
Police officers in California have a variety of ways to determine if drivers are speeding. They use these techniques to catch drivers when they are least aware of their presence. Before you are even aware that the officer is near, the officer is behind your vehicle, the blue lights are flashing and your stomach is in knots.
How do California Police Officers Check Speed?
Radar devices are one of the most common ways that a police officer checks for speeding drivers. A “radar gun” sends out a signal that bounces off your vehicle and returns to the radar device providing the speed of your vehicle. Some drivers have radar detectors that warn the driver when police are using radar in the area. However, these devices do not always warn the drive in time for the driver to slow down to avoid the speeding ticket.
The use of radar guns has been challenged because the radar signal bounces off multiple cars on the road; however, the use of radar guns are still the most common way that officers issue California speeding tickets.Because more drivers are using radar detectors to avoid speeding tickets, police officers are now using a laser device known as LIDAR that measures speed. LIDAR can determine if you are speeding without setting off your radar detector.
LIDAR must be aimed at one specific vehicle in order to determine the speed of that vehicle. While LIDAR detectors are available, they offer less warning than a radar detector and are not very helpful in avoiding a speeding ticket.Some states use aircraft to identify speeding drivers and issues citations. They do this by measuring the distance it takes a vehicle to travel a specific distance. This method of catching speeding drivers is illegal in California. However, California does permit the use of aircraft to identify potential speeding vehicles but the officers on the ground must use radar or LIDAR to calculate the actual speed of the vehicle in order to issue a speeding ticket.
Of course, the old-fashioned way of following a vehicle to determine the speed is still used by some officers as the initial means of determining speed. If you are not paying attention, an officer can easily come in behind you in traffic and clock your speed by following you for several seconds. The officer can then use radar or LIDAR to confirm the speed before pulling you over and issuing you a speeding ticket.
Have You Received a California Speeding Ticket?
Speeding tickets can be very costly in terms of fines and increased insurance rates. You do not have to roll over and pay a speeding ticket – you have other options. You can fight the speeding ticket to avoid fines and insurance rate increases.
The legal professionals at Ticket Snipers® successfully defend individuals just like you to avoid speeding ticket convictions.If you get caught speeding in California, Contact Ticket Snipers now for more information. You have nothing to lose by trying our no risk speeding ticket dismissal service.
The only risk you have is by not contacting our office. Ticket Snipers fights for drivers each day in California traffic courts. It is our job to keep you out of court while we work to get your speeding ticket dismissed so that you can concentrate on more important things than a California speeding ticket.