daveb@reed.UUCP (David Billstrom) (04/08/85)
Thought I'd share a recent unhappy experience applicable perhaps to all of you. Maybe you can learn from it... Despite my PASSPORT radar detector, my left-hand mirror angled towards the sky behind me, my normal state of absolute paranoia-of-traffic-cops (marked or unmarked), and my sunroof open, I was nailed 2 weekends ago on I-5 in Washington State, a few miles north of Everett. I spotted the marked car as soon as it came down the ramp, and as we both rounded a curve 1/2 mile ahead, there were several other marked cars, lights flashing, each with their own victim. Two more pulled in after us. All of us (private citizens) had been going with traffic, I was quite sure of 65 mph. Aircraft. My ticket says 69 in a 55. High overcast, and the private pilot in the car with me thought it could have been VFR. I never saw the plane (and I was looking!). I was surprised at the "69" figure and told the officer of the car so; he indicated perhaps my speedo was off, but that "the airplane has a calibrated timer". I saw no obvious timing marks on the ground (as I have in the past). In California I have been able to spot the plane first, and slow down adequately. Any ideas to get out of this ticket? I'm presuming not, since it seemed to be quite a production (several traffic cars) and thus I'm presuming they made sure the exercise was legal. I figure I don't have much of a chance claiming mistaken identity, since my black VW GTI is pretty distinctive. I WAS going faster than 55. Any ideas for avoidance in the future? (Don't bother replying "obey the law" I understand that argument already). What height do the planes usually fly for this sort of thing? Where in the sky should I be looking, I presumed behind me (and presumed wrong, obviously). If the conditions are VFR, doesn't the plane have to be many of thousands of feet above (per FAA) ? Any ideas? I caution those of you driving in Washington State (traditionally a radar state with X band) for this relatively "new" threat. I also detected K band radar in the Seattle area, on I-5. Oregon, last I heard, has no state patrol airplanes. Confirm? David Billstrom (consultant) ...tektronix!reed!daveb
ark@alice.UUCP (Andrew Koenig) (04/09/85)
> Any ideas for avoidance in the future? (Don't bother replying "obey the law" > I understand that argument already). What height do the planes usually > fly for this sort of thing? Where in the sky should I be looking, I presumed > behind me (and presumed wrong, obviously). If the conditions are VFR, doesn't > the plane have to be many of thousands of feet above (per FAA) ? > Any ideas? In uncontrolled airspace under VFR, you can fly in visibility as low as one mile, as long as you remain clear of clouds and at least 500 feet from any person, vehicle, or structure. You must also remain high enough that if your engine quits, you can land somewhere without endangering people or property on the surface (you're free to kill yourself in the process if you like).
bhs@siemens.UUCP (04/10/85)
David: There is always the possibility that the trap was not actually a trap, but rather a bogus trap, pulling over conpicuous looking cars. Now, while no real policeman is supposed to do this, it does happen, especially in areas where the local police feels reasonably confident that the court is tto far from your residence for you to challenge the ticket. One indication of such a scam would be if all tickets were written at 69 mph. This you can determine by subpoenaing previous and later tickets, I believe that you have the right to ask for 5 previous or later tickets. Check it out. Another factor worth checking would be whether or not there was in fact a plane in the sky. Thus, you could request documentation to that effect, or in fact ask the pilot of the plane to appear in court as a witness. Then, of course you can ask him when and where he was on the particular day in question. You should, however, do your homework first. Thus, you should find out how high the cloud cover actually was on the day in question, in the area in question. Weather bureaus, or the FAA could probably help you on that one. Even more sleuthful, but possibly effective if you suspect a false trap, would be to find out how many planes the state has, and where they are based. Tehn, maybe airport records may indicate whether any of the planes were in fact flying that day. You should then, in court, ask the pilot where he took off from, when, ask about refueling stops, and, then, how the weather was on the day in question. Of course, if he stats that the visibility was good, or sunny, or something to that effect, you have him. If not, ask him how high he was flying. Was he flying above or below clouds? IFR limits typically are 500 ft. above ground, he must have a special license to go below that limit. Also, perhaps there are special rules governing low level flight, were all of these rules obeyed? Good luck! Bernard H Schwab Siemens RTL, Princeton, NJ