iles@hplabs.UUCP (03/18/85)
The CHP does use radar. Take it from me, and my CHP radar
ticket.
Also note that the ticket did not hold up in court. The Cal.
Legislature has NOT authorized the CHP to use radar, hence no
CHP officer has officially been trained in use of radar.
Second easiest ticket I ever beat.
Easiest one was a CHP ticket where I was spotted by a plane. You see,
CHP has no radar, and it's illegal to have speed traps (where they time
you as you go from one point to another), so how did the plane clock
me? Also, the pilot said he did have have direct visual contact with
my car from time of speed measurement until ticketing. I *know* that
there were 25 other red cars on the freeway that day...they musta got
the wrong one.
CHP is usually pretty good, but every once in a while (see above) they
blow it.
Daniel
Note. Earlier today I got a ticket on I-5, I'll pay it. As one of the
lucky who drive 25,000 miles a year, I can afford 6 tickets a
year...mis@spuxll.UUCP (Meyer Steinberg) (03/20/85)
Low flying planes can clock your speed. It is done in New Jersey on the Garden State Parkway, where helicopters are used. (There is a sign posted stating that helicpoters are used). In the trap area there are usually white lines across two points on the road, the helicoter times you between these two points. When ever I see white lines across a highway i slow down. One on I-95 in Pennsylvania, I saw white lines and in the distance I saw a patrol car. My radar detector did not go off, so I assume the patrol man was using a VASCAR device and using the lines as guides. Two radar detection points: I got stoped on NJ Turnpike because I was tailed by a patrol car without him using Radar. (To make matters worse some places use unmarked cars for the tailing tactic.) The road was empty so he was able to keep a far distance away. Some states are using a radar that pulses off and on. The radar turns on when you are close to the trap not giving you enough time to slow down. Meyer Steinberg
iles@hplabs.UUCP (03/21/85)
The pulsing radar sounds interesting. The only way I know to look for clocking cars in California is that every government-agency owned car has a distincive license with a diamond enclosing an "E" on the left side of the plate (E for exempt?). If a car seems to be clocking you, you can pull off or slow down and look for the "E". In California, it is illegal to time a car between two predetermined points. These "speed traps" are too unsportsmanlike, I guess. In Germany, it's all automated. You drive across two sensors, and if you are going too fast, they take a picture of your license and your ticket comes in the mail a week or two later. I don't think I'd survive too long there.
mab@hou4a.UUCP (Michael Brochstein) (03/21/85)
On the New Jersy Turnpike and Garden State Parkway the NJ State Police seem to use Chevrolet Impala's with blackwall tires as their unmarked cars. They are the same model as the marked cars. Once in a long while one can also see a typical Chrysler marked police car. An interesting new development is that there is now a marked Volvo NJ State Police car on the turnpike. -- Michael Brochstein AT&T Information Systems, Holmdel, NJ ihnp4!hou4a!mab (201) 834-3482
awpaeth@watcgl.UUCP (Alan W. Paeth) (03/25/85)
In article <2500015@hplabs.UUCP> iles@hplabs.UUCP writes: >In Germany, it's all automated. You drive across two sensors, and if >you are going too fast, they take a picture of your license and your >ticket comes in the mail a week or two later. I don't think I'd >survive too long there. I was revisiting Bavaria this summer, and an old friend who occasionally drives cab in Munich had a few interesting tidbits to offer: First, the original system fired a strobe when one crossed the limit line after red. In fact, two pictures were taken in close succession, allowing a simple velocity measurement to be made, freshmen-physic's style. Slave- photoflash units become common travelling companions. The unit would trigger at the flash of the police unit, destroying legal evidence. ("Well, I was hurrying off to do a friend's wedding...") Because of this, to say nothing of the surprise of being assaulted by a barrage of hot photons at 3am, the system was reworked to use infrared film, hence no visible flash, just a nasty letter. In a second case, a twisty stretch of Autobahn posted a slow 40km/hr limit for road maintenance. A sensing unit was installed, and in one humorous case, the "evidence" showed a severly blurred 911 in the first frame, and a peaceful stretch of 'Bahn in the second. Estimates placed the car' speed at >150km/hr, but of course "the camera must've malfunctioned", and there was no ticket. BTW, I guess pot holes didn't impede the Porsche's forward progress. :-).
jcjeff@ihlpg.UUCP (jeffreys) (03/26/85)
> road maintenance. A sensing unit was installed, and in one humorous case, > the "evidence" showed a severly blurred 911 in the first frame, and a > peaceful stretch of 'Bahn in the second. Estimates placed the car' speed at > >150km/hr, but of course "the camera must've malfunctioned", and there was > no ticket. > There is a guy in England by the name of John Dodd. He had a similar experiance to that of the guy in the 911. The difference was that the car did not show up at all on the pics. Reason. a 27 liter Spitfire (the areoplane) engine in the car he built around it. It resembled a Roller in the fact that the grille was the same, but thats the closest he got to it! It's a while ago now, and I cannot remember the top speed (if it ever reached it :-)), but it was a "little faster" than a 911 can go :-). The last I heard of the car, which he called "The Beast", was that it caught fire in Sweeden. Shame. The good news was that he built another one (same type of engine) and he used another Roller grille. He then got taken to court by RR for using their trade mark. As far as I'm aware the second one was never seen again after that, but there again he used it mainly on the Contenent. (Higher speed limits :-)) -- [ You called all the way from America - Joan Armatrading ] [ You're never alone with a rubber duck - Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ || From the keys of Richard Jeffreys ( British Citizen Overseas ) || || employed by North American Philips Corporation || || @ AT&T Bell Laboratories, Naperville, Illinois || ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ || General disclaimer about anything and everything that I may have typed || ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
klein@ucbcad.UUCP (03/26/85)
> The only way I know to look for > clocking cars in California is that every government-agency owned > car has a distincive license with a diamond enclosing an "E" on the > left side of the plate (E for exempt?). The 'E' in a diamond means the vehicle may be used in "emergencies", i.e. cross roadblocks, etc. -- -Mike Klein ...!ucbvax!ucbmerlin:klein (UUCP) klein%ucbmerlin@berkeley (ARPA)
mike@amdcad.UUCP (Mike Parker) (03/27/85)
> Low flying planes can clock your speed. It is done in New Jersey > on the Garden State Parkway, where helicopters are used. (There is > a sign posted stating that helicpoters are used). In the trap area > there are usually white lines across two points on the road, the helicoter > times you between these two points. In California, timing a car between those two white lines can be judged to be gathering evidence without probable cause for suspicion. The police aircraft fly their own shadow down the road and adjust their speed so that the shadow is doing 55, don't ask me what sort of plane can fly so slow, I'm just telling you what was explained to me. The moral of the story is "never pass an airplanes shadow" Mike @ AMDCAD
phil@amdcad.UUCP (Phil Ngai) (03/28/85)
> The 'E' in a diamond means the vehicle may be used in "emergencies", > i.e. cross roadblocks, etc. > -- > -Mike Klein No, it means exempt from (re)registration. Note how they don't have registration stickers. Why would a bus need to cross a roadblock? (this is all California specific, I believe) -- Phil Ngai (408) 749-5720 UUCP: {ucbvax,decwrl,ihnp4,allegra}!amdcad!phil ARPA: amdcad!phil@decwrl.ARPA
ark@alice.UUCP (Andrew Koenig) (03/28/85)
> In California, timing a car between those two white lines can be > judged to be gathering evidence without probable cause for > suspicion. The police aircraft fly their own shadow down the road > and adjust their speed so that the shadow is doing 55, don't ask > me what sort of plane can fly so slow, I'm just telling you what > was explained to me. The Cessna 172 can easily fly as slowly as 55 MPH, especially with a bit of a headwind and with a light load. There are more Cessna 172s flying than any other airplane. Further discussion (if interested) in net.aviation, please.
hav@dual.UUCP (Helen Anne Vigneau) (03/30/85)
=> >In Germany, it's all automated. You drive across two sensors, and if
=> >you are going too fast, they take a picture of your license and your
=> >ticket comes in the mail a week or two later.
=> I was revisiting Bavaria this summer, and an old friend who occasionally
=> drives cab in Munich had a few interesting tidbits to offer:
<first war story>
=> In a second case, a twisty stretch of Autobahn posted a slow 40km/hr limit for
=> road maintenance. A sensing unit was installed, and in one humorous case, the
=> "evidence" showed a severly blurred 911 in the first frame, and a peaceful
=> stretch of 'Bahn in the second. Estimates placed the car' speed at >150km/hr,
=> but of course "the camera must've malfunctioned", and there was no ticket.
=> BTW, I guess pot holes didn't impede the Porsche's forward progress. :-).
One of my German cousins (who works in Frankfurt and whose work keeps him on
the road *a lot*) told me of a similar story about a car full of guys who
felt the urge to drive too fast past one of these sensor widgets. Seems they
covered the license plate with cardboard, drove past the sensor at an
excessive rate of speed (but of course not so fast that they would be out of
focus). So the police get the picture, and what does it show?
THEY HAD ALL HUNG THEIR BARE ASSES OUT THE WINDOWS OF THE CAR!!! (Of course,
it's probably wise to cover your license plate when untertaking this sort of
monkey business . . . *I'd* hate to be the one explaining to the nice
officer.)
Helen Anne
{ucbvax,ihnp4,cbosgd,hplabs,decwrl,unisoft,fortune,sun,nsc}!dual!hav
If a man does not keep pace with his companions,
perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.
Let him step to the music he hears,
however measured or far away.hollombe@ttidcc.UUCP (The Polymath) (03/30/85)
In article <159@ucbcad.UUCP> klein@ucbcad.UUCP writes: >> The only way I know to look for >> clocking cars in California is that every government-agency owned >> car has a distincive license with a diamond enclosing an "E" on the >> left side of the plate (E for exempt?). > >The 'E' in a diamond means the vehicle may be used in "emergencies", >i.e. cross roadblocks, etc. The E in the diamond does indeed stand for "Exempt". It means the vehicle is exempt from certain registration taxes. The shape of the polygon enclosing the E is determined by the organization owning the vehicle. For example, LARTD busses have an E in an octagon on their plates. -- -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe) Citicorp TTI 3100 Ocean Park Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90405 (213) 450-9111, ext. 2483 {philabs,randvax,trwrb,vortex}!ttidca!ttidcc!hollombe
ems@amdahl.UUCP (ems) (04/04/85)
> > The only way I know to look for > > clocking cars in California is that every government-agency owned > > car has a distincive license with a diamond enclosing an "E" on the > > left side of the plate (E for exempt?). > > The 'E' in a diamond means the vehicle may be used in "emergencies", > i.e. cross roadblocks, etc. > Undercover cars are registered just like everyone elses. They have no 'diamond E' on them. Some agencies even go so far as to register them to people (ficticious) rather than the agency so as to prevent 'pros' from looking up plates on stakeout cars at the DMV and finding out that they are the cops. -- E. Michael Smith ...!{hplabs,ihnp4,amd,nsc}!amdahl!ems Tilapia Zilli is the way and the light. This is the obligatory disclaimer of everything.