I know most cops will give you at least 5 mph before they’ll pull you over for speeding, but if they wanted to, could they pull you over for a 1 mph violation?
I assume there’s some margin of error for their radar gear, and I’m thinking perhaps there needs to be a certain amount over the speed limit before a ticket can be given.
Or, perhaps, they can ticket you at 1 mph over the limit, but you could easily argue in court that their radar is off, etc. and get out of the ticket.
Can you? Yes. Will they? Probably not for reasons you note. However, if your ticket is for 1 mile over, your better bet is to have the speedometer calibrated by a licensed mechanic. The cops do have calibration tests they can produce regarding the radar, so I don’t think that line is as easy as you think. While 1 mph over the limit is not the reason, you should consider that many states have a second class of speeding that is considered reckless driving. So being able to show the difference there is important.
Can they — Yes, Will the judge throw it out ---- 99 percent of the time.
Typically (I know several cops) they will not engage you unless you are giong 6 over in a residential area, and 11 over on the freeway. `Course every cop is different so read the Disclaimer.
Meant to add this: In MD a few years ago they did have some “zero tolerance” campaigns where they did ticket anyone clocked over the limit. None of these tickets were thrown out as far as I am aware. If any were, it would have only been because someone brought spedometer calibration results with them to indicate that it could have been an error resulting from that, not the radar.
Speeding is Speeding, no matter how much over you are.
It is rumoured that (here in the UK) they allow as much as 10% over to allow for calibration tolerances, but that doesn’t mean you can drive at 77Mph in a 70 limit with impunity because if your speedometer is off, you could actually be doing 80+ when it only reads 77.
On freeways here in Ontario, I have NEVER heard of someone being pulled over for doing less than 120 km/h. The limit is 100. That’s a wiggle room of 12.5 MPH.
AFAIK, speedo calibration is the responsibility of the car driver - so incorrect calibration iss no excuse in court. One would assume that cop cars have correctly calibrated cars, so, as Petit Pois says, 10% leeway WRT their speedo is given.
By the by, here in the U.S. at least, you can get a speeding ticket while driving under the posted limit. If the officer considers your speed to be unsafe under the current conditions (rain, snow, etc.), then he/she can ticket you. The speed limit is the maximum allowable under optimum conditions, so be careful not to take it for granted.
SenorBeef, my father was once actually pulled over and ticketed for going 61 mph in a 60 mph zone. It can happen.
Same goes for some jurisdictions in the US. If you get clocked doing 57 in a 55, get your speedometer calibrated and it shows it’s off my 2mph, then you can be convicted of improper equipment, which probably means no points, but you’re still paying a fine.
Correct. My father got a ticket on 495 near Indian Head for 56. The result of this campaign was that MD almost lost federal funding because they had the most ticketed drivers in the nation, or east coast, something like that. Needless to say, they chilled out, but their speed limit signs on 495 say STILL!! 55 MPH.
i second that
i had a car whose speedo was well out…probably more than 10% low
fortunately a friend who was tailing me in his mg asked why i drove so fast.
got the garage to check and re-do whatever and it was amazing the difference.
its funny how the numbers make it seem safe when it isnt.
my daughter got a nip for 35 in a 30 zone but it was a red light jump as well so i dont know if the speed was the criteria
i go along with the 10%
apparrently if you are doing over 30mph over the motorway limit it is instant loss of licence.
It depends on the Speed Zone Survey (California) too. If the survey says the safe speed is 30mph & they post a limit of 25mph & you are caught doing 26mph, your ticket would probably be thrown out.
I’m guessing this “zero tolerance” event you speak of was actually referring to the procedure after you get pulled over, meaning the cops didn’t give any warnings. If the cops were actually pulling people for only 1mph over, they’d have to stationed 24/7.
Come on… no cop is going to pull you over for going 2 mph over the limit. Not gonna happen. Unless of course you are driving around in a crappy 20 year-old bondo-held-together car, a 1978 sedan with thumping stereo, or another suspicious vehicle.
If you are not driving in a suspicious vehicle, you have nothing to worry about. And a cop can find any reason to pull you over, no matter what your speed. If you are not driving a crapmobile and your tags are in order, you have nothing to worry about.
Well, in the state of Georgia only the State Patrol (acting as a direct agent of the state) can give you a ticket for going 1 mile over the limit - not that I’ve ever heard of anyone getting such a ticket.
On the other hand, all municipal or county officers (acting as a “delegate” of the state) CANNOT give you a ticket for such an infraction. In fact, if you look up the fine table for any city or county in Georgia, you’ll see that the fines for speeding don’t start until 11+ mph over the limit. Also, because the county or city cops are acting “indirectly” as agents of the state, any ticket they issue via radar is subject to regulations that don’t apply to the State Patrol, such as the physical visibility of the officer, the incline of the area where you were nabbed and the aforementioned equipment calibration issue.
Your state should have something similar.
My girlfriend’s aunt was ticketed in Spenserville Ohio about 8 years ago for doing 26mph in a 25mph zone. I was outraged, but she just paid it.
No it was for the violation itself. Not 24/7, but as another poster noted, they were camped out on 495 and other major highways and ticketing for any speed over limit. 1mph or 15mph - both got you pulled over. During rush hour and off peak. I forgot exactly why they stopped the campaigns per se., but BF’s explanation sounds right for some reason.
Sort of correct.
In Georgia, county and municipal cops can’t use RADAR to give you a ticket unless you are going at least 10 miles over the posted speed limit. They could, however, pace you to give you a ticket for going less than 10 mph over the limit. (That is, follow behind you to match your speed.)
The State Patrol can do pretty much whatever they want, including giving you a ticket for going 1 mph over the speed limit.
Regardless of legalities, virtually all cops in GA will give you at least a 9 mph “cushion” before ticketing you. The only exceptions would occur in circumstances zuma notes, where the cops are looking for a reason to pull over a “suspicious” vehicle.
Hmm. Didn’t mean to sound snarky, there, Rex. Sorry about that.
Here’s a whole mess o’ things to mull over:
I have heard from a reliable source that in the early 70s, when police were just learning to work with radar technology, a police officer clocked an oak tree travelling at 25 mph. That led to a long period of time where police wouldn’t ticket drivers who were just barely over the limit because the calibration of the radar was not considered reliable.
More recently, with much more sophisticated radar guns which are far more consistent and accurate, a cop friend of mine here in Calgary has told me that police here won’t even look at you under normal circumstances until you’re doing 16+ km/h over, not because they don’t trust their radar, but because below that is only worth one demerit, and over that is a three demerit penalty–it’s not worth their while to get you for such a minor infraction. However, Calgary police also run zero tolerance campaigns a couple times a year, with much publicity, so drivers are expected to be on their toes for a week or so.
The only speeding ticket I’ve ever received was a photo radar ticket for 17 km/h over. I sent the cheque within a half hour of receiving the ticket. My dad got pinched for 9 km/h over a few years back, on a section of highway where the posted speed slows from 100km/h to 80.
Oh, and I can corroborate Rickjay’s note about Ontario speeds. I learned to drive while living out there and got yelled at more by my driving instructor for hovering around the 100 km/h speed limit than I did for staying in the flow of traffic at around 115. When I was there, you didn’t dare stray below 110 on highway 401, unless you really wanted to be run over by a semi.