OPP travelling opposite direction.. radar? | GTAMotorcycle.com

OPP travelling opposite direction.. radar?

DOHC1

DOHC1

Well-known member
Hey,
I was going through Algonquin highway 60 and Unmarked OPP was going in the opposite direction. I was with a buddy who was about 3 car lengths in front of me. OPP passes both of us, and turns around and lights his cherries up. Pulls me over, says I was going 70 over (it is a 80 zone). Says I wont tow the bike, but will give you a 49km/hr over ticket. Honestly, I dont think I was going 70 over (that would put me at 150..and I know I wasnt going 150). I'm wondering how the cop even got to radar me.. he was traveling 80-90km/hr on a curve going the opposite direction (do radars work on oncoming traffic?).

Luckily I still have the bike. Gonna call redline and get this taken care of.

a) Can he radar me going opposite direction?
b) Since my buddy was only 3 car lengths in front of me, how can he be 100% sure that it was my bike that the radar picked up.
c) There is no "R" (for reduced) written on the ticket.

Disclosure will tell me a lot.
 
I don't claim to be an expert on the mater.. but I believe the dash mounted radars are tied into the vehicle and can compensate for his speed so they can work on oncoming traffic. That said, oncoming or not from what I understand it's hard to get a radar lock on a bike because of the limited metal.

As for the ticket.. just because it doesn't say it was reduced does not mean the officer didn't put it in his notes. AND if you try to fight it, the prosecutor CAN and usually will put it back up.
 
Man that sucks... From what I remember it is your first season riding as well...

Regardless of what people say on the forum, just contact a paralegal and get it sorted out as it is a pretty serious charge.

Sounds to me like the cop wants to make it seem like he/she is doing their job by keeping the streets safe for the long weekend O_O
 
I'm thinking that the radar unit probably got a momentary speed-shadowing error because of the other bike, thus momentarily giving a false reading on the patrol car's speed, as described in the Valentine report linked to above.

Good luck proving that in court.

edit: This is a fair argument for running video recording all the time.
 
Thanks for the input guys. Lets see how Redline handles this.

By the way, this is my brother posting from my account..My little ninja 250r wasn't pulled over :).. the GSXR was.
 
a) Can he radar me going opposite direction?

Yes, he can.

b) Since my buddy was only 3 car lengths in front of me, how can he be 100% sure that it was my bike that the radar picked up.

Very unlikely that he could. The lead vehicle is far more likely to be the one he tagged.

c) There is no "R" (for reduced) written on the ticket.

It might still be noted in his notebook. With good representation, it sounds like this would go away.
 
just_luc said:
That said, oncoming or not from what I understand it's hard to get a radar lock on a bike because of the limited metal.
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Don't they measure the speed of baseballs and hockey pucks with radar?
 
Rob MacLennan said:
a) Can he radar me going opposite direction?

Yes, he can.

b) Since my buddy was only 3 car lengths in front of me, how can he be 100% sure that it was my bike that the radar picked up.

Very unlikely that he could. The lead vehicle is far more likely to be the one he tagged.

c) There is no "R" (for reduced) written on the ticket.

It might still be noted in his notebook. With good representation, it sounds like this would go away.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I'm hoping your answer to (b) will cast enough doubt in court on the radar's reliability.
 
Radar and laser detectors work in a straight line, not around corners.

Ask the officer Bob to explain how his radar or laser beam negotiated the curve.
 
the radar has a field of view in front of the car in a "V" shape, so he probably tagged the person in front of you, and since you were riding close to the person in front of you, he can assume both of you were going the same speed +-15km/h or so.

You can ask for a disclosure, which will help a lot.
 
So let me get this straight, you were behind your buddy and the radar beam went through him and zapped you instead?? Did your buddy just continued on his journey or did he stopped also when you stopped?
 
Pegassus said:
So let me get this straight, you were behind your buddy and the radar beam went through him and zapped you instead?? Did your buddy just continued on his journey or did he stopped also when you stopped?
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The OPP car passed both of us, so the radar could have tagged either or; probably the first bike.. and why would I stop? (My brother is the one who got the ticket, I was the rider in front..he used my account to post) I kept going and pulled over a few km down the road. Cop didnt signal for me to stop..if I had pulled over, he would probably slap me with a ticket too!
 
yea, the cops cars do have radars one in the front left and one in the left rear just above the interior lights. i know this because i did a ride a long with YRP few years back. Also, police foundations course teaches you a lot hehe :).
 
ramon1234 said:
the radar has a field of view in front of the car in a "V" shape, so he probably tagged the person in front of you, and since you were riding close to the person in front of you, he can assume both of you were going the same speed +-15km/h or so.
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This is absolutely correct. If there are two cars in front of one bike and he estimates the bike is doing a similar speed to the first two, he will use his radar reading from the first car, but pull over the bike (technically they usually pull over the vehicle at the REAR of the "pack").

All the cop has to do is say you were travelling at the same speed as whatever vehicle he got on radar. Your best defence is to say the vehicle in front of you HAD JUST OVERTOOK YOU as you passed the cop. For the brief moment the cop saw you, it may have appeared you were going the same speed, but this was not the case.

He can have his radar set in "strongest" mode, in which it will display the speed of the largest vehicle or at least the one with the best radar lock, or "fastest" which will spit out the speed of the fastest vehicle, within the radar's "window" (a cone shaped area approximately 30 degrees wide).

And remember when you are fighting the ticket: The offence is speeding, the 49kph over is basically just the fine. To be found guilty so it won't affect your insurance, you have to convince them you were doing the speed limit, or less. And remember, some insurance companies count 45kph and over as MAJOR tickets!

If they amend it up and you lose at court you could have up to a $10,000 fine (but not less than $2000!) AND 6 months in jail and AND a 2 year license suspension.

Weigh your options carefully.

-Jamie M.
 
it depends on what sort of radar he is using. i fount out the following from a u.s. state trooper

the hand held machines use laser and are the most accurateb and are iron clad in convictions

a traditional radar detects the speed of all objects within a certain distance but not as accurate.
 
toysareforboys said:
If they amend it up and you lose at court you could have up to a $10,000 fine (but not less than $2000!) AND 6 months in jail and AND a 2 year license suspension.
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As you stated earlier in your post, the offense is speeding. If they amend back up to the original alleged speed of 150 kph (70 kph over the limit of 80 kph) then the maximum fine possible if convicted is $682.50 (plus victim surcharge and court costs). The court can't lay an additional or increased charge of stunting as you're suggesting but will rather have to try the charge before the court, which is speeding.
 
coyo said:
As you stated earlier in your post, the offense is speeding. If they amend back up to the original alleged speed of 150 kph (70 kph over the limit of 80 kph) then the maximum fine possible if convicted is $682.50 (plus victim surcharge and court costs). The court can't lay an additional or increased charge of stunting as you're suggesting but will rather have to try the charge before the court, which is speeding.
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Ahh. Thanks for the info. Wasn't sure how it worked with speeding, if they could amend it up to racing or not :)

Great news that they can't.

-Jamie M.
 
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