2 LEO contacts in September...rough month!

[kalipsocs]

Well I am a bit late, but it has been a busy busy month as well as expensive.

The first contact was closer to the beginning of the month. While friends, father, and myself were out in Woodson, TX shooting the .50 cal, someone decided to smash and grab on my car in front of my dad's house between 2-6 PM which I find incredibly aggravating considering he is in a upper middle class area and it was broad day light with people who are always out walking dogs, kids playing, etc. Anyway, had to call Bedford's finest and report it. He asked to see my license and since it was not the setting I thought it would be the first time I presented my CHL I intially forgot and while he was recording the license info I said "And just so you know..." and showed him my CHL. Only gave it a cursory glance and said something to the effect of he appreciated it and was all business regarding the incident, but very courteous. Told me exactly what we all knew in that unless I had marked the items or had serial #s and they caught them fat chance of getting back, but he gave me his card in case I found anything else missing (which I did) and was just as pleasant when I called him later to report the later item.

Second encounter was last Monday here in San Marcos. About 8:45AM I am driving back to my apartment from some early errands and notice blue hues flashing in my review mirror....ugh. So roll down window, engine off, hands on the wheel. It was a motorcycle officer so I knew I wasn't getting out of this ticket. "Know why I pulled you over?" No actually I don't. "You were going 42 in a posted 30 MPH zone." Wha?!? I was kinda shocked followed by anger because I knew for a fact that the speed limit was 45, but I know better than to argue. Asked for my license and insurance. "Officer, I have a CHL and "its" located in my front right pocket." All he said was "thats fine", and then I felt like I could relax a bit in terms of visible hands and all that. Ran my stuff, asked me to sign my ticket, and the obligatory "Slow down" which really irks me but thats another issue.

So bottom line, Bedford gets a point and San Marcos remains neutral due to the circumstances. SMPD officer was professional but far from courteous which goes a long way for any situation. He certainly isn't required to, but just because you got me in a speed trap doesn't means you have to be stern and unflinching. By the way...the road I was on is 45 until you cross under I-35 and then it slows to 30 MPH which I found out IS posted, only its facing the wrong way!! The sign reads perpendicular to the road from a combination of bad placement and vandalism bending the sign back a bit. I don't know if its worth trying to get my day in court, but I am leaning towards the notion that the officer knows this and uses that to gin up some tickets at the least. Always wondered why there were so many people pulled over in my complex, guess I know why now.

[sss]

Your subject just made me realized that I've averaged one LEO contact per month since June.

June: Stopped in Florida for a minor traffic violation.
July: Stopped in Houston for another minor traffic violation
August: Car accident. Presented CHL to the officer who came to do the report.
September: Chased down a drunk who almost slammed into us. Presented the CHL once again...

[kirock7]

If I were you, I would make sure to have my day in court and would go armed with a handful of printed pictures of the road and speed limit sign to show the judge.

[sheffd]

Agree with the previous, might not help but darn sure won't hurt.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

kalipsocs:

It's up to you whether you want to dispute the ticket in court, or just go the driver's ed
route, or go with deferred adjudication.

If you dispute it in court, photos of the unclear speed limit sign would assist your defense.

After you handle the ticket in whichever manner you choose, the next thing you should do
is to contact TexDOT (if it's a state highway or FM road), or your city/county road department,
and make a request to have the sign repaired so that it faces traffic directly. If it is foliage-
obstructed, ask them to trim the area also.

I have called in road issues for years. The response of the various departments has run the gamut
from "the crew fixed the problem by the end of the afternoon" to "we'll boringly take the report over
the phone and will never fix it." LIke the rest of life, it all comes down to the individuals within
the department.

Good luck in court. If you want to get the best radar/laser detector for defense, buy a Valentine
One. Yes, they are $395, but the long range alerts and arrows showing the direction of the cop
will pay for themselves. My first one lasted 6 years. Then I traded the failed one back to them
and got a brand new Valentine One for just $189.

East of Mexia, TX on US84, approaching the TX 179 intersection, I was going 108 MPH in a
70 zone and got a 2 mile warning of DPS radar ahead. The white F-150 that was ahead of me going
about 115 got nailed. I wonder if he got just the big ticket or handcuffs for a ride to the pokey.

SIA

[chamberc]

Here here on the Valentine one. I've had one since 2000 and it is truly great!

[Keith B]

Here here on the Valentine one. I've had one since 2000 and it is truly great!

The V1 or other high-end RD are great if they leave the radar on. instant on radar with you on a road by yourself will not help. Also, a lot of the municipalities around here are now running lidar (laser) it is almost impossible to beat unless they target a car ahead of you and it gets diffraction back out to pick up. Most of the beam is so narrow that you will either not pick it up until they target you, or not even detect it at all if they hit your front license plate and the detector is a distance away (i.e. in the windshield of a large truck vs. a low profile car.)

[hheremtp]

Here here on the Valentine one. I've had one since 2000 and it is truly great!

The V1 or other high-end RD are great if they leave the radar on. instant on radar with you on a road by yourself will not help. Also, a lot of the municipalities around here are now running lidar (laser) it is almost impossible to beat unless they target a car ahead of you and it gets diffraction back out to pick up. Most of the beam is so narrow that you will either not pick it up until they target you, or not even detect it at all if they hit your front license plate and the detector is a distance away (i.e. in the windshield of a large truck vs. a low profile car.)

this is true for a conventional radar detector, however escort and Blinder are making jammers that are very effective at countering laser guns. There is also a coating that you can place on your license plate and head lights that will decrease the range at witch a lidar gun can target you.

[nitrogen]

Here here on the Valentine one. I've had one since 2000 and it is truly great!

The V1 or other high-end RD are great if they leave the radar on. instant on radar with you on a road by yourself will not help. Also, a lot of the municipalities around here are now running lidar (laser) it is almost impossible to beat unless they target a car ahead of you and it gets diffraction back out to pick up. Most of the beam is so narrow that you will either not pick it up until they target you, or not even detect it at all if they hit your front license plate and the detector is a distance away (i.e. in the windshield of a large truck vs. a low profile car.)

this is true for a conventional radar detector, however escort and Blinder are making jammers that are very effective at countering laser guns. There is also a coating that you can place on your license plate and head lights that will decrease the range at witch a lidar gun can target you.

Or don't put a front plate on your car. Then they need to target your window, and your detector will get the signal.

of course, it's an offense to not have a front plate, but usually less of one than speeding.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

KeithB:

You are correct sir. Even if you have a V1 (Valentine One), "instant on" radar/laser
will nail you if you are the first vehicle "sampled". That's why, paradoxically, it's safer
(ticket wise) to speed in a group of vehicles, rather than on a completely empty highway.

Laser is sometimes characterized as the ultimate speed-measuring device.
The beam is supposed to be so narrow that if your laser detector goes off, you
are getting the ticket. I have found though that there IS some "scatter" of the
laser beam, which I have picked up in the rightmost lane of I-35E, a 3 lane highway,
while the LEO was lasing people in the leftmost, high speed lane.

Laser does have some restrictions on its use, which is why radar is preferred for
speed monitoring by the LEO's. To wit:
1. Laser must be used from a stationary position. It can't be used while the police
officer is moving.
2. Laser is not efficiently used in the rain.
3. Laser can't shoot through glass. So many times, the office sits parked at a 90 degree angle
to the roadway, with his driver's window down.

As well as having my V1, I have "anti-laser" license plate covers. They look like clear plastic,
but are supposed to have the ability to absorb or scatter a laser signal so that the laser officer
does not get a clear reading.

SIA

[hheremtp]

KeithB:

You are correct sir. Even if you have a V1 (Valentine One), "instant on" radar/laser
will nail you if you are the first vehicle "sampled". That's why, paradoxically, it's safer
(ticket wise) to speed in a group of vehicles, rather than on a completely empty highway.

Laser is sometimes characterized as the ultimate speed-measuring device.
The beam is supposed to be so narrow that if your laser detector goes off, you
are getting the ticket. I have found though that there IS some "scatter" of the
laser beam, which I have picked up in the rightmost lane of I-35E, a 3 lane highway,
while the LEO was lasing people in the leftmost, high speed lane.

Laser does have some restrictions on its use, which is why radar is preferred for
speed monitoring by the LEO's. To wit:
1. Laser must be used from a stationary position. It can't be used while the police
officer is moving.
2. Laser is not efficiently used in the rain.
3. Laser can't shoot through glass. So many times, the office sits parked at a 90 degree angle
to the roadway, with his driver's window down.

As well as having my V1, I have "anti-laser" license plate covers. They look like clear plastic,
but are supposed to have the ability to absorb or scatter a laser signal so that the laser officer
does not get a clear reading.

SIA

I had an hpd officer tell me that if he can't get a speed reading off of the front license plate for some reason he will adjust his aim to the front passengers seat and clock it, I doubt he was lying to to me as he is one of the officers that I regularly work with, and know fairly well.

SIA, you might want to look into getting some veil and applying it to the cover, it will make it more effective; however if you really want to be sure they can't clock you, you need a blinder or an escort shifter.

[chamberc]

There is very little scatter from laser and most times, when you're hit with laser and you're speeding they're going to get you. Regardless, over a 9 year period the Valentine One has saved me from getting at least a dozen to two dozen tickets. Of the 3 times I've been tagged by Laser, only once was I speeding and I did get a ticket. But the cost of that ticket and the others I would have gotten is still far outweighed by the savings of having the Valentine One.

In the case of instant on radar, unless you're the first person in several miles to get "tagged", it provides the warning you need when the officer tags cars in front (or behind of you).

[jsimmons]

I have an idea - how about just obeying the traffic laws?

[hheremtp]

I have an idea - how about just obeying the traffic laws?

Now why would a person want to do a silly thing like that?

[3dfxMM]

I find it interesting that there is an entire thread on how to break the law and get away with it on the same site where members routinely point out that CHL holders are more law-abiding than the rest of the world.