[ludwig]

Take two buddies out there with you. Park your car in front of the camera, open the doors, climb up on the roof, and...

have your buddies start pitching a baseball back and forth in front of the speed sensor.

Let the prosecutor have at it with those tickets.

I hate photo traps that do nothing but raise revenue. Especially when a majority of the funds go to private companies that process the photos. (although I guess the money going ANYWHERE but to DC guvmnt coffers is better).

Anyone up for 'catch'??

-Ludwig

[jeff91c2t]

This ticket was taken from another moving vehicle. That's a first I've seen/heard of this...

In the pic included with the ticket there is another car to the left and ahead of mine in the fast lane. The description of how/when the camera takes the picture would indicate clearly (from my interpretation of course) that the other vehicle should have been the target...one of those WTF deals.

I decided to make the city work for the $50 and requested a hearing

[VaSteve]

Originally Posted by John Clay

The nut I am married to is dying to make a high speed run through the speed camera.....just to get a photo of the car with the speed on it. I keep telling her what a dumb idea that is.

ha ha. I have proof that my old 944 could do at least 77 mph.

[VaSteve]

Originally Posted by jeff91c2t

I decided to make the city work for the $50 and requested a hearing

yeah, I did that for an erroneous parking ticket. I won. Remember all those folks are getting their pay to be there.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by boochook

big brother is WATCHING~!!!! i've seen a Mitsu 3000GT (VA state trooper) off 66 right by key bridge exit pull someone over and a Ford F-450 Dually (tan) pull someone over on FFX County parkway last year.

I was a little unimpressed with the tactics of the U.S. Park Police on Tuesday. I was driving home from DC on the GW Parkway after a late night in the office (this was about 1:30am). There were a couple of cars behind me but all I could see was their headlights and I wasn't even thinking about who they might be as they seemed to be just driving with traffic (i.e. me). After maybe 5 minutes following me, one of them suddenly takes off at what had to be 60 - 70 MPH in a 40 zone and it turned out to be a park cop - with his lights off.

Seeing this, I just kept driving thankful that I was driving the limit. I thought about speeding up a tad since the cop was now long gone. Good thing I didn't because another 5 minutes later the other cop that was following me passed me, only more sedately and legally than his partner.

My guess is this wasn't an accidental sequence. I think the first cop was baiting me for his partner to catch. That strikes me as quite unprofessional.

[Rick Lee]

IIRC, the mobile photo cars on Rt. 50 use radar, so a detector will pick them up. Saved me plenty of times and yes, it's well worth it even in VA. In AZ the cameras on the highways are stationary and use sensors under the pavement, so radar detectors don't pick them up. Still, they have to have a clear shot of your face or else they don't mail the ticket. I just put my hat over the right side of my face as I drive past. I'm thinking of using a large mirror to completely ruin the photo. The new Escort 9500xi has a feature where you can program in the locations of non-radar cameras and its GPS will alert you when you approach one.

[HoodPin]

Originally Posted by Simon

......I think the first cop was baiting me for his partner to catch. That strikes me as quite unprofessional.

Probability is up there that you were being baited. But lately I've noticed more & more traffic stops including 2 or more cop cars. I think there's increased concern concern for safety, as well as having a witness.....

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

.......The new Escort 9500xi has a feature where you can program in the locations of non-radar cameras and its GPS will alert you when you approach one.

The 9500xi works very well. I had my 9500 upgraded for a reasonable cost.

"Autolearns": If an exact frequency is encountered in the same location 3 times, it automatically ignores it in the future (such as door-opening motion sensors). But if it doesn't detect it the next time thru, it automatically deletes it from memory and starts the process over again, just in case.

Built-in database: The 9500ix is loaded with a nationwide database of known Red Light and Speed Camera locations. It warns you as you approach. And the data is updatable via a USB cable. The only thing I don't like is that Red Light warnings don't know which direction you're traveling; I believe the warning is based upon a radius distance from the "spot". I occassionally get Red Light warning on highway overpasses; I guess the Red Light camera is on the cross road.

"Marking Locations": Whereas the original 9500 programming used "Mark" to let you manually identify non-threat warnings (motion sensors..), the ix programming instead allows you to use it to identify Red Light, Speed Camera, and Speed Trap locations. If not already in the database, you can manually add them. My guess is that during the data download process, Escort may also be retreiving data from individual's units, and using that to build their national database.

[roundel]

I have been told that there is an app for the Iphone that is a data base for stationary speed cameras and red light cameras. I think it uses this information along with the GPS abilities to warn you as you approach a revenue area. I want an Iphone.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by AJ986S

Probability is up there that you were being baited. But lately I've noticed more & more traffic stops including 2 or more cop cars. I think there's increased concern concern for safety, as well as having a witness.....

Had the second cop pulled me over, the first cop wouldn't have been there. At the (highly illegal) speed he was driving, he was far away. If this was planned, it is an interesting tactic don't you think? Cop drives at an illegal and dangerous speed in order to bait civilians to drive at an illegal and dangerous speed. For the record, I think the limit on the GW parkway is ridiculously low, but he was doing I would estimate close to 70, which to me is indisputably dangerous unless he is responding to an emergency with his lights on. I guess they think they are above the law (and as a practical matter, of course, they are).

To me, this is just proof that their speed enforcement has little to do with their sense of what is dangerous, much more to do with quotas and probably, the boredom of a night shift.

I drive this road a lot and I've been tailed by them several times in the Cayman, but I am very careful to drive no more than 5 over the limit on that road for that very reason. It must irritate them no end.

[savowood]

The US Park Police, aka Squirrel Cops, are incredibly bored at night. They'd have a better chance of catching someone if they did a stationary speed trap. Maybe they're just trying to find new and innovative ways of bringing in revenue.

Just a bit of trivia: no police officer in a standard police vehicle has been able to go over 103 on GW Parkway. They achieved it chasing a BMW, which they didn't catch.

My favorite story on that road: I was riding my old motorcycle (CBR1000) with a buddy on his (GSXR1000) when we came up on a line of cars just as we came on GW Parkway from 495, about where the police station is. The last car was a plain looking American sedan. As my friend goosed it to change lanes, he suddenly slowed, looked right, waved, then shot away. I pulled up next to the vehicle and looked right, saw it was a squirrel cop, waved, tucked under the faring, and bolted after my buddy.

He gave chase, but it was futile. I don't think we went below 120 except for a quick section negotiating traffic. We pulled off at Key Bridge and went into Arlington, back when you could do that there. That was a lot of fun. Stupid, but fun. Had my buddy not taken off, I don't think I would have done it. Damn peer pressure.

Nowadays I keep my speed confined to the track, although on my new bike, a Honda VFR800, it's not hard to accidentally find yourself over 100. I need a cruise control for it. Cruise control is what keeps me at a sane speed when coming back from the track in the P-car. The whole perception shift is rough when 90 feels like 40.

-Michael