Technology Council

Archive for the ‘Radar Tickets’ Category

To try and beat speeding tickets is a normal impulse and an attempt any driver would go through in order to keep his or her record clean; it is not just a fine that is unpleasant under such circumstances, but the entire issue of going to court and having a criminal record could definitely be an unbearable burden. Not always will one succeed in trying to beat speeding tickets, but you never know how things may turn out, so it’s worth not giving up.

There are two ways of action to choose from when you want to beat speeding tickets. You can admit the crime and try to convince the police officer to let you go with just a warning; this is a totally subjective situation when you entirely depend on the good mood and the personality of the officer as well as on your own ability to persuade. Even if you know how to plead your case you’ve still got only 50% chances to succeed.

A second course of action when trying to beat speeding tickets is to admit nothing. Say as little as possible, let the police officer go through all the formalities and then go to court and try to solve the case there. In order to beat speeding tickets in front of the judge, you will need more than just persuasion. Therefore, try to remember as much details as possible from the day when you were stopped: the lane on which you were driving, the traffic, the weather conditions and so on.

Furthermore, getting as many delays as you can in court is also a good strategy to increase the chances to beat speeding tickets. The further in time the court session takes place, the higher the chances the police officer will forget most of the details, and your chances of getting away with a clean record will grow exponentially. However, before going to court, it is important to know a few things about the driving regulations in the state where you committed the crime.

In some states delays are very difficult to get; if you don’t want to show up for a hearing you have to bring objective proof for your absence in court. Moreover, the fines and even the speed limitations vary from one state to the other; therefore, learning the does and don’ts in traffic, when leaving your state is also a good idea. After all, the best way to beat speeding tickets is not to get them at all.

Total loss claims are filed when a vehicle has been so badly damaged that it would cost more than it`s worth to repair it. However, just what that worth is depends on how the car insurance company sets their standards, so you`ll need to know what this is ahead of time.

What You Will Need

First, you will need to have a police report. When the accident occurs, the police should be called immediately and an accident report will be drawn up. In the case of serious injury (which is quite common in total loss claims), you will need to get a copy of the police report after the fact. Nearly all car insurance companies will disallow damages that have no report, especially when it comes to a total loss claim, since an accident that big should definitely be marked down by the police.

It’s important to call the insurance company as soon as possible after the accident, whether you call yourself, or have someone phone in for you. This ensures that they are aware of the problem and will be ready to proceed once the paperwork has been filed. A file for the incident will probably be opened at this point, awaiting any other information that you can gather.

After the fact, as soon as it`s possible, you will need to write down your own statement of what happened. This will help the insurance company process your claim and most won`t move forward without an accident statement, so make sure you get it out as soon as you can. Try to include anything and everything that could be relevant, since this is not a good time to make judgments. The insurance company will make the call on how important each bit of information is, just get all the details down.

Being Honest Will Help

The truth is that an insurance company is looking for holes in your story. There are a lot of people who just make up problems to try and get the insurance money, so understandably, it`s something that needs to be carefully researched.

It`s important not to lie as you go through the process of filing a claim. Even embellishing the facts can be a risky business, it will be assumed that everything you have been saying could be false, so watch it. If you are confused about things and the details of the accident, it`s a better idea to let people know where things are fuzzy, as opposed to inventing it.

What Happens to a Total Loss

If your car is completely destroyed and the insurance company can replace it for less than the repairs would be, chances are the vehicle will be declared a total loss and you`ll be given a replacement vehicle. This should be as similar as possible to your original car and in the same or better condition. However, keep in mind that you can reject the new car and the insurance company will give you the money they would have spent on a replacement, instead. This is a whole other process, but keep in mind that it is possible.

If your car is a total loss, file your auto insurance claim as you would normally and make sure that you have all the paperwork possible. Keep notes on all things pertaining to the accident and be honest, to ensure there are no problems with processing the claim. Should the car insurance company rule in your favor, you`ll be presented with a replacement vehicle or the money to replace it.

Less than a month ago, the Arizona Senate made amendments to photo radar legislation. Most of the additions served as new guidelines in operating photo enforcement equipment, but one may forever change the way Arizona courts convict speeders. Senate amendment to S.B. 1291 reads:

28-1203. Streaming video; use

Any streaming video that results from a photo enforcement system may be used only for criminal investigations and criminal prosecutions.

Prior to this amendment, state courts refused to prosecute criminal speeders based on only photo radar citations. This changes everything. Now the hundreds of photo radar cameras throughout our state are all recording video that under this statute now becomes serving evidence in court. While I do not condone speeding or breaking the law for that matter, this move effectively makes Arizona the first policed state.

There were several other technical amendments as well. Section 2, title 28, chapter 3, article 6, is amended by adding section 28-711, to read:

28-711. Photo enforcement systems: limitation on citation issuance

Notwithstanding any other law, this state or a local authority that has jurisdiction over a photo enforcement system, including a state photo enforcement system established pursuant to section 41-1722, shall cause the photo enforcement system to issue a complaint or notice of violation for a violation of this article only if a vehicle is traveling at least eleven miles per hour faster than the posted speed limit.

This clearly states that the vehicle has to travel 11mph+ over the speed limit. Prior to this it was always a mystery. The amendments also included mandatory reports to the governor every six months starting March 1, 2010. These reports will include related traffic statistics and total monies received from citations. It will be very interesting to see if these reports become public. The state also changed the way enforcement money will be handled. Now 35% of all profits from speeding tickets are appropriated to the law enforcement department for the crime laboratory, filling officer vacancies, and law enforcement officer compensations; with this extra money “the department shall conduct periodic tests on the state photo enforcement system to ensure the state photo system is accurately calibrated.” The senate also mandated that “a photo enforcement system shall not be placed on a street or highway within two hundred yards of a posted speed limit change.” Hopefully this change will help shape the way they enforce local freeways. Arizona is notorious for placing photo radar vans on freeways right after a speed change and collecting hundreds of tickets throughout the day. This might also change some school zone enforcement because many of them have posted speed limit change signs near the photo radar vans.

It’s hard to believe after all the controversy our politicians continue to use, and enhance the photo radar laws.  Not only are they just taking pictures, they are running live video’s that will be legal to prosecute in court.  When did our rights as citizens in a democracy wash away? While few put themselves on the line to fight back, others site back and watch the government run and dictate their sheltered Scottsdale lives.  Without the voice of the people, they will continue to install these devices all over the state, converting Arizona into the first officially policed state.  When will you decide to fight for your rights, when they have a camera aimed at every doorstep?