+Insp Gadget Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 I was just wondering if anyone has used a GPS history to beat a speeding ticket? Would this be accepted in court? No, I have not received a ticket. LOL Just curious is all.... Quote Link to comment
+Les Nomades Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 I was just wondering if anyone has used a GPS history to beat a speeding ticket? Would this be accepted in court? No, I have not received a ticket. LOL Just curious is all.... I don't think it would hold in court. Ask yourself this question, how much does your GPS cost and how much does a ultrasound radar costs. Anotherthing, this I'm not sure but in its history, does your GPS keep the date and time? if not, how could someone proove that it took place at a precise day, at a precise time. Finally, how acurate is a GPS when calculating your speed? Quote Link to comment
+Airmapper Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 Finally, how acurate is a GPS when calculating your speed? I would say pretty accurate, I have compared them to the car's speedometer and the two stay very close. I would say the speedometer is more inaccurate. I would also like to know, if anyone knows more about this I'd like to hear it too. I doubt any officials would allow a GPS as evidence you weren't speeding, what if the max speed said 500.0 mph after a poor signal. Quote Link to comment
+geognerd Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 I thought a law enforcment officer posted something about comparing his GPSr to the calibrated speedometer in his patrol car not to long ago. Couldn't find that post, but this thread may help or at least be of interest. Quote Link to comment
Photobuff Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 The Magellen 210 claims 0.1 mph, and it's certainly better than my speedometer. IMO, almost all tickets are legit, and your GPSr will more likely prove that you were going even faster than the good officer said. It's not that the radar is much more accurate, and I think almost anything can be offered as evidence, though the weight may vary, but the coppers don't typically come after you unless they have a good reason and plenty of margin for error. In cases where the ticket is not legit, the system is so tilted against you, I doubt the GPSr will help much. Quote Link to comment
+Sputnik 57 Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 (edited) Most civilian GPS receivers are accurate to .1 mph. They obtain speed by doplar shift, and not distance divided by time. They are much more accurate than your speedometer. There was a thread in the general forum a year or so ago about someone beating a speeding ticket with his GPSr. As I recall, he was in the UK, and some forum members thought he was a poser. Forum search function being disabled, it may be tough to find the thread. Edit: Maybe try browsing these Edited December 22, 2005 by Sputnik 57 Quote Link to comment
+buelligan Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 As a car guy I can tell you that there is a company (and I cant remember right now their name) that sells a speedometer for cars that uses gps to calculate speed, that way you can change rear end ratios andor tire sizes as much as you want and you still get an accurate speed reading. I'll try to find their web site tonight for some more info like how accurate they are. Quote Link to comment
flir67 Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 I got ticket after noticing I was speeding with gps. saw the headlights go down. looked up at my gps speed. 55 in 35mph. wasn't paying attention. oops Quote Link to comment
ImpalaBob Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 Ask yourself this question, how much does your GPS cost and how much does a ultrasound radar costs. Map60C around $300 GPS Sat System BILLIONS of dollars Hey ..... My system is much more expensive than that stupid radar device! ImpalaBob Quote Link to comment
peter Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 I don't think it would hold in court. Ask yourself this question, how much does your GPS cost and how much does a ultrasound radar costs. Anotherthing, this I'm not sure but in its history, does your GPS keep the date and time? if not, how could someone proove that it took place at a precise day, at a precise time. Finally, how acurate is a GPS when calculating your speed? Traffic court rules of evidence are generally more relaxed than in regular criminal courts so it would largely depend on the judge. And at least most Magellan and Garmin receivers can maintain a tracklog that includes the positions and times of successive points so you can see how fast you were going at what time and place. There have been several reports in the past where people did use their GPS data to reduce or avoid a fine due to a speeding ticket. Here's one example: http://www.epinions.com/content_210403495556 : "I once managed to get out of a speeding ticket because of the tracklog data. It proved to the judge that I wasn't going as fast as the officer claimed." Quote Link to comment
+Allen_L Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 I was just Finally, how acurate is a GPS when calculating your speed? If they are always accurate then don't ride with mtn-man. See this log of his. Quote Link to comment
+Insp Gadget Posted December 22, 2005 Author Share Posted December 22, 2005 I think of it this way. Lets say I have been driving for an hour with the cruise control set at the limit. I come upon someone driving under the limit and pass them. As I pass I am over the limit and a cop catches me. If I went to court I could prove, using my tracklog, that I had been following the limit for an hour and the officer only caught a small portion of my driving. I wonder if the judge would rule in my favor based on that scenerio? Quote Link to comment
docdigit Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 I wonder if the judge would rule in my favor based on that scenerio? I highly doubt it. The officer didn't stop you based on your AVERAGE driving speed, they stopped you based on the fact that at the time they sampled you, you were speeding. I tend to agree with what was previously stated, if you're speeding, you probably deserve the ticket, if you weren't then the system is already stacked against you. Your only hope then is what usually happens to people I know...the police officer doesn't show up on court day and the whole thing is dismissed. Doc Quote Link to comment
EROK1 Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 Good Gravy!!! There is no way you can beat a speeding ticket with your GPS!! Just pay it. You could still argue the point, but they won't recognise your device against a Radar or Laser certified Police officer. I could see if you live in a really small town and you have a Barney Fife type cop that doesn't know how to calibrate his speed detection device. Again you would have to prove the officer didn't use it correctly. From an ex-Cop. Quote Link to comment
EROK1 Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 my bad. I just reread your post about not getting a ticket. You still get the point. Quote Link to comment
+Insp Gadget Posted December 22, 2005 Author Share Posted December 22, 2005 I dunno. I used to be an Auxiliary with the RCMP and I compared the GPS with radar and they were identical. I think the Judge would take into account the fact that I was driving the limit for a long time prior to the actual stop and might give me a break. How would one go about getting this into evidence? Quote Link to comment
peter Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 Here's another example of the use of a GPS tracklog in reducing a speeding ticket fine. From http://www.texasgeocaching.com/forum/topic..._ID=2604戡 "I used the tracklog from my Meridian Platinum to get out of a ticket last year. The cop clocked me at 83MPH in a 60 zone. The GPS showed at that point that I was doing 69MPH. Yes, I was speeding but not as fast as his radar showed. The speed your GPS shows is the average speed between trackpoints and since mine was logging every .01 miles that was over about a 50foot range so it was pretty accurate. I took a print out of the tracklog to court and talked to the county prosecutor and showed him the log. He was very interested in it and asked a lot of questions. This was in a smaller Texas county and they don't see many of those new-fangled gadgets there. He agreed to drop the charge to 69MPH and that saved me over $100." Quote Link to comment
Neo_Geo Posted December 23, 2005 Share Posted December 23, 2005 (edited) If someone had enough time on their hands, they could download the tracks to the computer and save the data as a .gpx file. Then they could edit the data to adjust the speed and then load the data back to the GPSr. I'm no lawyer, but IMHO, the GPSr would have to be seized as evidence at the scene of the crime to be admitted as evidence. Edited December 23, 2005 by Neo_Geo Quote Link to comment
peter Posted December 23, 2005 Share Posted December 23, 2005 If someone had enough time on their hands, they could download the tracks to the computer and save the data as a .gpx file. Then they could edit the data to adjust the speed and then load the data back to the GPSr. Wouldn't work on any of the Garmins that I've had since any tracklog uploaded into the GPS receiver loses the time/datestamp data - and that's even if it's uploaded as the "Active Log." Somewhere I read that this was done deliberately so the receivers could be used in some types of competitive events. (Not sure how it works on the Geko models that apparently treat the tracklog a bit differently.) There would still be the possibility of using a device that simulates the transmissions from the GPS satellite constellation - but those are rather rare, not accessible to many people, and involve pretty extensive programming to create a realistic tracklog. Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.