Well today after school I was pulled over for speeding. I was going at the most 35 in a 25, officer claims 43(cops around here are notorious for that, my dad once received a 51 in a 35 when I have never seen him do more than 43). He was "nice" and only gave a $107 ticket with no points since it was my first. There were a group of 4 cop cars all gathered in one spot soley there to get the kids comming out of school(went to the location 20 minutes later and they were no longer there). Is this targeting allowed, where a specific age group receives the majority of the tickets? Also, is there anything I can do to fight this ticket in court, or am I basically screwed?

 

They are there because of UTI, u go there dont u? So many of the kids there drive like retards, when school lets out they are almost gauranteed to catch atleast 5 kids.

-Austin

 

i doesnt sound like they are targeting a specific age group more like a certain area they are probably doing trafic enforcement to reduce the speeders in a school zone and since all the kids are out of school later in the afternoon less danger they are not needed their anymore

 

QFT!

When i used to go to lincoln tech, which sits right off a MAIN highway, there would be cops right after the sweep hiding under the overpass.

So when school breaks out, i dont know what forces these kids to go speed crazy, they get in their cars and they all break free from the parking lot like its fast and furious. When their on the sweep to get onto the main highway, they all gun it, and cops get someone every single day.

You would think the kids would learn their lesson as the cops sits in the same spot but no, these idiot kids wanna go fast, well they can go fast with their new ticket. lol

To answer the OP's question. No its not illegal for cops to aim a certain age group. They go where the law would be broken.

 

They are just going for the easy money - some might consider it being lazy. School zones are great because they can double the fine if it's an active zone. Then maybe catch you with something illegal in a school zone - and you're in jail for 3 years. It's the same reason they hide at the bottom of a hill in a 25 mph zone rather than sitting in plain site on a 45 mph road.

I don't think it's illegal to target an age - but it would be impossible for you to prove you were 'profiled'. I'd just pay it and be happy you didn't get points.

 

I got pulled over right outside my school for going 5mph over the speed limit... 40 in a 35. I think he assumed that I was going that because he didn't fill anything on the radar. My speedometer isn't working but I was pretty sure I was either going exactly 40 or lower because I had just took off from a stop light, and I was still in 2nd gear when he pulled me over. If you read my post about it earlier, I couldn't do anything because I was driving a buddy and I didn't want to argue.

He let me off with a fix-it ticket for my windshield which cost 175$ to replace...

 

yes. in mass if they see someone who they suspect to be under the age of 18 driving after 12:30 pm they can pull them over.

 

Living in a populated area I've pretty much accepted the fact that cops target younger people with sporty looking cars for possible speeders. You can get on a local highway and do 10 over and have minivans pass you at 20+ and I bet the cop will pull you over. Not that I blame them though, its true for the most part. No one wants to own a sports car and drive slow. I just stopped driving my car for anything but autocrosses, big meets, and 3 mile + long twisties that are pretty much deserted. Camry FTW, put on some good rap/hip hop and save the techno and rock for the rex. It feels good to be normal.

 

They can do whatever they want... They were just "there for a minute."

 

Next time, ask to see the radar gun. You have the right to do that. Then you have a case if it doesn't read the same speed.

I did this once. A cop was on the side of the road and he walked out in front of me at night. With less than 10 feet to stop I hit my brakes hard which made a few little chirps of the tires. I was going less then 25. He came up to me and told me to pull over, after arguing with him I pulled over and he claimed he "saw" me doing 45 mph. I asked to see the radar gun, he said he didn't have one. So with that, I took him to court, told the court he had no way of knowing how fast I was going and the judge dropped it.

 

you can actually ask for the radar gun?? that is awesome! then again........ you are in NH......

 

nah, i dont go to uti, im still in hs. It wasnt in a school zone, it was about a mile from the school. On the ticket he marked "other" for means of tracking my speed.

 

police have discretion to do whatever they want, including profiling, as long as the violation they are pulling you over for is an actual technical violation

my advice to you is to drive the speed limit if you know cops are going to be there

you are not screwed but you're not going to win this ticket based on some kind of police misconduct constitutional argument. if PA is anything like NJ, you are going to plead not guilty over the phone, go to the courthouse on the day ur assigned, talk to the prosecutor before court starts, and get the ticket waived/fine reduced/etc and then pay whatever is left + court costs.

alternatively you could fight it tooth and nail, and try to make the state/police prove you were speeding but i wouldn't bother. in those cases, the speeder usually only wins if the police officer doesn't show up to court. again it varies by state.

that's awesome. but i know in other states police are 'trained' to ascertain speed by sight... that observation can subsequently be used in court to 'prove' speed. sucks.

 

would this have any effect on the outcome of the court case?: Right before I was pulled over(same street, about 200ft from where the cops were standing), I had to slow down quite a bit to avoid a biciclist in the street who was flailing giving me the sign to slow down. Since i wasnt speeding at that time(quite the opposite), it irritated me and right after i went around the biciclist I gave the throttle a quick blip, which I would guess was when the cops got the "43" mph. I doubt this would effect anything in court, but would this act of provocation help me at all?

 

LOL...age group its more about the car. Being over 40 yikes.. I have been given tickets in my FD going 32 in a 25 and 60 in a 55.

Cops love to ticket imports, all the guys I know with muscle car's just get the thumbs up from 5-O

 

all this speculation is funny!!! Most of you guys got off with less than what you were stopped for anyways and your still complaining! The radar comment is true you can ask to see it but unless the officer locked the speed in (most do not) then all you are going to see is a box with 3 blank windows. also if the officer is trained in the use of radar he must first be trained to visually estimate the speed prior to checking it on the radar readout which means according to Law an officer can visually estimate your speed and stop you based on his training with out radar

 

that was pretty dumb. you knew you were 10 over, you had to slow down significantly to pass a bicyclist (which is legally using the same road space, you know...), and blipped the throttle after you passed him? sounds like the officer was justified. pay up and learn.

 

I'm a cop, you have no legal right to look at the radar gun. Everyone seems to "know" the law, this is how they get themselves in trouble. It's people like this guy who demand to see the radar gun, then refuse to sign the ticket because the officer doesn't allow them to. This is how people get arrested. Also, demanding to see the radar gun almost ensures you will recieve a ticket. Best thing to do is simply be polite and fight it in court if you don't agree with the officer, traffic courts are throwing more and more tickets out these days, which is good.

 

let me put it this way
if you fight the ticket and it comes down to your word vs. the cops, the cop will win

your best bet is just pleading not guilty and then getting your break from the prosecutor. if its your first offense, its really minor (as it sounds to be) and you live in a nice municipality, he might let you off completely.

 

Sucks, I usually do what VTECthis says, ' Yes sir'.. Take the ticket like a man, fight it in court. If you fail 'the attitude test' and give the cop a hard time its on... Check this video out, its full of some 'decent' info..

http://www.wizmovies.com/watch-Never...ted-Again.html

 

ive been pulled over before school for 50 in a 30. he wasnt to much of a dick about it, he let me off. but he knew that the area would be good for kids going fast into school. hes there about everyother day now

 

i was pulled over on a 3 lane highway in my rx i was in the middle lane doing 60 in a 55 w/ the cruise on. a car passed me in the left lane with a cop behind him the cop slowed down got behind me and pulled me over. He checked my license and registration and let me on my way. i was pissed but since i didn't get a ticket i didn't argue and just went on my way

 

What's the protection against the cop lying about a radar gun then?