1966 Barracuda Speeding Ticket

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brkooduh66

brkooduh66

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Hello fokes,
I need some help. I just got a speeding ticket, the cop claims i was going 75mph. I claimed i was going 45mph.

Car: 1966 Barracuda, 318 (mild cam, 650cfm carb, electronic igition, 2.85 gears, bald tires, basiclly stock except for the cam & carb)

Conditions: dry, concrete road, smooth (excellent day to hook up the rubber)

Here's what happened:
I turned right on the main road off a side road, took note of the conditions, and felt the urge to "open it up", so i matted the pedal, accelerated hard, but not hard enough to break traction of my bald assed tires. in about 1/8 of a mile, i saw a motorcycle cop: i took note my speed was 60mph, let off gas, pressed the brake to slow down to 45 (quickly), i claimed 45mph because of this procedure.

Question 1: would my vehicle be capable of 75mph in an 1/8 mile considing my hole-shot was out of a right hand turn?

I want to start there because i've been down this argument before in traffic court, and the cop has the advange. the burden of proof is on me to show my old Cuda can't do that speed.

maybe if someone has a desktop dyno we can plug in some numbers, then i can cross that with a little "Myth Busters" trial runs.
 
First question is are you dealing with radar? Or was he just making a visual guess of your speed?
I believe you're not going to have much to back up your claim if you're going up against his radar gun. You can always claim his radar gun may be out of certification due to too much time between calibrations but this is really thin ice. My son just tried that approach in traffic court a couple of months ago here in SoCal and lost.
Good luck with whatever you decide to try - but I think you'll be time ahead by just paying the fine.
 
If you were reading 60 when you saw him then you were doing 75 when he locked you on radar. You will lose in court. Trust me. The judge told me "I am to trust a 100 dollar cars speedo agianst a multi thousand dollar radar gun" You could just be adding court cost to your fines.
 
i would just eat the ticket and move along (slower next time) you arent going to beat the cops word in court.
 
some things to consider
your state's laws. will that ticket generate a point?
your driving record. if it is good. going to court may get you out with a reduced fine and no point or maybe even a PBJ
some states will even throw out the ticket if the officer doesn't show up.
 
when it comes to traffic citations, always, always see the city attorney before making a plea. In most cases, the municipality is only interested in collecting the fine, but the city attorny can reduce the violation down to something less painful on your driving record, ie: less points assessed. You will still have to pay the fine but your insurance co. will like you a lot better next time the premium comes due. Good luck
 
I hate to tell you I think you would better off to pay the ticket. If you go to court and the is in a bad mood he could lay you away. Good luck.
 
brkooduh66 said:
Hello fokes,
I need some help. I just got a speeding ticket, the cop claims i was going 75mph. I claimed i was going 45mph.

Car: 1966 Barracuda, 318 (mild cam, 650cfm carb, electronic igition, 2.85 gears, bald tires, basiclly stock except for the cam & carb)

Conditions: dry, concrete road, smooth (excellent day to hook up the rubber)

Here's what happened:
I turned right on the main road off a side road, took note of the conditions, and felt the urge to "open it up", so i matted the pedal, accelerated hard, but not hard enough to break traction of my bald assed tires. in about 1/8 of a mile, i saw a motorcycle cop: i took note my speed was 60mph, let off gas, pressed the brake to slow down to 45 (quickly), i claimed 45mph because of this procedure.

Question 1: would my vehicle be capable of 75mph in an 1/8 mile considing my hole-shot was out of a right hand turn?

I want to start there because i've been down this argument before in traffic court, and the cop has the advange. the burden of proof is on me to show my old Cuda can't do that speed.

maybe if someone has a desktop dyno we can plug in some numbers, then i can cross that with a little "Myth Busters" trial runs.
Click to expand...


How about a bit more information.

What was the speed limit? If you were 30 over you are lucky you didn't get to make a trip to crossbar motel.

Is this your first ticket or do you have a history of tickets?
 
My first thoughts are
my bald assed tires
Click to expand...
This is troubling

I want to start there because i've been down this argument before in traffic court, and the cop has the advange. the burden of proof is on me to show my old Cuda can't do that speed.
Click to expand...
Not a place you want to frequent

maybe if someone has a desktop dyno we can plug in some numbers, then i can cross that with a little "Myth Busters" trial runs
Click to expand...
Not a good idea at all

My second thoughts are I have been in this situation before myself many moons ago and used the old my accelerator got stuck routine in court and it worked.
 
Darwin said:
when it comes to traffic citations, always, always see the city attorney before making a plea. In most cases, the municipality is only interested in collecting the fine, but the city attorny can reduce the violation down to something less painful on your driving record, ie: less points assessed. You will still have to pay the fine but your insurance co. will like you a lot better next time the premium comes due. Good luck
Click to expand...

This, its more likely you get a better deal by fighting the ticket.

These old cars I have used the motor wasn't running right-smooth and you just gave it all the gas in hope the carb will clean out and you tried to be extra careful and slowed down the second you noticed the officer.

What's you driving record like..the cleaner the better
 
You're toast. No way you will beat it in court. See if you can go to driving school in your area and get the fine reduced and the charge reworked. Last ticket I got was for running a stop sign on a motorcycle. It had been hit and was bent over behind a bush, and I didn't see it. I gave the state trooper the keys to my bike, and asked if he would go back up the road and look at it from the direction that I came. He did, and came back and said I was right, but he still had to give me the ticket because he had called it in. He told me to go to the local community college and take the defensive driving course, and the D.A. would reduce it down to an equipment violation. I did what he said, and it worked. Good luck.
 
Just pay the ticket, from your own admission you have been to court before and failed so just pay it and take the online course [gotta pay for that too] to keep the points off and move on and think before you get froggy again.
 
Pay the ticket or hire a lawyer to fight it. Doing his yourself will be like pissing up a rope...
 
The laws in Pennsylvania favor going to court and petition for no points and pay the fine. The municipality only wants your money. If you get points you are more likely not to speed and they won't get to write you more tickets to get more of your money.
 
If you saw him at 60mph he clocked you before you saw him.So I am sure he was right about your speed.I would just pay the ticket...
 
Judges and police officers are well schooled in reading body language....they will know you are lying the minute you start to walk to the podium to tell your side of the story...save yourself and pay the ticket before a judge crushes your balls in front of a courtroom full of people...Just sayin
 
brkooduh66 said:
Hello fokes,
I need some help. I just got a speeding ticket, the cop claims i was going 75mph. I claimed i was going 45mph.

Car: 1966 Barracuda, 318 (mild cam, 650cfm carb, electronic igition, 2.85 gears, bald tires, basiclly stock except for the cam & carb)

Conditions: dry, concrete road, smooth (excellent day to hook up the rubber)

Here's what happened:
I turned right on the main road off a side road, took note of the conditions, and felt the urge to "open it up", so i matted the pedal, accelerated hard, but not hard enough to break traction of my bald assed tires. in about 1/8 of a mile, i saw a motorcycle cop: i took note my speed was 60mph, let off gas, pressed the brake to slow down to 45 (quickly), i claimed 45mph because of this procedure.

Question 1: would my vehicle be capable of 75mph in an 1/8 mile considing my hole-shot was out of a right hand turn?

I want to start there because i've been down this argument before in traffic court, and the cop has the advange. the burden of proof is on me to show my old Cuda can't do that speed.

maybe if someone has a desktop dyno we can plug in some numbers, then i can cross that with a little "Myth Busters" trial runs.
Click to expand...

I hate to say this because I usually don't get a warm welcome. But unfortunately for some, I am frequently the guy on the other end of that laser device. If the officer was using a laser device, which he probably was, then I can tell you with all certainty that the officer had your speed locked in long before you ever realized that he was there.
The laser technology of today is far superior to the old radars of years gone by. Today's lasers are target specific and do not sweep the entire street like the old radars used to do. Even with the best radar/laser detectors, unless I'm pointing my laser device at the car next to you, you don't have a chance. If I'm pointing it directly at your vehicle, by the time your detector goes off, I've already locked in your speed.
Also, the burden of proof is on the officer..not on you. What the officer does have in his favor, however, is technology, experience and the fact that, most likely, his primary focus at the time you received your citation was to catch speeding vehicles.
Since I'm not familiar with the court system where you live, I can't give you suggestions on how to deal with court. What I can tell you is that if you decide to fight the ticket, your chances of winning are unfortunately very slim.
 
If you are pissed just do a proper burnout in front of the courthouse to let some steam off. :). Ricks free counceling advice of the day!
 
I appreciate all the response, thank you all.
My record isn't spotless, the time i refered to was twenty years ago, and since then only two minor speeding tickets.
Tires are bald because they are 10 years old, and i do play around sometimes.
I like to accelerate fast, but heck its a f-ing Barracuda for crying out load.

The city-attorney thing is a good idea, and the traffic class thing sounds good too.
I still would like to solve the mystery: is my car capable of 75mph in 1/8mile.
I called my local dragstrip and talked to an old salt there an he says "NO Way","a stock 3000lbs car off the street with worn street tires could not reach 75 in a 1/8".

i did some caluations and i agree. 1/8mile: 75ph @ sec equates to a 9.36sec 1/4mile. I know i'm not doing a 9.36sec ET, i would need 500HP and racing slicks.

i know i was not going 75mph, so its had for me to plead guilty for something that is impossible.
 
Well these old cars can be pretty quick and you were not at zero miles an hour when you came around the turn.

If you feel the speed was not 75, then if you can get time off from work, go to court and say so.

I know here there is un formal and formal hearings, the later is with the DA but maybe they can have some leeway in un formal hearings now-just guessing.

All you can do is fight the ticket and tell the truth in court

When I used to get tickets, I fought most every one unless they cut me a good break
 
I hear and understand your side, there's no way your car does a 9.36. Did you measure the distance? Do you know your speedo is right? You never said if it was radar or estimated. In ma it will say on the ticket. If it's estimated and the distance wasn't more than 1/8 mi, you might have an argument. If it was radar might as well just pay it.
 
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