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Pulled Over for Speeding? Dealing with the Police : Car Advice | News Blog

Pulled Over for Speeding? Dealing with the Police

April 30, 2007 by Alborz Fallah  




It has gotten so bad on Australian roads that many innocent everyday drivers are getting massive fines and losing their license due to the state government’s insistence on blaming Speed as the single factor for the road toll.

However, the issue has gotten so out of control that drivers are being pulled over for speeding without any merit. For the majority of us, being pulled over by a police officer is a very distressing event, you are unlikely to argue with the officer and under the circumstances you will most probably agree that there is a possibility that you were speeding.

Firstly, when you are pulled over for speeding, your conversation with the police officer is recorded, many drivers are not aware of this, but its a fact.

When a member of our team was recently pulled over for a speeding offense he did not commit, he followed a very simple guide in dealing with the Police officer and the matter is now going to court with the help of Scott from Speeding Fine Consultants.

We will be using that case (successful or not) as our study case, but in the mean time, we are going to run a series of articles outlining the different processes involved in fighting unfair speeding tickets.

In this article we focus on the basics of what you should and shouldn’t say when pulled over for speeding.

Article 1 : Pulled Over for Speeding? Dealing with the Police

Firstly remember that when you are pulled over and booked for Speeding, the Speeding Incident is ALLEGED and not Proven!

You will be asked a number of questions by the police who will be tape recording your conversation as soon as the incident occurs.

The first question usually asked is “Why were you Speeding?”

This question alone is a leading question which implies that you were speeding even though the incident is not proven. If you admit to speeding you may find it difficult to defend yourself in court later on. Remember that you are not under arrest and your only obligation is to present your driving license and registration.

Why were you Speeding?
“I was not Speeding Officer, I was sitting exactly on the posted speed limit”

Even if the officer persists in repeating this question and saying the speed detection equipment has shown that you were speeding, do not feel pressured into admitting to the alleged offence. The fact that you are even asked why you were speeding with the implication that you were speeding is an infringement of your civil rights.

Instead simply reply,

I was not Speeding Officer and if your equipment says that I was then I believe it may be faulty.”

Understandably you may feel quite distressed as most people feel uncomfortable when being booked for speeding and being in the presence of a police officer often feels intimidating. Don’t let any feelings of intimidation get to you. It’s important for you to understand that many thousands of speeding fines issued are unfair fines and can be beaten in court.

It’s also important to realise that under the National Safety Committee Guidelines fixed Speed Cameras are only supposed to be used and implanted and operated in areas which are known to them as a “Black Spot” or High Accident areas. You can ask the police officer

Why are you operating this speed detection device in this area? Is it a known black spot or high accident risk area?”

If you follow these basic guidelines you will stand a good chance of beating an unfair speeding fine in court should you wish to defend the infringement. The Justice system in Australia is there for all of us, not just the police.

You should not assume that the speed detection device used was working correctly, or that the device has been operated under the police guidelines. Instead stay calm, present your documents as requested, drive safely to your destination and deal with the matter through the legal system.

In most cases the police will insist on assuring you that their equipment is tested and accurate. Don’t let this constant bombardment put you off, and remember, the officer is simply after a confession, after a while he or she will simply hand out the infringement notice and you will be on your way.

If you believe you are a victim of an unfair speeding ticket, you may feel as though you are being singled out, which usually leads to a feeling of helplessness. However the reality is very different, the state governments are using Speed as an excuse for more revenue, you CAN beat an unfair ticket.

Don’t be a victim of the state government’s revenue raising agenda, your fine may only be a few hundred dollars but demerit points stay around for a three year period and you may eventually find yourself in a situation desperate for more points.

Speeding Fine Consultants provide assistance and a support service to thousands of motorists every year who have been issued with unfair speeding fines. Demerit Points on Australian Licenses and the loss of Australian Licenses can and does cause severe hardship to many people nationwide.

This is not a terrifying ordeal as Speeding Fine Consultants provide you with ALL of the information that you need to represent yourself. With a fixed fee of $370, the myth that it costs thousands and thousands of dollars to fight infringement notices is not true. Speeding Fine Consultants provide a free case assessment in the first instance to advise you of your chances.

Each case is assessed on its individual merits, no two cases are ever the same and cases are usually won based on a number of varying factors. Speeding Fine Consultants are here to help you save your license and beat your unfair Speeding Fine.

Further information about Speeding Fine Consultants and Scott Cooper can be found online at www.speedingfineconsultants.com

Please note, Car Advice is in no way affiliated with Speeding Fine Consultants, we are simply here to give advice to motorists at the receiving end of unfair speeding tickets, and we feel Speeding Fine Consultants to be the best choice.

Stay tuned for more articles and reports on our progress beating an unfair speeding ticket in court.

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Comments

56 Responses to “Pulled Over for Speeding? Dealing with the Police”
  1. Grumpy says:

    I got fined $250 and 3 demerits today for talking on my mobile phone in the car. Funny thing is that I wasn’t. I was talking to my 10mth old daughter in the rear seat. The policeman assumed I was talking into my hand (which he in turn thought was a phone)

    I’m gonna fight this. Anyone got any advice/experience?

  2. K7 says:

    I come from a family of police officers. My sister, her husband and my grandfather are all cops. With this in mind I have never had a pleasant incident with a member of the Police. I have been accused and threatened several times one officer even threatened to give my sister a ticket simply because he didn’t like my attitude (my sister was driving and I asked the officer what we had done wrong. We had noticed the Police car following us for several blocks and even stopping outside our house when I ran in to grab something). Recently I was told by an officer “we can do whatever we want”. Often I get pulled over just to be asked how my night has been (this is done by male officers only). A few weeks ago I went through a booze bus on my way to work and was told by the officer who breath tested me “a smile would be nice”! The nerve! I understand where people are coming from when they say they are intimidated when pulled over, of course they are intimidated, and no amount of counselling as suggested by one wanker on this site will fix that.
    I think that people simply pay speeding fines without disputing them as it is the easier avenue to take. Court dates and disputes with police seem a lot more intimidating than a couple of hundred dollars and quite frankly most people don’t have the time for these lengthy processes. In my oppinion, speed cameras and parking fines are revenue raising. And I don’t see how suspending someones drivers licence could possibly make them a better driver. Perhaps the revenue raised from speeding and parking fines would be better used putting speeders through another driving course or something. I don’t know and I’m not claiming to have all the answers but there has to be a better way to deal with these issues. It is getting to the stage that the sight of a Police vehicle or officer does not make me feel safe but rather scared. I saw an interesting bumper sticker the other day which made me giggle: Victorian Police- To serve and collect.

  3. gaf says:

    grumpy…i would suggest getting a report from your phone company showing calls made AND received and compare the time on the ticket to the report… If calls were made minutes before or after the alledged call dont bother but if there is a good time gap it should stand up in court…The only other thing you should need to do is prove the report is of your ONLY mobile or they could argue you were using another phone… if you have more than 1 phone get reports for all of them, good luck.

  4. Andrew says:

    I just got done the day I got on my Green P’s. 25Km/h over apparently…… He was approaching me the opposite way, Had another car under 10m infront of him. Spoke to a speed ticked expert and he said that they cant have another car infront of them for 200m. Which makes sense as it was a mobile radar and its very easy to get bad reflections/incorrect ones with this system if there is multiple large objects.

    I want to debate it but unfortunately I cant remember exactly what I said to the officer. I was too busy shacking to remember i think.

    Thing that really is BS is that if you look at the QLD police website (PLEASE SEE FOR YOURSELF http://www.police.qld.gov.au/r.....manual/06/ ) and try find some policies, guess what, The pages you want to read come up with 404 error (PAGE NOT FOUND) Funny how chapter 6.0.0 to 6.5.7 works. All the chapters after (Which is what you need to know about positions and usage) wont work. Seams pretty dogey if you ask me.
    So i called Police HQ, NOONE could find out why, ended up saying hold on, then transfered me to “traffic fines” without notice, they had no idea either, noone knew how to contact IT either……

    What is with THAT, They wont give us access to the policies that we want and are entitled to know.

    I wasn’t doing 85 and whats probably happened is that he hasn’t cleared the screen from his last catch. (Apparently it happens more than you think)

    Just remember, If they pull you over,
    1. DONT ADMIT TO SPEEDING
    2. Ask to see your speed, If they cant show you, tell them to piss off. DO not let them bully you into a ticket, I was scared, DONT BE, there is really nothing to be afraid of.

    Good luck

    Andrew

  5. Grumpy says:

    Thanks gaf

  6. Zac says:

    Stupid question so I expectto get stupid replies, but in honestly if anyone can provide a sensible reply that would rock.

    Well I was running late to work this morning so I took the M4
    ( Freeway in NSW ) the speed limit was 100km/h.

    I was doing approx 10km/h – 15km/h over the limit at most when there was a cop car in the middle of the freeway parked on the grassy island.

    I saw him and put the brakes on but not sure if it was in time though, didn’t want to slam the brakes any harder since it would look obvious.

    I drove on as usual, noticed he pulled out in a rapid hurry, so I expected to be flagged down but nothing happend, you would still think he’d chase me if that was the case

    Will I get booked in the mail?
    Don’t they need photgraphic evidence?

    PS> I know I am stupid for speeding, but cast the 1st stone if you arn’t gulity of speeding at least once Smile

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