An off-duty Maricopa County, AZ sheriff’s deputy was stopped and cited by Peoria police recently for going 96 mph in a posted 45 mph zone, officers said. Jason Parker was cited and released at Hassayampa Justice Court for speeding AND having no proof of insurance. Police said Parker was observed going westbound at a high rate of speed by a Peoria police motorcycle officer.

A radar reading indicated Parker was going 96 mph in a posted 45 mph zone, police said. Peoria police said Parker admitted he was showing off his new Corvette for a friend. He faces an administrative investigation by the sheriff’s office in addition to paying the speeding ticket.

Well, this is different…

In Carmel, Indiana police have launched a program where ordinary citizens are issued radar guns to clock speeders.

Dubbed the Citizens Speed Monitoring Program, the effort has been underway for about a year. The citizens clock the speed, and if a violation is observed, they report back to police with the speed and vehicle information. Letters are then sent from police to the speeders warning them of the violation. No summonses are issued.

Apparently, similar programs have already been established in communities in California, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Georgia.

It’s a bit early to draw any firm conclusions about such programs without seeing statistics, problems encountered, and other relevant feedback, but definitely an interesting idea.

Of course, not everyone is thrilled with such a program.

“I think it is a little bit offensive,” said Indianapolis attorney Will Gooden, whose criminal practice includes defending clients fighting traffic citations. “I just have a general concern about extending the police power. It’s sort of a slope you start down. What will regular citizens do next for the police?”

I would say that I would have to agree! Ordinary citizens probably aren’t given proper training on the intricacies of operating radar guns and evaluating speeds visually and audibly. But, they aren’t issuing real tickets — just warnings. So, I guess it isn’t all that bad. But… What’s Next!

Linwood truck driver Steven Paul Kane has got off a speeding ticket where the police flubbed the paperwork. But he had to take his case all the way to the High Court before Justice Christine French quashed the conviction.

Mr. Kane represented himself among the oil portraits and spectacular woodwork of Christchurch’s No. 1 High Courtroom. The crown said the fault was a technicality, but Justice French said it meant the infringement was not served on Mr Kane.

On September 23, 2006, he was driving his truck on State Highway 1 south of Waimate when he was clocked at 111kmh by a police officer with a Stalker radar.

The 40-year-old relief driver was given a ticket, but when the police sent him the notice they got his name muddled. An envelope arrived at his home addressed to K.S.Paul and he did not open it, and sent it back marked “return to sender”. Eventually, he received a reminder, correctly addressed to him.

There were lengthy delays, but eventually the case was heard in front of Justices of the Peace and a fine of $170 plus costs of $30 were imposed.

The law says that where an infringement notice is being served by post, it must be sent addressed to the person who committed the offence, and it must be served within six months.

“In this case,” said Justice French, “the notice wasn’t addressed to Mr Kane but to Mr Paul. It follows that it wasn’t addressed to the person who appears to have committed the infringement offence.

“The crown says he is relying on a technicality. Technicality or not, it’s clear that service did not comply with section 139 (of the Act).

“It follows that the conviction cannot stand. The appeal is allowed. The conviction is quashed.”

source: Courtnews.co.nz

Yep! I was running an errand during my lunch hour, and almost got busted by Austin PD motorcycle cops — FOUR of ‘em! I saw the first one shooting his radar/lidar gun upstream and managed to slow down enough to be out of trouble. Just in front of me was a big Austin FD pump truck. The cop waved at them as they passed. I think the cop would have a hard time giving me a ticket when the firetruck was speeding along beside me. The other three cops were a little further down the road, lights-a-flashin’, writing out tickets.

Anyway, 45 minutes later, on my return trip I saw that they were still there.

If I had only had time to stop and set up my sign! It would’ve been GREAT! I’m still looking to set up my first SpeedTrapAhead station. Everything’s almost ready to go.

If YOU know of somewhere in Austin, TX where cops hang out and issue speeding tickets, please email us. Even if it’s somewhere outside of Austin, let us know that too! We’re wanting to make the speed trap map as comprehensive as possible.

View Larger Map with MORE Austin Speed Traps!

This is just an experiment to play around with the Google Map embedding thing. This map shows where the hotspots for speed traps are in Lakeway, Texas.

Update: Actually, I’ve found out now that I can make just ONE map with any/all speed trap hotspots on it for the whole country! Check it out by clicking on the link under the map. Then you can zoom out and see the whole country. Of course, I don’t have very many sites marked at this point. More will come later as the site grows.

View Larger Map with MORE Austin Speed Traps!