question for police officers

[spartan300]

do police issue speeding tickets from helicopter thru the mail? or do they have to pull you over with a ground unit to issue the ticket?

if they do mail tickets, does it affect insurance?

 

[Imnotascoolas]

They would have to pull you over and cite the actual driver for it to hit your driving record and affect your insurance rates. Or have camera's etc on the ground, the officer must be able to identify who committed the offense, you can't just mail to the registered owner of the vehicle.

It would be possible for them to mail a civil cite kinda like they do with red light cameras, I don't specifically know of any states where that's permissible but in theory I would imagine it's possible, that would not have any affect on your driving record or insurance rates.

How fast were you going when you saw the helo?

 

[spartan300]

its was round 80 on a 65, but there was a motor cycle next to me that was going faster....when i saw the helicopter i slowed down.....no ground units pulled me over

 

[spartan300]

just curious, are u a police officer or do u just know how the system works?

 

[panmerc]

I'm a police officer in Texas. I know if one of our helos saw a speeding car they would call for a unit on the ground. Pretty sure they don't have any radar/laser capabilities.

I have seen in New Mexico where they track cars via the air. They have symbols on the ground that they follow. They count the seconds between symbols and can equate the speed from that. ex. if it takes your car 30 seconds to go from symbol to symbol then your going approx. 80 mph 50 seconds = 60 mph. They do that in areas that are too rural to keep patrol units.

As far as ticketing you, its up to the state. If the state had the law then yes they can ticket you and mail it to you for driving fast. Sounds a little shady to me though but, alot of laws are little shady.

I don't understand why if a man assaults a pregnant woman and the baby dies he can be charged for murder. Which I completely agree with. But, a woman can stick a coat hanger inside herself and abort the baby or smoke crack the entire pregnancy having the child born with unlimited problems and the woman doesn't get anything.

 

[spartan300]

okay thanks

do u know if ohio is included in the law where they can mail u a ticket.....i was getting by a Ka band so they were clocking me with a radar but there was a motor cycle next to me going faster so im not sure which one of us they clocked

 

[panmerc]

No sorry. State laws suprisingly change alot between states. If anything call a local lawyer and see if they can or will give you free advice. They may be able to give you the number to courts and see if you were cited. In all states you have the right to trial, the bad thing is is most agencies have alot more evidence on you than you think if they are citing you. Radar guns really are quite accurate. If they were tracking the motorcycle then thats what they got.

Just FYI, with technology these days, by the time your radar detector figures out your being tracked the officers already have you locked. Even if the company says they will pay your ticket, they have fine print that can get them out of paying.

pm me if you have any more questions

 

[panmerc]

As far as the it affecting your insurance, that comes after you've been convicted. If you can get out of the ticket or take defensive driving your insurance won't know. If you are guilty or plea no contest (which is about the same), then it gets forwarded to your insurance co. I'm not sure how defered adjudication plays on your insurance. Then its on them whether they change your rates or not. If it's your first ticket or haven't had one in a while then they may not change anything.

 

[WarcraftJJS]

I'm not a cop but I lived most of my life in Ohio. I was driving and a friend was behind me in his car and he got tagged by a helo or plane and they had a car unit pull him over and give him a ticket. It was not for speeding tho, get this following to close?!?!?