QLD Speeding ticket for 8 kmh over in heavy hail and rain

[geoff11]

Hi,
just looking for some advice. I recently recieved a speeding fine alleging i was travelling at 68kmh in a 60 zone.
I know for a fact that we slowed down to a crawl as it was hailing very heavily for several minutes and the traffic in front of us had all stopped. (we checked the dash cam footage and it shows a maximum of 40kmh.
(i know they arent calibrated like im asauming police radar is) But my question is does hail give false readings?
It was large heavy hail, as seen on national news at the time and which is clearly visable in the photo.
To add to my suspicions about accuracy. the back numberplate is very blurry to the point where the last 3 letters are illegible. hail rain steam from the road etc obscuring them.
The camera was also three lanes away across the other side of the road. and I should add ive never had a fine before in my 25years + years driving.
Any constructive advice would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Ozwarlock67]

If you firmly believe you're in the right, don't pay the ticket. Call the relevant Fines Enforcement agency in your state (it will be on the back of the ticket most likely) and explain why you don't think it's possible you could have been clocked at 68. DON'T mention you have dashcam footage.

These people, though, are seldom any help in my experience. They are there to convince you that it is in your best interests to give them your money. Should they refuse to listen to your explanation, politely say that you will elect to be prosecuted. This may be the end of the call....or they may rethink it. If you reckon you're being bullshitted, ask to speak to the supervisor.

If there is no favourable outcome, elect to be prosecuted and wait for the summons. Gather all the evidence in your favour that you can, especially the dashcam footage.

You may elect to seek legal advice, especially from a traffic lawyer who offers a free initial appointment to tell you your chances of getting the matter dismissed. Still, in a preliminary hearing, the magistrate may see your point of view and agree that there is certainly something dubious about things if you can prove your speed at the time.

Let us know how it turns out.

 

[Adam1user]

I will add to Ozwarlock67, first talk to a traffic lawyer before electing to go to court, so if they advise that you don't have a case, so to pay it and go on in your life, if elect to go to court and get the advise you don't have a case, you would pay court fees in addition to the fine.

The staff in the review process have strict guidelines to follow and most properly they will state that the fine stands,

If you go to court, use the dashcam footage, based on that video you can calculate the speed (to a good extent) by using certain parameters such as light poles and the using the distance and time,,, easy. The weather conditions are not considered factors that will prove you were driving slow, a person can be going 100 K/M while it is heavily raining, but it can be a assisting factor to be careful.

If the number plate is blurry, but the color, make and model of the vehicle are sure to remove any doubt.
Just make sure you put solid reasons (estimated speed calculation) and assisting factors (weather) when in court. NOTE: That the dash came should show the date and time. I like to add this point that the dashcam video may not be accepted as the date and time can be easily changed, (unlike it is connected to a network, example: electing to use the network time in the mobile phones).

Good luck.

 

[Scruff]

The Police often call on the public to provide dash cam footage for investigations these days, so what's good for the goose is good for the gander. As such, there is no reason for a court to exclude dash cam footage if it shows the date and time - no matter which party introduces it.

A couple of points though:
1. The infringement notice should have a time on it. You need to make sure that your camera footage covers that exact time plus, I would recomend 3 to 5 minutes either side of that time.
2. As Adam1user mentioned, you will need to provide evidence of how the dash footage proves your speed. That will mean explaining exactly how you made those determinations. So it's not just about using the poles, markings, times etc for measuring distances and calculating speed, but being able to competently explain to the court how you actually do all of this and how/why it proves your speed at the time in question.

Some more info might be helpful here...
1. What kind of camera was it? (fixed speed camera, mobile camera on a Police car, privately operated camera parked on the side of the road, etc.)
2. Was this a multi laned road? If so, how many lanes travelling in your direction and which lane were you in? (left-most lane being lane #1.)
3. If possible, where exactly was the camera located? (suburb, street name and nearest cross street - if you can find the exact location on google maps, a link to that would help too.)
4. You told us of rain and hail - but how windy was it and was it gusty? (rain and hail is probably not relevant, but wind very well could be.)

 

[Scruff]

Oh - one more question...
5. Can you see any flash from the speed camera on the dash cam footage? (there should be heaps of reflection off the rain and hail in those conditions.)

 

[Adam1user]

2. As Adam1user mentioned, you will need to provide evidence of how the dash footage proves your speed. That will mean explaining exactly how you made those determinations. So it's not just about using the poles, markings, times etc for measuring distances and calculating speed, but being able to competently explain to the court how you actually do all of this and how/why it proves your speed at the time in question.

The poles on the street have specific distance which is known, and the time can be measured by the running the video, so dividing the distance by the time you will have the speed, it is basic, All the poster needs is to identify the parameters for example the electricity poles, as their distance is known (can also be obtained from the council if needed) and hopefully the court would accept that.