How Virginia Beach Police Prove Speeding
Virginia Beach regularly uses radar tools to detect speeding. The most common of these tools is the stationary radar, which means the officers use the radar and detect someone’s speed while a police cruiser is not moving. Most radar can be used while the officer is moving as well. The results produced by speeding instruments are presented in court and have a major influence on how people are charged and/or convicted; this is especially important in Virginia where excessive speeding is classified as reckless driving, a class 1 misdemeanor. Speak with a Virginia Beach reckless driving lawyer today for more information about how local law enforcement prove speeding.
Evidence Used to Prove Speeding in Virginia Beach
An officer can prove that they were recording your vehicle’s speed by testifying in court with evidence that will support that they were in fact recording the speed of the vehicle. The strongest evidence to support this is going to be in the form of what’s called a calibration certificate. A calibration certificate is a document that shows that whatever method the officer was using with the intent to record your speed of your vehicle was functioning properly as it was intended to do. The document is required to have very particular information on it in order to be admissible in court and if it is all correct and done adequately, then it’s enough to prove the speed alleged by the officer.
Virginia Beach law enforcement officers can tell if you’re speeding because they use a variety of different instruments and methods to determine how fast the driver is going. They use radar guns, lidar guns and they also use pacing in order to track motorists’ speed. As long as they can demonstrate in court that the equipment is functioning properly and the use of correct protocol then they’ll be able to tell if you’re speeding and prove it.
Weight of Radar Readings in Court
Radar readings are generally accepted in court as reliable evidence as long as the calibration certificate is also presented by the officer and backs it up. For this to happen, the correct protocol needs to be followed by the police officer and the valid calibration certificate is going to be evidence to support at the protocol and procedure was followed. This is why it’s really crucial to have a Virginia Beach reckless driving lawyer who knows what to look for in the calibration certificate and can help you determine if the evidence is actually enough to support the officer’s radar reading.
Defenses Against Radar Readings
If you weren’t going as fast as what the officer is claiming that you were going then in order for this to stand in court you’re going to have to provide some kind of proof. Because the officer is not just using his word to back up that he believes you’re speeding; the officer is actually presenting evidence to support his word in the form of the calibration certificate. It is very specific and there is very specific protocol that needs to be followed in order for it to be accepted. If you meet these requirements then the proof is persuasive enough for a conviction be granted by the judge. in order to fight against the calibration certificate and the officer’s evidence you will need to present more than just your word.
The best and really the easiest defense to radar gun reading in court is related to the calibration certificate. If it’s incorrectly filled out, then usually this is enough to have the whole case dismissed because most of the time police officers don’t have any more evidence except for the speed that they’re alleging that the driver was going. Likewise if the certificate happens to show that the radar gun used wasn’t maintained or calibrated in the required timeframe then again the case could be totally dismissed for that. Any kind of errors in certificate are cause for a dismissal which is a really easy way to get a whole case thrown out before any of the evidence presented by the defendant has to be admitted. These requirements are super strict and sometimes officers even forget to bring the calibration certificate altogether so that’s a really good day in court.
Accuracy of Virginia Beach Speeding Instruments
As long as they can show that the instruments have been maintained properly as they’re required to be doing, then the readings produced are extremely accurate. These results have a great amount of influence in Virginia Beach court.