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Had my bike confiscated last month, got told I was doing 123 in a 70 zone. I was pretty surprised to hear that when they pulled me, but I hadn't actually checked my speed over the distance I was speeding. I simply pulled out of a shopping centre and accelerated up to the cars ahead of me. My little 250 only just made it out of 3rd gear, and I wasn't completely wringing its neck. Not that arguing with the cops about what they want to book you for is really worth the effort.
However, I happened to be running an onboard video camera at the time. Didn't disclose this, as I wasn't sure what the ramifications might be. After reviewing the footage, I'm now even surer that I didn't get to 120 km/h. And when I got my summons, the "Statement of material facts" says that the police assessed my speed by looking at their own speedometer. This in itself seems a tough call; they must have rapidly accelerated to catch me, and then pace me, to determine my speed in such a manner. So I'm going to plead Not Guilty and see what happens. I may have been speeding but I'm sure I wasn't doing 45 over, and I shouldn't have lost my bike for a week (and pay $396 to get it back again).
What I'm wondering is whether it's OK, or useful, to use my video in support of my defence. It doesn't show my speedo. But it does show the white lines passing, and I guess it's theoretically possible to determine velocities if I could find the distance between the lines. The video also contains the conversation with the police after they pulled me over. I don't know if there are any laws associated with videoing your ride. Surely not?
The vid is accessible from here, if anyone's interested.
However, I happened to be running an onboard video camera at the time. Didn't disclose this, as I wasn't sure what the ramifications might be. After reviewing the footage, I'm now even surer that I didn't get to 120 km/h. And when I got my summons, the "Statement of material facts" says that the police assessed my speed by looking at their own speedometer. This in itself seems a tough call; they must have rapidly accelerated to catch me, and then pace me, to determine my speed in such a manner. So I'm going to plead Not Guilty and see what happens. I may have been speeding but I'm sure I wasn't doing 45 over, and I shouldn't have lost my bike for a week (and pay $396 to get it back again).
What I'm wondering is whether it's OK, or useful, to use my video in support of my defence. It doesn't show my speedo. But it does show the white lines passing, and I guess it's theoretically possible to determine velocities if I could find the distance between the lines. The video also contains the conversation with the police after they pulled me over. I don't know if there are any laws associated with videoing your ride. Surely not?
The vid is accessible from here, if anyone's interested.
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