Originally Posted by M Richardson

PM01 - When did police begin using radar? It seems to me my first dozen or so speeding tickets were all based on the officer's (usually conservative) judgement of the speed I was travelling. Of course, chariots didn't move the way cars do today . . . .

Actually, I hate the idea of "speed cameras" too. Since I learned how to act when an officer approaches my car, and my hair grayed out, I have gotten one ticket - and that was for Driving While Californicating in Oregon. I don't think I can convince a camera to let me go with a warning.

M Richardson, I don't know when radar first began use but my guess is the early 70's. I know it was being utilized in the late 70's because I was issued a ticket based on one. You might be aware of this, but in California, law enforcement can not use radar on every road. Before radar can be used on a specific piece of roadway the street or road must be radar surveyed and, if I recall correctly, the safe speed is set at the 80th or 85th percentile. The radar survey must be filed with court in order to testify to radar use in court. CHP often relies on pace to determine speed on the freeways but this has been changing rapidly.

Someone mentioned earlier that they felt a cop could not reliably determine the speed of a car unless the officer observes offender drive through a predetermined distance and determines their speed using time. In California this would/was not permitted as it was almost exactly the legal definition of a speed trap---which is illegal. Of course the definition of a speed trap has been evolving now too.

Originally Posted by Spider

You mean I should type my answers to him using a typewriter with a broken "s" key?

Oh my, a typewriter? Do you carry one of those new fangled Apple products, the I-typewriter? You are a trendsetter, my friend!

Originally Posted by Spider

If you ever saw my handwriting ( I got a A+ in "Prescriptions") you'd be thankful I use a typewriter of any kind as much as possible.

My doctor prescribed ambien so I dropped the script off at my local Walgreens. When I picked it up the instructions on the bottle said, 'take one every morning'. I'm guessing my doctor got an A+ in prescriptions too or my local pharmacist got a C- in reading.