Proving Speeding in Maryland 

Speeding offenses can seemingly come out of nowhere. While an individual may feel that they were abiding traffic laws and the speed limit, the evidence may show otherwise. Officers typically use reliable and institutionally accepted methods to gauge how fast someone was driving. In fact, when proving speeding in Maryland, police officers often use radar lasers, pacing,  and things of that nature. While these methods are sound, that does not mean there is no room for error. If you believe that you were not speeding, it is in your best interests to get in touch with a capable traffic attorney who can guide you through your traffic hearing.

Officers Proving Speeding

In order to prove that they were recording the speed of a vehicle, officers often have their documents to show that their radar was properly functioning. When proving speeding in Maryland officers need to show that they were doing what they needed to do, which can mean showing whether the radar was properly calibrated or not and verifying that law enforcement had the proper jurisdiction to use the radar. If the person who received the ticket wishes to challenge that then they can always challenge the officer’s certification. The person can always question whether or not the officer’s certification as to gain permission that properly functions, things like that.

Radar

Possible defenses when disputing a ticket include challenging the officer on whether or not the radar gun is properly calibrated, determining whether or not the officer has a proper training to use the radar gun, things like that.  The weight of a properly functioning radar as evidence is taken quite seriously. Especially if the police officer can verify the accuracy of the reading.

An issue that comes up when proving speeding in Maryland with traffic radars is that sometimes objects can interfere with the reading, or it can lock onto the wrong object. Locking onto an object, possibly if there is wind involved in a situation, if there is rain, all of these things can throw off the radar and make it less accurate. Operator error in the use of radar guns does not happen very frequently, especially if the officer has been trained properly.

Pacing

Pacing would be when an officer gets behind another vehicle and basically figures out how fast the vehicle is going based upon the officer’s speed in that situation. Pacing is admissible evidence of speeding and can be used when proving speeding in Maryland. 

A potential issue with pacing is that an officer may not have enough time to accurately assess, for example, the officer may not have to properly pace, one would have to factor in the road. A person is driving on a straight road, like flat, no hills, no turns, anything like that, then the officer has a better chance of actually ascertaining speed but if for example, it is on a road where there are a lot of hills, a lot of turns, it is more difficult for the officer to accurately say how much or how quickly someone was going.

Benefit of a Lawyer

If an individual’s ticket is a must-appear ticket, then the person must appear. There is no other option. If they do not appear, then they will get a failure to appear and eventually will be issued for that. A person with a payable ticket might still need to appear because if they do not, their license will be suspended for failing to show up. That is where an experienced lawyer can be of great assistance. If you question the methods that were used when police were proving speeding in Maryland, a lawyer can help. A qualified speeding attorney can help you dispute your ticket, and can also defend you during your trial.