(WSVN) - When you’re fighting a speeding ticket, it can be your word against the officer’s. But what if you had some high-tech backup? 7’s Brian Entin shows us what’s “On The Radar” in our special report.
You’re driving along when all of a sudden you see those dreaded flashing lights in your rearview mirror.
Caught … driving too fast.
But what if you got pulled over when you knew for a fact that you were not speeding.
Chris Hylander, ticketed: “I was just dumbfounded.”
Chris Hylander was in his work truck on his way back from a plumbing job when an FHP trooper stopped him.
He wrote Chris a $281 ticket for going 20 miles per hour over the speed limit.
Chris Hylander: “I was angry. Yeah, I knew I wasn’t going 90.”
Lucky for Chris, he had this secret weapon to prove his case.
A GPS enabled dashcam that not only records the road, but records speed.
On Chris’ dashcam video, you see the trooper on the left side of the highway. And you see Chris pull over.
Trooper (dashcam video): “The reason I stopped you, I clocked you at 90 in a 70.”
But rewind a few minutes earlier, and this is the important part. Chris’ dashcam recorded his speed in real time.
The speed limit is 70 and it shows he never went above 74.
Brian Entin: “Lets check the accuracy. Your dashcam right now says 70. Your speedometer says exactly 70. And Anthony, our photographer, is in the van next to us here on speaker phone. Anthony, what does your speedometer say?”
Anthony: “Seventy mph.”
Brian Entin: “So all three say 70. Is it always this accurate?”
Chris Hylander: “As far as I’m aware of, yes.”
The ticket is a bigger deal for Chris because he has a commercial driver’s license and the ticket would likely cost him his job, so he sent his dashcam video to FHP.
Chris Hylander: “I want the ticket dropped.”
An FHP lieutenant reviewed the footage and a spokeswoman told us: “After looking at the video with the trooper that issued the ticket, they determined that the ticket was issued in error. That ticket has now been dismissed.”
Brian Entin: “Have you ever heard of a ticket getting thrown out because of a dashcam GPS like this?”
Ted Hollander, attorney at The Ticket Clinic: “No, this is the first one that I’ve heard of.”
Both FHP and The Ticket Clinic attorney Ted Hollander say Chris’ case is a first.
And even if FHP didn’t drop the ticket, the video could have been valuable in court — pitting the dash camera against the officer’s radar.
Ted Hollander: “In that type of a situation, it could essentially be a battle of the two devices. And the judge has to make a decision which of the two is more reliable and easier to believe.”
The GPS-enabled dashcams cost anywhere from $100 to more than $500.
Chris Hylander: “I’d be without a job if it wasn’t for the dashcam.”
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.