Police Work, Politics and World Affairs, Football and the ongoing search for great Scotch Whiskey!

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

I may have a calibrated eyeball but I don't trust myself this much

Estimates OK for speeding tickets, court rules

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio's highest court has ruled that a person may be convicted of speeding purely if it looked to a police officer that the motorist was going too fast.

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that an officer's visual estimation of speed is enough to support a conviction if the officer is trained, certified by a training academy, and experienced in watching for speeders. The court's 5-1 decision says independent verification of a driver's speed is not necessary.

The court upheld a lower court's ruling against a driver who challenged a speeding conviction that had been based on testimony from police officer in Copley, 25 miles south of Cleveland. The officer said it appeared to him that the man was driving too fast.


I cannot agree with this. Nothing against the officer but a conviction should require something more than visual estimation of how fast they are going. Either pacing with a vehicle or radar. I'll bet a lawyer takes this to the federal system.

No comments:

Post a Comment