A GPS got me in (and out) of trouble
by Randy Tippets

On a recent caching run (http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.asp?ID=2935) I was too busy watching my target to pay full attention to my speed. The speed limit in the area was posted 30mph, while the road size, area, and conditions would imply that it should be 35-40mph. That's just an opinion and if I had been more observant it wouldn't have mattered. End result: I received a ticket for 42 in a 30. I was pretty sure I wasn't going that fast but how could I argue. As I said, I wasn't paying enough attention.

When I got home I realized that my trusty MeriGold had a complete record of that journey, from my house to the cache. I loaded the tracklog into GPSTrackMaker and ran the numbers. The program told me that my average speed on that section of road was 29.1mph. I did some additional math to factor acceleration to speed and deceleration to stop and my cruising speed on that road turned out to be just under 35mph. The speed I thought I was going in the first place.

Armed with this information and knowing that a ticket for 12 over the speed limit would report to my insurance company, I pled not guilty.

The pretrial hearing was today and the prosecutor called me in to disclose the evidence against me. I explained my position without going into detail. He was intrigued and said that if I gave him a little information he might be willing to bring the violation to under 10 over the limit.

Maybe I shouldn't have but I was not anxious to go to trial so I laid it all out for him. I showed him the actual tracklog from the GPS. I showed him an overlay of that log on a satellite image and I showed him a close-up of the area where I was pulled over. I was honest with him and told him what I thought my actual speed was, and I showed him the calculations that gave me that result.

He was absolutely blown away! He said that a part of him really wanted to take this to trial just to see how it turned out because nobody had ever taken this approach on a speeding offence before. But the evidence had convinced him that my case was valid and that if I would plead guilty to 35mph he would write everything down to the minimums. I agreed.

When we got in front of the judge he turned in my papers and told the judge that I was pleading to a lesser charge. He then spoke to the court telling everyone that this defendant is the first one not to dispute the radar evidence, his evidence is just better.

I guess if I had gone to trial I stood a good chance of getting off altogether, but I was in all likelihood going 35 and I should have been more attentive. So I got what I deserved but thanks to my GPS, only what I deserved. I also gave the prosecutor and the court a highlight in an otherwise grueling day.

America, What a Country.....