Despite that really powerful title, I want to share a tidbit from this weekend. I was traveling home from midtown Phoenix back on over to my posh center of the East Valley in Phoenix; but I had to take the 101. Yes, the same 101 with that 8-mile stretch of photo enforced speed limits through Scottsdale. The same topic I viciously criticized earlier this month.
I was traveling home like I said and I was returning from a relaxing night of cruising and getting familiar with the metro area, completing my 1st lap on the 101 and the 202 highways. (For my VA readers, these are like the 395/495 in DC.) En route back home I was on the 101 and was moving at the exact speed limit — calibrated from those LED Speed Limit Signs, my GPS unit and just the typical sluggishness of my car lately — 65MPH.
From the right lane, I observed a white Dodge pickup gain distance on me very quickly in the middle lane. In case it was the 5-0 ready to pull me over for the usual “suspicious person” interrogation, I readied myself with my hands at 10 and 2 on the steering wheel and continued my speed, triple checked my speed, verified I had not cognitively adjusted to going 75MPH like I always did in VA.
Like a badly positioned Lens Flare in Photoshop 7, the traffic enforcement camera spotlight lit up the 20ft x 45ft radius of where I was, causing me to effectively slam on the brakes due to momentary blindness for the next three seconds. Three seconds isn’t much, but at a velocity of 65MPH, it becomes 95 feet per second, and you quickly realize the seriousness of it.
Was I speeding? No. The truck next to me passed me at an estimated 85 to 90 MPH. Guilty as charged, I know how to eyeball speeds from my own relative speed. Vicariously, I’ll test one and a half theories about the Phoenix speed enforcement cameras:
- Are the Speed Enforcement cameras accurate to discern the speed between different lanes with vehicles parallel together?
- If so, does Arizona enforce their automated speed enforcement on out-of-state drivers? (My license plate is still registered to Virginia. Yeah, I’m a slacker.)
I’m anticipating that if I do get cited, I should expect a ticket in the next two weeks or so. If I receive it, I will take it to court (and probably coerce me to register my car with the state, again) and win. So far, I’m 17-1 in traffic stops and/or court appearances, so I’ll take my chances.
Even if do go to court, I can probably argue the 14th Amendment, like folks in Virginia did over the “Civil Remedy Fines”… at least I saw how that played out when I lived there, so I know there is some justice in the system.
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Have you ever received an automated ticket from a speed enforcement camera? Have you been successful in winning/dismissing a case from it? Share your tips here, anonymously! 🙂
