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By James Neely

Do you drive a vehicle that looks like it is going fast even when it is sitting still? Do you know that you can become a target of authorities just because of the type of vehicle you drive?

This is the ugly side of law enforcement that is visible to the public. Your vehicle has been ‘profiled’ by police. Maybe not officially, but when on patrol, officers have an instinctive reaction to seeing a ‘fast’ car. Be on the watch.

No one doubts the role that speed limits have on our streets and highways. But, let us have an honest discussion about speed limits. There are those zones which exist solely for the purpose of catching violators.

Put these two together (fast cars and speed traps), and you can have a costly combination. In addition to this, radar units can and do fail. One question that must be answered by police departments is “when was the last time the radar unit was calibrated?” If they are not calibrated to manufacturing specifications regularly, then any tickets that are handed out based on those readings can and should be thrown out of court. There are many other mistakes that officers make, such as, clocking the wrong vehicle, mobile vs. stationary radar interferences , etc.

But, from a more practical side, there is a way to provide evidence of speed limit compliance. A GPS vehicle tracking system can provide reports that will substantiate your actual speed at a given location and time. These reports are admissible as evidence in court and can help prevent points from being placed on your license because you can generate evidence that you were not speeding.

Traffic court is an interesting place. You are given your time in front of a judge, but most of the time, the process is a big display of how a system that is overcrowded fails miserably. The best approach to take is to bring your evidence with you to court to show the judge what your reports say.

It is not uncommon to have charges thrown out in these courts if you have solid evidence to the contrary from what you are being charged. A GPS tracking system makes this a reality.

A well-balanced, responsible driver will not intentionally disregard speed limits while traveling about. But, it never hurts to have that extra measure of assurance to help you in case you are ever in the position of needing it. Better it is to have it and not need it, rather than need it and not have it.