I had a relatively easy day today roaring around Calgary getting some small things done and picked up.

I was stopped just off the side of 14th and John Laurie today doing some phone calling and up ahead of me was an E350 Ford van with a man lift on the top. It was a plain white van with a guy in the bucket working on a street sign, or so I thought. It was a cop with a laser radar gun shooting speeders! They had the lane blocked off with cones and everything.

The only way I really noticed what was going on was the cop that stepped out onto 14th about a block up the road from the van and pointed a car over to the curb. That's when I noticed the guy in the bucket.

I guess in hind site I should have really noticed the van was spotless white with no markings, just like the "construction" F150's they use in road construction areas. Fully decked out with cross tool boxes, racks and ladders.

The ticket business must be good to be able to afford all the vehicles!

Just thought I would warn everyone about something else to look out for!

Jeff

 

Wow, thanks for the tip. I don't think I would have given that one a second glance.

 

Thanks for the heads up Jeff. That one would definitly get me. Gonna be hard to spot.

The white pickup with the headache rack and toolbox is always tough to notice.

Before it snowed again they were setting up almost daily covering the eastbound lanes of 16th Ave NE just east of 36th Street. They park on the grass behind the trees on the side of the offramp on the east side of 36th. No way to see them in advance. Sometimes they move to 52st as well.

Not that I speed of course, but just so ya know....

 

The CPS has really steeped up it's arsenal of unmarked vehicles, they have durango's with tinted windows so you can't see the lights inside until they come on, they have new grey ford 4 door pickup with the headache rack, they've got one of those gm midsize pickups same setup, the bucket truck is probably one they use for setting up the redlight/speed cameras. I wonder if the guy in the bucket had on his fall protection? could make a call to OH&S

 

Folks going 10km/h over the speed limit are a threat to everyone & a menace to society.

I thank the Calgary Police Service for getting these hardened criminals off our streets...

 

Yesterday the peace patrol (rental cops) was out tagging vehicles that haven't moved on public street (residental area) in a few days. They are hungry and need extra funding ASAP.

 

I got nailed last year for an illegal left hand turn into a parking lot even though the correct access was blocked by a parked semi trailer---cop even agreed with me but "the law is the law" from him---not bad 19 years and 1,300,000 KM on the job driving before my first ticket.The rural police do the same thing on QE II---seen it many times when i am on my way to Gull Lake for some R @ R ---looks like a worker fixing something on a bridge or road sign-------no way "RADAR".PS---- a guy at work got nailed for the lit cigarette out the window---$$$500.00 bucks ,which i totally support,put it in an ashtray DUMBA$$.DW

 

I got hit with a photo radar a couple years ago in Medicine Hat. Was coming in from the north end on the #1 and you start going down hill it drops from 110 to 80 km/h. I just dropped a gear and was coasting down a hill. To my right was an intrepid on the shoulder that had its four-ways on and the hood up. Get past it a little ways and then it flashes. I forget how much it was, but I'm pretty sure it saved me money. It was the Canada Day long weekend, and I saw about a dozen cops on the TransCanada out to Regina.

 

I used to have a top secret RCMP pic (from BC) of a photo radar cam mounted in a garbage can !!

 

and they give us a hard time about tinted windows!!! What a joke hey!!!!

 

Medicine Hat has a portable set up in a grey box that they chain up anywhere they want, just looks likea controller box sitting there.

 

i've seen similar traps setup on the QEII between edmonton and calgary also. one guy with at the under/overpass and a line of cruisers on the offramp. they seem to go non-stop when they are setup like this. the guy with the gun just radios the make/model/color and speed to the cruisers and then the guy in the cruiser tickets the driver.

seems to be a loophole with this though - the issuing officer never saw the actual speed of the vehicle, and the guy who sees the speeds never issues the tickets. i would think this would be be easy to get out of in court, that is if it's worth your time to go to court in the area you were ticketed . . . (might have been Bankdude who filled me in on this 'loophole' . . .) - but it doesn't matter to him because he doesn't speed anyway!!

 

oh yeah, i don't think they use those unmarked vans mentinoed in the thread to put up/move the cameras. i have seen guys doing this and the vans are clearly marked and the workers do not seem to be CPS members, might be employed by CPS, but don't appear to be uniformed officers . . .

 

I don't know if this is an official thing but I was told that you can ask to see the speed on the gun and they have to show it to you. I can't verify this so don't take my word for it.

I was stopped once and did ask to see the reading, the officer asked why and I told him that I wanted to make sure that the speed that you told me I was traveling and the speed showing on your equipment is the same. He promptly handed my paperwork back and said that this a verbal warning and let me go.

The reading on his gun could be from 20 cars ago and he is just bumping his quota by "guessing" your speed hoping that most people will just go along with it. And unfortunately most will.

It's the same as when I was pulled over for speeding in a school zone. I will admit I was doing 35 in a 30 so it was a legit ticket. The problem was, the officer pulled me over after the school zone where the speed was 50. I mentioned that "technically" I am being pulled over for speeding doing 35 in a 50 which won't hold up in court. If you want to issue a ticket, you should have pulled me over in the school zone. He let me go with a warning.

I came back through this same school zone maybe 20 minutes later and the cop was positioned in the school zone issue tickets. He looked the other way when I drove by

It pays to take a quick look around when you get pulled over and just take in what's out there. Same as your ticket, any discrepancies in your name, address or other information could get the ticket tossed.

Jeff

 

yes, you can ask to see the speed on the gun. a friend of mine did this and he went and cleared it prior to him even looking at it for fear of getting caught lying . . .

i often have thought about this, but on the other hand, a lot of officers will give you a break if you are cooperative during the stop. my fear would be the officer giving you a ticket for the actual speed when you ask to see it instead of giving a break if you had just cooperated. not saying that it is being uncooperative to ask, but i can see where some fficers would take that as offensive.

i agree though, you need to take in the situation as it happens - might be surprised what you can get out of . . .