Speeding driver gets car back on technicality
Posted July 20, 2011 4:24 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A driver who initially lost his car for excessive speeding has it back thanks to a technicality. A Mountie failed to factor in the margin of error on his radar gun.
You might not have known about that, but one man did and complained to the RCMP after his car was impounded. He had been pulled over for going 91 km/h in a 50 km/h zone.
Corporal Dan Moskaluk says the officer involved made a mistake. “He omitted to factor in what is a court accepted margin of error of those speed detection devices, those radar devices. They have a margin of error that is accepted to be plus or minus two kilometers an hour.”
The law that allows police to impound your car if you go more than 40 km/hr over the limit doesn’t factor that in. In this case, outside of Smithers, the man was going 41 km/hr over — just enough to get away with only a ticket.
“There are several avenues in which a person can raise a traffic dispute. The more formal dispute process of course, but then there’s always coming in to speak to police about your concern. That’s what happened here and the North District Service Office became of the matter and we immediately reviewed the case.”
Moskaluk adds it’s not a reason to think you can get away with speeding; the man was still handed a hefty fine.
