Ticketed for hypermiling

[racerc2000]

the only thought I get about this is.

A. your engine was off
B. your lights were on
C. you slowed to an almost stop(no brake lights)
D. no flashers(so you didnt think you had reason to go slow)
E. you continued to pulse and glide your way home.

from my understanding any main road (interstate,expressway etc) has a min speed of 45mph

add lights and or stop signs and in most cases the min speed goes away.

also one other thing to think about is when your engine is off a battery is max 12 volts not the normal 14.5 ish. so lights appear dull

the officer prob saw you as a vehicle in distress or more so a vehicle that was not fit to drive on a 60mph road.

when I drive a manual vehicle I tend to tap the brakes to give alil warning as I can prettymuch stop with no brakes and people not paying attention dont see the tell tale brake lights.

not saying you were wrong or right but its subjective depending on who looks in on the situation. I can safely say that the officer doesnt eco mod or get 60+ mpg on their way to work. so it must have looked out of place to him.

[99metro]

Hey Dave - I'd just go to court and be straight up what was going on, and what you were doing. I would make sure you have done your homework on that particular road and it's minimum speed limit and such. Maybe even have a copy of your fuel mileage records in hand just in case he wants some proof of your fuel mileage testing. A subjective ticket, I would think, could be dismissed. You might get a verbal "suggestion" from the judge though. Lawyer - I wouldn't bother. Those traffic judges are pretty fair and straight up people. In my opinion of course.

And make a copy of that ticket. Heck, I'd be hanging that on the wall with a frame.

Not too often the judge would see that kind of ticket being passed his way.

[redpoint5]

Unfortunately I have had much experience dealing with authorities and courts, often on matters of supposed or actual traffic violations. I have lost a speeding case twice where I could mathematically prove that I was traveling at 30mph (and had a witness), but cited at 45mph. Conversely, I have had a judge throw out a series of citations in which the officer failed to satisfy to the judge that I was indeed traveling at 155mph and recklessly endangering the lives of others. - You win some and you loose some.

You likely won't win the disagreement concerning the claim of coming to a complete stop on a highway. If the officer is in good standing with the courts, then they are obliged to take his established credibility over any single citizens'. The best you can hope for is failure of the officer to appear and dismissal of the citation.

Now for my free legal advice-
Never volunteer information to an officer. Whatever you volunteer may be held against you, but will never be used to exonerate you. The officer is asking questions because they are suspicious, and they are very skilled at using whatever information volunteered against you. If the officer is asking for something, usually they don't have the authority to require it of you. There is no need to convince an officer of anything because that is what the courts are for.

[Arctic Fox]

Good legal advise, Redpoint5.

I've a lot of cop friends now-a-days, but there was a time and place where I thought cops were the enemy. In fact, still, every time I travel through Arizona, I prefer to do it late at night.

That being said, here are some YouTube videos I've found that explain about not volunteering any information when speaking with a cop:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8z7NC5sgik

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08fZQWjDVKE

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by Arctic Fox

I've a lot of cop friends now-a-days, but there was a time and place where I thought cops were the enemy.

I used to be more resistive, just for the sake of being rebellious. Now I am courteous and polite, but I still refuse to volunteer anything. Their job is to use every legal means possible to discover illegal behavior, and it's a tough job. It naturally puts them in a position of suspicion, which places their interests in opposition to your own (avoiding legal trouble).

My first and most important legal advice really should be avoid illegal activity.

[Andrew63]

Originally Posted by Diesel_Dave

I'm not interested in making up any stories to get out of a ticket. I have a very high regard for law officers and I also believe in being honest. What I am saying is, based on my current understanding, I did not break the law.

If he wants to claim that my "stopping" was in violation of IC 9-21-8-24(1), I believe I'm on firm ground that I am definitely not, because there was no one behind me and therefore my action was reasonably safe. The only thing I could see is if he wanted to argue that the 28 in a 60 was a violation of IC 9-21-8-24(1) (which is not what he said at the scene). If that were the case then I guess it's a matter of my opinion against his as to whether the 28 in a 60 constituted a "slow down that is not reasonably safe".

I'm hesitant to say something negative against a law officer, but I'm wondering if he saw me, was sure he'd caught a drunk and then when I wasn't he was like, "Something is fishy here. He was doing something. I need to get him for something."

Go to the Clerk of the Court, get a subpoena. Ask to see his patrol car film.

[Andrew63]

Originally Posted by slowmover

Get an attorney. Keep the violations off of your record. Period.

He said that some cars behind me had had to step on their brakes and that cars were passing me left and right. He said he had first spotted me back earlier where he said that I came to a complete stop in the middle of the road. I stated that I hadn’t completely stopped and he responded that I was going really slow, like 2 mph.

Get him to say left and right. How does a car pas you on the right if youare in the right lane? Make him look bad.

He has a radar unit. Why didn't he clock you at 0 mpg?

[pete c]

probably because radar detectors are made to detect speed, not lack there of. If it measured stationary objects, who's to say it's not tracking a tree or a road sign?

[fidalgoman]

It's always a personal shock for a law abiding citizens to run afoul the law when they meant no harm. Here is WA you cannot go under 35 MPH on a highway (unless a marked farm vehicle). You would get a ticket for doing that on a freeway due to creating unsafe driving conditions. i. e. Turbulence in the traffic flow. Too fast or too slow forcing other drivers to maneuver around you. I know you were all alone, but that cop you didn't notice thought it erratic. Anything outside the norm will get you noticed and at least talked to, often cited.

[Sven7]

I'd jump on that 2mph claim. Someone on my local forum, responding to a similar thread, suggested the suspect ask the office for calibration records for the radar gun, since they usually don't keep them calibrated and even if the guy clocked you the numbers could be thrown out.

If he says he knew by "visual estimation" you might think about asking how far away you were when this happened. I don't know if this would work; it's just a thought.

X2 on being honest about hypermiling and bringing in fuel logs.

Good luck with this. Many people driving modified cars will treat over-tinted window tickets and the like as a "pay to play" kind of thing and not worry about it. Hopefully this doesn't become the case with hypermiling.