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Dashcam video footage to fight traffic citation?

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Just wondering if anyone has attempted to use dashcam video footage in NJ to fight a traffic citation in court? Is this permissible as evidence and under what circumstances? Any authenticity concerns with the court? Would be interested in hearing stories, experiences, lessons learned if any.

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I could see how the dashcam footage could be used to demonstrate that you did make a full stop at a stop sign or before making a right on red, or some other simple moving violation, but would the speed displayed in the footage be accepted in court if you were contesting a speeding ticket?

I'm just wondering since the dashcam that I'm using currently includes my speed in the time stamp display within the recorded footage. I'm assuming that it's calculated using GPS, so I'm not sure how accurate it is compared to radar, etc.

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My MVR also records the speed but that isn't admissible as evidence for me.

My car and radar unit has to be certified and calibrated routinely. (I think 2x a year, but I cant remember.)

I also have to test my radar unit at the beginning and end of shift with tuning forks to ensure it is calibrated. I then complete a form, and submit it to the court as evidence, whenever I write a speeding ticket, attesting to the fact that I completed the tests as the radar is functioning properly.

I don't know what you can do similar to show that your dashcam and cars speedometer are calibrated that would be admissible to the courts....

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12 minutes ago, High Exposure said:

My MVR also records the speed but that isn't admissible as evidence for me.

My car and radar unit has to be certified and calibrated routinely. (I think 2x a year, but I cant remember.)

I also have to test my radar unit at the beginning and end of shift with tuning forks to ensure it is calibrated. I then complete a form, and submit it to the court as evidence, whenever I write a speeding ticket, attesting to the fact that I completed the tests as the radar is functioning properly.

I don't know what you can do similar to show that your dashcam and cars speedometer are calibrated that would be admissible to the courts....

How about if you drove by speed signs to show they sink up? Still probably not admissible, but that's how I know my dashcam GPS is accurate with it's speed display. Although, my speedometer is 2 mph off, but my dashcam, speed signs, and Waze all match up.

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12 minutes ago, High Exposure said:

My MVR also records the speed but that isn't admissible as evidence for me.

My car and radar unit has to be certified and calibrated routinely. (I think 2x a year, but I cant remember.)

I also have to test my radar unit at the beginning and end of shift with tuning forks to ensure it is calibrated. I then complete a form, and submit it to the court as evidence, whenever I write a speeding ticket, attesting to the fact that I completed the tests as the radar is functioning properly.

I don't know what you can do similar to show that your dashcam and cars speedometer are calibrated that would be admissible to the courts....

That's sort of what I figured (that there is no way for someone to demonstrate that their speedometer and dashcam are actually calibrated correctly and are in synch with each other). What made me think about this is that I've noticed that my dashcam will show that I'm still moving at 1-2 mph even after I come to a complete stop (most likely due to a lag in the GPS). 

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Sig226guyNJ Maybe?

Keep in mind the providing of dash cam footage could be a double edged sword at a speeding trial. As impossible as it is to expect a driver to maintain an exact speed limit, 1MPH over is still speeding.

If you pass a 50MPH sign doing 51MPH, you are technically guilty and your video is doing the Prosecutor's work for him.

As far as the stopsign example above - There are two basic parts to that statute:

1) stop

2) proceed when safe

Most people get the first part down. It's the second part that trips folks up. If you are involved in an accident after leaving a stop sign, it clearly wasn't safe and you didn't follow step 2, ergo, violation of 39:4-144

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14 minutes ago, PK90 said:

Most people don't know that if you stop behind a car at a stop sign, then follow it into the intersection, the cars on the cross road must yield to you.

Wouldn't that mean that you never stopped at the stop sign? 

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You still have to stop. You just stop behind the car in front of you (that stopped at the stop sign) instead of the stop sign. You just don't have to stop twice.

One or more vehicles or street cars following directly in line with another vehicle or street car and coming to a complete stop, caused by the first vehicle or street car nearest the intersection complying with section 39:4-144 of this Title, may proceed into or across the intersecting street without again coming to a complete stop. No driver of a vehicle or street car approaching the intersection on the intersecting street shall fail to yield to the vehicle so proceeding into or across the intersecting street.

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40 minutes ago, High Exposure said:

You still have to stop. You just stop behind the car in front of you (that stopped at the stop sign) instead of the stop sign. You just don't have to stop twice.

 

 

Never knew that! Seems kind of dangerous to me though. Does this apply to red lights as well? The statute is a bit unclear in that regards. I guess intersection would mean any intersection, regardless of whether there is a stop sign or red light.

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52 minutes ago, PK90 said:

No.

NJS 39:4-145.

Interesting. Just looked through the 2017 nj drivers manual. No mention of that law, I'm guessing that's why very few people know of that law. 

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39:4-144 deals with stop signs.

39:4-81 deals with traffic lights.

Two different statutes.

Yeah, it can be dangerous. Personally it falls under the heading of "Just because you can, doesn't mean you always should".

It also doesn't give you the right to just pull in front of a moving car because the car in front of you made it through the intersection and you came to a stop behind them - 2) proceed when safe always applies.

Knowing you weren't at fault at an accident scene because you know a bit of esoteric MV law is cold comfort when you are looking at a totaled car or worse, an injured person.

Its basically for those stop signs that you can clearly see in every direction, and you know that the car or cars in front of you and your car are all that on the road.

5 minutes ago, fishnut said:

Interesting. Just looked through the 2017 nj drivers manual. No mention of that law, I'm guessing that's why very few people know of that law. 

Sometimes they refer to it as the "right of procession". May be mentioned in there that way....

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Regarding odometer speed vs gps.

As one mentioned, gps's have a slight lag. This amount varies depending on the amount of satellites acquired. Your speeds would very rarely sync.

 

Another note. Turn off/mute your built in microphone if it has one. Road rage language will get you no where in court.

 

My dashcam has everything built in. IF anything you do while driving worries you, turn off anything that might incriminate you. No sound and or no gps footage is better than nothing. Just make sure audio is on if someone gets in your face with verbal abuse.

[emoji6]

On the other hand, leaving everything on may end up making you a perfect driver. [emoji3]

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

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This may be a dumb question but, If someone were to try and use dashcam footage to fight a ticket in court, wouldn't the prosecutor have the right to see all of the footage on the chip and not just small clip that the defendant wants to show?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

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