headed to banff, need a couple tips please & thanks

[delicioso!]

taht's awesome Falco! those buggers! guess i don't even have a chance of fighting since i'm a 36 hour drive away, lol. can they skype at court?! lol. and say the ocifer doesn't log in, then they'll just throw my case out! man, i bet these guys just love givin tickets in the mail for outta towners, cuz there's no fighting it w/o being there in person huh?!

[FalcoColumbarius]

......and say the ocifer doesn't log in, then they'll just throw my case out! man,....

That's because the constable is busy twittering with his/her thumbs in the cruiser.

This is one of the drawbacks of the L400 ~ you can speed (grins). Check with your local constabulary, perhaps there is a loophole, that or wait for them to come to you. Myself and many other BC residents believe photo radar to be a complete sham and contrary to the constitution of the "True North, Strong and Free", which is why there is no longer any photo radar in BC.

Don't get me wrong, I believe the RCMP/GRC are by and large good people, the politicians who legislate these "new" laws on the other hand ~ I'm not so sure about. Be true to yourself, ultimately that is to whom you answer. Don't get pushed around by some bureaucratic paper pushing stuffed shirt ~ know your rights as a Canadian.

Falco.

[delicioso!]

amen dude! thanks for that.
cheers.

[Erebus]

ssssoooo, weeks later after this trip, and after the postal strike i guess...i get a surprise envelop from alberta! frigg, got bit on photoradar for what says i was goin 96 on an 80kph zone!!! $103 fine...i'm SOL'd aren't I?! just bend over and pay up?! cuz i can't really appear in court in august or plead not guilty...!

what are ya'lls doin when/if you get photoradared?!

Ya, photoradar sucks, total cash cow. But on the other hand, since they don't know who was driving, no points are involved. Does Ontario have reciprocal agreement with Alberta? If not, as long as you stay out of Alberta for a few years you are safe. If so, yup, pay up.

The way I figure it, pretty much everyone speeds, some more frequently than others. And everyone once in a while we get dinged and pay for the privilege. It doesn't teach anyone much respect for the law.

"They" claim photoradar is for safety. I say, "bull". If you get pulled over by a police car with lights, everyone knows right then and there that you were speeding, and everyone slows down. Being told a couple of weeks later that you were speeding doesn't slow anyone down, and doesn't change your behaviour much. As anyone who has tried to train an animal knows, punishment has to be immediate and linked to the "crime" to be effective. But photoradar doesn't do that.

I even consider it to be a hazard: now when I see a van stopped on the shoulder I pay too much attention looking to see if it is photoradar, and my speed, rather than the rest of the driving situation. So it is distracting.

[delicioso!]

frigg, i hear ya on that erebus! like disciplining children, immediate punishment and forgiveness, lol. just retarted i tells ya. well, i still have till aug. 27th to do something. guess i should check on that reciprocal agreement with alberta...
they tried that photoradar here in s.ontario and it didn't fly, er wait, do we still have it? hmm, i don't think so..
thanks for the replies fellas! hope to be back there sooner than later..bro-inlaws movin next month to dewinton, hope to visit again.

[jessef]

90% of the time photoradar is a cashcow joke

10% of the time it is justified by putting it in areas where there are speeders, children on road, high collision area, etc...

Hopefully you were in the 90% location. 96 in an 80 zone is speeding no matter which way you spin it although many people contest photo radar and get off on a technicality.

The solution is simply to not speed, at least not that much.

If you were doing 88, it probably would not have picked you up since they give the machines a degree of tolerance depending on the location, etc...

[Erebus]

90% of the time photoradar is a cashcow joke

{snip}
96 in an 80 zone is speeding no matter which way you spin it although many people contest photo radar and get off on a technicality.

The solution is simply to not speed, at least not that much.

If you were doing 88, it probably would not have picked you up since they give the machines a degree of tolerance depending on the location, etc...

In Calgary, they love to change the speed limits with no warning (i.e., sign "80 Begins") and with no logical reason (i.e., road narrows, becomes more residential), so you miss the sign, then they ding you.

Any when they decide they want more money, they don't do tolerance, they'll set it for 85 in an 80 zone.

A couple of years ago, a new prov. transportation minister said publicly that he wanted all photo radar setups to have warning signs 1 km back. "They" took a fit, saying then everyone would slow down. He said, "ya, isn't that the point? You claim it is for safety, not money, so having everyone slow down is the goal. This would do it." He was quickly silenced.

[CREGAN]

They have even started getting sneakier here in Leduc and Edmonton. Now they use other vehicles than a van. I have seen pick-up trucks, SUV's, as well as Radar traps where the officer will hide behind a pole or a tree and shoot you with the radar gun a short distance away and if you are speeding he will jump out and flag you into the side street to ticket you. My favorite is the jacked up, smoked out rig-rocket pick-up that they park in the middle or side of the road to make it look like it is broke down, then when you get past it you see the huge photo lense sticking out the back slider window. The only tell-tale sign of a photo radar vehicle is if you can see through the front window. They always put a cover across it on the inside so you can't see the pencil-pushing douche-bag sitting in there recording it. It is so blatently a cash grab to pay for the politicians stupidity and corruptness here.

A few years back there where people getting themselves into trouble for vandalizing the photo radar vehicle - ie. a brick through the window, flattening tires, etc. It wasn't me, in case you where wondering. I agree that you shouldn't be speeding in the first place, I know that, but it sucks to be trapped into a rather hefty ticket when flow of traffic made it safe to do so. I don't speed in school zones, or crowded residential streets - I am smart enough and have common sense for that (although in Alberta many aren't). Consturuction zones I have a proble with because every major roadway into and around Edmonton has construction on it. They call it consruction but it is in essence several pear-shaped monkeys chain smoking and saying the f-word alot while standing by their equipment. Being stopped by a police officer is much more of a lesson teacher. The humiliation of having hundreds of rubber-neckers drive by is enough of a punishment for me!

End rant here.

Craig

[delicioso!]

well, i bent over and paid online. called the MTO here and they said there is a reciprocal agreement, when asked for further details about photoradar ticket, i got passed on to another line where "the lines were busy, another agent will be available..." and was on hold forever. called the local calgary office and again, just a leave a message prompt. gotta love the gov't "system", nobody wants to talk to you and hear your rant and BS! lol. they're all the same, these buggers!
anyway, it's a speed trap, nowhere near school zones, major road and i do remember that strip and just went with the traffic flow. place of offence:

10800 16 AV NW OP 10429
http://mapq.st/pTCB0E

lesson learned i guess! thanks fellas, but that's teh system we live in and i guess i should be thankfull. . . otherwise, i coulda just greased someobdy with a badge or at the office, lol. hope that $112.45 fine (taxes in!) get's put to good use!
cheers.

hey, there should be an app somewhere that lists photoradar spots (or actively updates it when people report sightings) hooked up to your gps to give you fair warning...er, or they should have photoradar warning signs to slow people down ;)

[Erebus]

hey, there should be an app somewhere that lists photoradar spots (or actively updates it when people report sightings) hooked up to your gps to give you fair warning...er, or they should have photoradar warning signs to slow people down ;)

Apparently the local newspapers publish, daily, a list of where the photo radar will be. So if you can stomach reading the paper (and it isn't in their online free edition) you could find out.

[delicioso!]

haha, cool. next time i'm there i'm grabbin the local paper!