Calgary Woman Claims Racial Profiling - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Boblobla · 07-23-2009, 10:07 AM

Well, not really, but she could have.

Woman says she got two speeding tickets for one infraction

http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/loc...ub=CalgaryHome

Quote:

A Calgary woman received two speeding tickets from two cameras less than two blocks from each other in the northwest corner of the city. She accuses the city of double-dipping.

Melissa O'Farrel admits she deserved the ticket she got for speeding through a green light at the intersection of 14th Street and Northmount Drive N.W., but says the second ticket she got from a Multinova van on the other side of the intersection is overkill. O'Farrel asks, "Why would they be so close? I mean within 37 seconds of each other. To get one speeding ticket and then to get another one? That's ridiculous".

She wondered, could police cameras really hit her twice in the same minute for speeding? She called police and was told the tickets are valid and she'll have to go to court to argue otherwise.

Quote:

Charlie Pester of POINTTS Traffic Defense says getting tickets you don't deserve is a by-product of governments using too many cameras to do police officers' jobs.

"Cameras make money, policemen aren't a profit making source. They're not out there, or they shouldn't be out there, as a method of collection revenue for the city, whereas these things do, these things make big money for the city and the province."

And as O'Farrell says, the burden of proving she shouldn't pay twice is on her shoulders. "Why should the onus be on me to correct something that could be a mistake that wasn't my own?", she says.

While I am not in favour of these speed on green cameras, this lady is dumb. There are some FANTASTIC comments though. I think there are some people from CP who post comments on CTV, I am pretty sure I have heard most of them before.

ken0042 · 07-23-2009, 10:20 AM

I think she has a point.

Consider a normal traffic stop. An officer uses radar to see you speeding past him. He pulls out to pull you over, and in the course of catching up to you also clocks your speed. Can he hand you two tickets, one for each infraction seconds apart? Why not watch a speeder for a minute, and then give him 60 tickets; one for each second.

Boblobla · 07-23-2009, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken0042

I think she has a point.

Consider a normal traffic stop. An officer uses radar to see you speeding past him. He pulls out to pull you over, and in the course of catching up to you also clocks your speed. Can he hand you two tickets, one for each infraction seconds apart? Why not watch a speeder for a minute, and then give him 60 tickets; one for each second.

I was once issued 5 failure to signal tickets and a speeding ticket.

I passed someone while speeding and then exited without signaling. It was like $700 worth of fines for going 11 over or something like that. The Crown threw the speeding ticket and 4 of the 5 failure to signal tickets out.

I am sure if this lady goes down to fight the ticket one will get thrown out.

@theCBE · 07-23-2009, 10:24 AM

I'm not sure where the racial profiling comment comes from... unless it is a reference to another thread or an inside joke.

Yah the lady was wrong.. yah she should have to pay her ticket, but if this happened to me I would be pissed off too.

From the way I understand it, she didn't stop at all between getting the tickets. I think she should only have to pay the higher ticket.

Say she travelled 1 km in that 37 seconds. If the ticket had been from a cop with a a hand held radar gun he couldn't give her one speeding ticket for the first 500m and then a second ticket or the next 500 m unless the circumstances changed in that 1km (ie, traffic light/stop sign/ speed change). So why should she get two tickets for travelling the same stretch just because the tickets from a speed camera?

edit.. looks like Ken beat me to it

Boblobla · 07-23-2009, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by @theCBE

I'm not sure where the racial profiling comment comes from... unless it is a reference to another thread or an inside joke.

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?t=77135

rockstar · 07-23-2009, 10:27 AM

I'd call that one speeding incident. She shouldn't be charged twice.

peter12 · 07-23-2009, 10:28 AM

My dad is as white as they come and this happened to him a few months ago.

Locke · 07-23-2009, 10:30 AM

How dare she break the law and endanger innocent citizens!!

This is criminal, criminal! Throw the book at her, she should be doing hard jail time! Speeding through a green light? She could have killed someone!

This is an outrage!

Shazam · 07-23-2009, 10:30 AM

This is pretty common. CPS will often set up two traps very close to each other.

octothorp · 07-23-2009, 10:32 AM

Yeah, I agree with her too. If this is one continuous act of speeding, it deserves only one ticket. If you was speeding, and then stopped or was pulled over, and then resumed speeding, it was two separate acts and thus two separate tickets would be justified. You don't get double-punishment if you rob a convenience store and are caught on video, and then caught by the police five minutes later. If I was her, I'd definitely challenge this on the grounds that there was only one infraction.

Bring_Back_Shantz · 07-23-2009, 10:32 AM

I'm fairly certain that one of the tickets will get thrown out and the Cops know this, but don't want to set a precedent.

She got hit by two cameras so they sent her two tickets. If they cancel one it will set a bad precedent, as what is keeping someone from saying, yeah I got these two tickets 2 hours appart, but I didn't stop or slow down the whole time so the second one shouldn't count.

Once the cops tear one up, they'd have to start doing it for everyone who comlains. Best to just let the court sort it out, cause you know, that's what courts are for.

burn_this_city · 07-23-2009, 10:37 AM

She must be oblivious. Multinova and the speed on green cameras are easy to spot

DrJ · 07-23-2009, 10:38 AM

What are these "speed through green" cameras?! I thought the only permanent cameras that existed were for running reds!

The Ditch · 07-23-2009, 10:39 AM

If she wasn't speeding she wouldn't have got any tickets, I don't understand why it's so hard to go the speed limit.

Boblobla · 07-23-2009, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Ditch

If she wasn't speeding she wouldn't have got any tickets, I don't understand why it's so hard to go the speed limit.

I was waiting for these comments to show up.

Shazam · 07-23-2009, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

She must be oblivious. Multinova and the speed on green cameras are easy to spot

I always shake my head when I see someone barrelling through traffic, as the rest of noticed the van/car ages ago.

ken0042 · 07-23-2009, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrJ

What are these "speed through green" cameras?! I thought the only permanent cameras that existed were for running reds!

Same cameras; now with double the fining action.

Oh, and it's not just speed on green either. Yellow and red will get you for speeding.

Shazam · 07-23-2009, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boblobla

I was waiting for these comments to show up.

It's just money. It's not like you're getting flogged for speeding.

CaptainCrunch · 07-23-2009, 10:52 AM

Maybe this broad should put down the compact and focus on driving.

Chicks they certainly shouldn't be behind the wheel except when they go to subway to pick up my sammy. And she'd bettern not dilly dally, cause while she's out doing chick stuff I've got a hunger from doin man work, that I should get paid more for.

mykalberta · 07-23-2009, 10:53 AM

Its simple. She got the tickets for being all sorts of nasty ugly.