Dear Forumites ,
I need your advice about my chances to contest the speeding fine in court .
Please find below the request for internal review describing the circumstances .
My apologies for the long message.
Date : 9/02/2014
Ref : Penalty number xxxx
Subject : Request to obtain documentation and internal review .
I was stopped by S/C xxxx from Goulburn Police Station for the alleged speeding
offence on 23 January at approx. 5:50AM. It was raining and dawn just started ,
therefore limited visibility had affected the road conditions . I have been advised that
LIDAR detected a speed of 128 km/h in a 110 km/h zone and everything has been
recorded. I use a VDR ( Video Digital Recorder) in my car . As a result , I was able to
review the video and my conversation with Officer Guest . It appears that the section
of M31 near Goulburn where the alleged offence took place has a significant bend ,
trees and metal reflectors along the area .
In general , I was driving from Gold Coast to Melbourne and stayed overnight in
Sydney . My vehicle has a built-in satellite navigation unit model Eclipse AVN76EA.
The sat nav has been calibrated during the service approx. 2 months ago .
The unit provides a very accurate speed reading , hence I set up a cruise control
based on the actual speed rather than car’s speedometer . Furthermore , I’ve tested
my speed 3 times in Qld , NSW and Vic at “check your speed points “ and the results
shown where correct and aligned with readings on my sat nav unit .
You can check the police database to confirm that I have a completely clean driver
history . I’ve realised that Officer xxxx was doing his job , therefore I wanted to
prevent an unnecessarily argument . At the same time , I believe that the
environment in which LIDAR has been used is error-prone .
I carefully reviewed the standards AS 4691.1 and AS 4691.2—2003 .
I would like to request an internal review and to provide the following substantiations
based on my discussion with S/C Guest and the AS standards testing procedures :
1) AS 4691.2—2003 Part 2: Operational procedures
2.2 EQUIPMENT CERTIFICATION .
Request : Copy of the report confirming that the LIDAR involved has been tested
and certified by a NATA testing authority as meeting the requirements set out in
Clause 2.2.3 and been sealed by the testing authority within the past 12 months.
2.4 SITE SELECTION
2.4.4 Alignment Per above , I am concerned that the readings of LIDAR have been incorrect due
topographical conditions of the M31 section near Goulburn and the range of
measurement.
Request: Copy of the audio and video records confirming that the registered speed
was 128 km/h .
2) Officer Guest has mentioned that LIDAR has been calibrated on 23rd January
around 5AM .
Request : I would like to obtain a copy of the following reports based on AS
4691.1—2003 :
APPENDIX A
SIMULATOR METHOD FOR DETERMINATION OF A DEVICE’S ACCURACY
FOR TARGET RANGE AND SPEED MEASUREMENT AND DATA
VALIDATION CAPABILITIES
A6 TEST REPORT FOF DETERMINATION OF OPERATIONAL BEAM WIDTH
B7 TEST REPORT
APPENDIX C
PHYSICAL METHOD FOR DETERMINATION OF ACCURACY OF DISTANCE
MEASUREMENTS
C7 TEST REPORT
In addition , I would like to request your internal review based on the requested
documentation and to appeal to cancel the penalty notice if the facts prove that the
speed measured might have been incorrect .
__________________________________________________________________________
I've received a response from the Sate Debt Recovery office yesterday :
internal review.pdf
In essence , I've been advised that reports that I've requested are not available and the speed won't be displayed without a clear line of sight . Well, I didn't see the speed reading displayed on lidar neither when the cop approached me nor later in his car when I asked to provide his details .
I am based in Melbourne , therefore I would like to evaluate my course of action and changes to succeed in court taking into account that the alleged offence took place in Goulburn .
