GPS Expert Needed to Beat Speeding Tickets
Everyone makes mistakes. But cops don’t like to be proven wrong in court.
So, as an Ohio man recently learned the hard way, if you’re going to challenge a speeding ticket with GPS tracking records, you better bring a GPS expert as a sidekick to help your defense.
Jason Barnes was pulled over last year on the interstate by a police officer and ticketed for speeding. He was accused of going 84 miles an hour in a 65 miles-per-hour zone, according to CBS News online .
But Barnes had disputing evidence coming from the GPS tracking records on his cell phone. It said that, at that time and place, he was going under the speed limit at 50 miles per hour, because he was stuck in heavy truck traffic. Adding to the driver’s optimism was the fact that police did not even use their old, standard radar gun. He was clocked from the sky from a police airplane. The officer determined speed by timing the car’s progress between speed stripes on the road with a simple stop watch.
Unfortunately, the outcome of the case – guilty – proved Barnes had too much confidence and not enough preparation. The decision was appealed, with the same result. The written ruling specifically said that Barnes would have improved his chances if he had produced a GPS expert to establish the accuracy and reliability of the GPS tracking application on his Verizon cell phone.
Another fact that doomed Barnes’ appeal was that his cell phone GPS tracking gave estimated speed readings, based on two-minute position updates. He could very well have been traveling 85 miles an hour one minute, and 30 mph the next.
“He didn’t have someone with credible knowledge and experience of his specific vehicle tracking system,” said Judge Stephen Shaw. “We needed someone to explain how speed is calculated, the scientific accuracy of speed and location readings, and if there is any type of regular maintenance required on the GPS tracking unit to maintain its accuracy.”
Steven Moehling, vice president of sales for LandAirSea Systems in Woodstock, has sat in on court hearings as a GPS expert on several occasions.
LandAirSea has been a leading provider of passive and active GPS tracking systems since 1994. Despite increased competition in the GPS tracking market, LandAirSea remains a recognized and trusted name in the business and Moehling is considered a GPS expert.
Most recently Moehling testified as a GPS expert in the murder trial of a New York man accused of running over a 12-year-old babysitter. A LandAirSea passive vehicle tracking device was planted in George Ford Jr’s truck. The vehicle tracking device provided critical evidence and the suspect was convicted of second-degree murder.
Moehling explains that a cell phone GPS is not as powerful as a traditional GPS tracking system. In the cell phone system, position updates are more “breadcrumb,” than consistent and close in frequency. LandAirSea’s GPS Tracking Key and GPS Tracking Key Pro record location every second, not every few minutes, and the readings are accurate within 5 or 6 feet.
For years, traditional GPS tracking systems like the LandAirSea GPS Tracking Key and the GPS Tracking Key Pro passive GPS tracking system have been used by law enforcement and many government agencies, said Moehling. GPS tracking systems are being used by many employers for fleet management. The same professional-grade quality vehicle tracking systems are available to consumers to use in their vehicles.
Any GPS expert will urge consumers to compare a multi-functional communications device with lots of bells and whistles (cell phone or smart phone), versus a system engineered for one specific purpose (vehicle tracking). The independent GPS tracking device is superior. It will tell users the exact location of their vehicles and therefore, anyone driving it. It will send a text alert to the user when the driver is speeding or traveling outside a designated geographic area (geo-fencing).
As more companies try to keep tabs on employees and police want to monitor the travel of suspects, it is certain that GPS tracking will become a big player in courtrooms throughout the country. LandAirSea’s Moehling said he believes GPS tracking systems have already made great strides in the criminal justice system. The question is not so much if the equipment is reliable. The question is now focused more on what legal action, if any, is required to install a vehicle tracking system on a suspect car or truck. A few states have already made decisions on the warrant issue and they have differences of opinion.
“I believe that the warrant issue in GPS tracking cases is something that will continue to be decided on a state-by-state basis,” Moehling said.
Source: CNET
Tags: CBS News, GPS Expert, gun, Jason Barnes, Online, Radar, sidekick, Speeding
No related posts.
