Police officer estimates OK for speeding tickets, Ohio supreme court rules

[army judge]

The Ohio State Supreme Court has just set a new precedent for speeding citations.

The court has said a trained officer's visual observation is enough to uphold a speeding citation.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio's highest court has ruled that a person may be convicted of speeding purely if it looked to a police officer that the motorist was going too fast.

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that an officer's visual estimation of speed is enough to support a conviction if the officer is trained, certified by a training academy, and experienced in watching for speeders. The court's 5-1 decision says independent verification of a driver's speed is not necessary.

The court upheld a lower court's ruling against a driver who challenged a speeding conviction that had been based on testimony from police officer in Copley, 25 miles south of Cleveland. The officer said it appeared to him that the man was driving too fast.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news...-for-speeding-tickets-court-rules-741192.html

 

[mightymoose]

I've cited people that way... haven't been to court for it yet either.
I can't put a specific speed on the citation but can estimate it (the citation has a space for "approximate speed")
Under the basic speed law an officer just has to explain why the driver was going too fast for conditions.
An approximate 45 through a 25 school zone is pretty easy to spot. An approximate 60 in a 55... that is really a stretch... depends on circumstances and teh ability to explain to a judge (if it should get that far) why the speed was unsafe.

 

[CdwJava]

I've been doing the same for nearly 20 years. I am not radar certified, but have passed muster at several speed trials with merely my visual observation based upon years of experience, etc.