A DRIVER found herself in hot water after misunderstanding a little-known road sign.
TikTok user Saige Playton, from Virginia, went viral after brushing off an unusual “Speed Limit Enforced by Aircraft” sign as a joke – only to later receive a penalty in the mail.
A TikToker went viral after brushing off an unusual speed enforcement sign as a joke[/caption]
Her video was viewed by 2.2 million users and many shared her scepticism – until she received a fine[/caption]
Taking to the social media site, Saige mocked the sign while driving, saying: “Speed limit enforced by aircraft? Pfft. Yeah.”
The clip was viewed by 2.2 million users and many shared her scepticism in the comments – until she received a fine in the mail.
Later in the video, Saige is seen flipping through her mail and revealing a speeding ticket, proving the sign’s warning was real.
In the caption, she writes: “I didn’t believe it, but I guess they were serious.”
The seldom-seen sign refers to a method of speed enforcement where law enforcement uses aircraft to monitor vehicle speeds on the road.
Officers in the aircraft calculate a vehicle’s speed by timing how long it takes to travel between two marked points.
Once a speeding vehicle is identified, the aircraft crew relays the details to officers on the ground – who then issue a ticket.
As expected, this method of speed enforcement is rare due to its high costs and potential for human error.
However, it is still occasionally used in areas like Virginia, where Playton was ticketed.
Curiously, the system is not foolproof as the speed calculation depends on precise timing from the air.
It means, if the officer in the aircraft doesn’t time a vehicle’s travel correctly, the resulting speed estimate will be off.
Furthermore, identifying the correct vehicle can be tricky as from the sky, reading a license plate is nearly impossible.
Aircraft officers also often report multiple speeders, meaning ground patrols can often mix them up and pull over the wrong driver.
In the comments underneath Saige’s video, many pointed out that the system isn’t flawless.
But despite this, courts often uphold the ruling.
One person wrote: “There’s room for error… but not really on the minutes-to-seconds scale.
“If the average speed is above the limit, then you must necessarily have been going above the limit somewhere.
“It’s the fundamental way in which these tickets are enforced.”
Another added: “You’re the first person I’ve heard of that actually got a ticket from that.”
And a third commented: “I thought those were a fear tactic.”
A fourth chimed in: “That’s real?! I never believed those signs.”
It also began a debate over how expensive the practice can be.
“They got money and resources to sit in a helicopter to watch cars for speeding but not to look for kidnapped children, women, and indigenous folks,” said one TikToker.
And another added: “You have the right to face your accuser in court.
“Tell them I wanna see the pilot and ask them when’s the last time they had their equipment calibrated.”
How to fight a speeding ticket
According to a legally reviewed post, there are five effective strategies to fighting a speeding ticket if it was wrongfully issued.
- If pulled over and issued a ticket, drivers can argue or dispute a driver’s personal opinion. When issuing a speeding ticket, an officer is required to write their opinion and come to an “objective” conclusion. If the ticket was written based on that judgment, it can be contested. An example would be if you were going 75 mph in a 65 mph zone because others were traveling at the same speed, you could argue that it would be more dangerous to travel at 65 mph.
- You can dispute the officer’s presentation of evidence. If you were ticketed for something like running a stop sign or making an illegal u-turn, you can’t contest that if an officer saw you, but you can call things into court like eyewitnesses, diagrams, or photos.
- Argue that the ticket was issued by a “mistake of fact.” This is tricky, but a “mistake of fact” is a mistake made by a driver about a situation that was beyond their control, or if a driver legitimately did not know they were violating the law. For example, you were driving in two lanes because the lane markers were so worn down that you could not see them.
- You could say circumstances justified your driving. You could say you were speeding to pass a possibly drunk driver, or avoiding an accident by rapidly changing lanes. However, the argument won’t work if there’s proof you continued to speed after passing.
- Similar to the above, it could be argued that speeding was necessary to avoid harm. The key is to argue that if you weren’t speeding, you or someone else could have been harmed.
- Consult a traffic attorney, if all else fails. Many have free consultations to decide whether or not there’s a case.
Source: FindLaw
