If you’re fighting a New Jersey traffic ticket based on a visual average speed computer and recorder (VASCAR), you may want to discuss your legal options with a New Jersey traffic ticket attorney such as Dan Matrafajlo. Before you can proceed with your case, you should understand how a VASCAR works and identify a relevant defensive strategy.
VASCAR uses time and distance to calculate a car’s speed between two points. A police officer sets up VASCAR by measuring the distance between two set points. The officer might choose a distance between two road signs, clear markings on the ground, or other landmarks visible from the officer’s vantage point. Your New Jersey traffic ticket attorney can find out precisely what landmarks were used during case discovery.
After taking the measurement between the two chosen points, the officer waits for a vehicle to approach the first designated point. When the vehicle passes the first point, the officer clicks a VASCAR device, which operates similarly to a stopwatch. The officer then clicks the device again when the vehicle passes the second point. VASCAR requires a simple formula to calculate the speed of the vehicle by looking at the amount of time required to travel the measured distance between the two points.
Officers can use VASCAR while seated in their police cruisers on the ground. VASCAR technology is also available from the air if police measure time and distance from a helicopter or plane. After using VASCAR in the air, the officers pass the results to police cruisers below and those officers then pull over the identified vehicles.
Unlike with the use of radar guns, use of VASCAR does not rely on radio transmissions. Therefore, your defensive strategy can’t rely on radio interference or other common radio errors to challenge the speed reading collected by the officer. You might need to consult with a New Jersey traffic ticket attorney to see how you can dispute the evidence presented by the state against you. For a free consultation with dedicated New Jersey traffic ticket attorney Dan Matrafajlo do not hesitate to call (908) 248-4404 today.
