From: John Tserkezis 
Reply-To: Fidonet AVtech Echo 

Bob Lawrence wrote:

>>For this reason, most if not all speedos will show a speed
>>slightly higher than you are actually
>>travelling.  I don't know where this +/- 10% came from, but it
>>is an urban legend, and not fact.

>  Which is the urban legend? Do you *personally* know anyone booked
> for 10% over the limit?

  Someone who knew a cop, said they set it to 10% + 2Km/h.  I drive up to 
+8-9Km/h over, (any limit) as I've heard from too many people that were booked 
at _exactly_ 10Km/h over.

  In another recent case, (I read about it on the internet so it must be true), 
someone in victoria said he was booked at 64km/h (in a 60 zone), and was asking 
about what legal recourse he could take. (again, legal advice on the internet 
is also be true).

>  Even if what Brenton says is true (and I don't believe it for a
> moment... *no* manufacturer is going to *guarantee* the accuracy of
> his speedo if it leaves him open to being sued and it would) cops
> still have to prove *intent* and a halfway competent lawyer could
> argue that 66K in a 60K zone does not show an intent to speed.

  As far as I've been able to determine, SA is _exactly_ 10 over, it Qld, and 
NSW you should be able to get away with it (I've done 9-10 over in qld and nsw, 
past radar traps and not booked).  Don't know about the other states.
  In victoria, I give myself 4-5km/h over, as they are by far more anal than 
other states.  Hadn't passed any speed traps though, so not entirely sure.
  Specifically in the above case, I think either he was trolling, or was 
behaving like a dickhead, where the cop had the only legal option of booking 
him for speeding (it's still over the marked limit, so it's over).

  That kind of thing would never fly in NSW, court costs more than the fine, so 
cops don't bother.  My take on this is that victorians don't like court. 
(other of my experiences in victoria also lead to this belief).

> JT> Over the weekend while driving to and from the snow, (three
> JT> cars) we were using UHF cb's to communicate with each other.
> JT> Comes in really useful when trying to overtake, the car in
> JT> front gives updates on oncoming traffic. Also notes on any
> JT> oncoming cops (no overtaking with cops around!). 

>  Jesus! Don't trust that. All you need is a "mate" with a twisted
> sense of humour and you're lookign at a semi, head on.

  It was coming only from one of the guys, and we knew we could trust him. 
What you have to listen to is his voice too, you get dickheads trying to tell 
us it was clear, when in fact, was not.
  Fortunate for us, we were in close enough proximity to get a faultlessly 
clear signal, where you could clearly hear their voice as well.

> JT> The car I was in was an SS V8 commodore ute, I was actually
> JT> suprised that its speedo was pretty close to the mark.

>  *Every* car I've owned was accurate ot 100K (working off the
> do-it-yourself rev counter). The funny part is that in this latest
> Skyline, the rev counter is low!`

  I don't trust any vehicle I own, let alone any vehicle that I'm not familiar 
in.  Basically, if it isn't GPS verified, I don't trust it. Regardless of 
whatever certificate and/or lab says.

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