In recent months, there’s been a lot of attention around Flock cameras. But the technology behind them has actually been around and been in use for several years now. The idea is that they automatically read your license plate. So naturally, it leaves a lot of people wondering if they can catch you speeding. Even if you do get a speeding ticket in North Carolina, Eric Skager Law will be there to help you. Set up a free consultation today.
Can North Carolina Use Flock Cameras to Give You a Speeding Ticket?
The short answer is: no. Flock cameras can do a lot of things, but police can’t use them to enforce speed limits and give out speeding tickets. The reason is because Flock cameras are automated license plate readers, or ALPRs. That means their purpose is to:
- Capture license plate numbers
- Record the time and date the car passed by the camera
- Get makes and models of cars
That’s helpful, but there’s a big difference between that information and information that police can use to target speeding cars and give out speeding tickets. To do that, police can use:
- Radar
- Lidar
- What the officer saw themselves
- A camera or device specifically designed to measure your speed
Simply getting basic details about your vehicle with a Flock camera isn’t the same as measuring its speed. And more to the point, Flock cameras can’t give out a speeding ticket. That can only happen if radar or an actual police officer catches you doing it. And even if that does happen, there are still ways you can defend yourself.
How Can I Defend Against a Speeding Ticket in North Carolina?
Getting a speeding ticket is really just the starting point of a larger process. But once you’re stopped, cited, and you drive away, you probably want more information about how fast you were going and anything else that the police used in their decision. That doesn’t include Flock camera footage, but that doesn’t mean a camera isn’t involved. Again, police can use basically anything that’s authorized to detect your speed.
But here’s the important part: the details and methods matter. And once you know what was used to gauge your speed and give you the speeding ticket, you also have a roadmap for defending yourself. That includes pushing back against:
- How your speed was measured
- Whether the equipment was working properly
- Where the alleged speeding happened
- What the officer actually saw
- What a camera actually recorded
The point is, don’t just assume the camera proves the speeding charge. Take a look at what it actually recorded and what other evidence there is. Most of the time, that can also involve mistakes on the ticket, using your own dashcam footage, even citing the prevailing weather conditions at the time. Just like the police have their ways of giving out speeding tickets, you have the same right to use whatever evidence you have to push back. And remember, you don’t have to do it by yourself.
Get Help With a North Carolina Speeding Ticket From Eric Skager Law
When you get a speeding ticket in North Carolina, it’s easy to just pay it and forget about it. But if you think a camera was involved, I’d want to know exactly how the government says you were speeding before making that decision. That’s where my team at Eric Skager Law can help you. We’ll sit down and help you:
- Figure out what the speeding ticket actually means
- Look at what type of camera or device was used
- Look into how your speed was supposedly measured
- Review what evidence was used to identify your vehicle
- Look for problems with the speeding charge
- See if there’s a way to reduce the charge or limit its impact on your record
Getting a speeding ticket can throw your entire life off-balance. But with Eric Skager Law on your team, you don’t have to go through the process alone. Set up a free consultation today to talk over your options.