An Edmonton man had his day in Athabasca Provincial Court June 11 to challenge a speeding ticket he received January 11.
Terrence Kuhn, who represented himself in this case, tried to claim that cold weather and electrical or radio currents could have interfered with some police radar equipment, which resulted in him being pulled over as he headed to work in Fort McMurray.
John Fitzgerald, the Alberta Sheriff's department officer who pulled him over, said on the stand that he saw the vehicle speeding on Highway 55 near Fortis Road at around 3:30 p.m. According to a radar gun he used, the vehicle had been going 122 kilometres per hour in a 100 kilometre zone.
While he was on the stand, Fitzgerald said he had passed training on using the radar system in 2015, and had the system in his vehicle tested after his daily patrol was complete. He added the results had the system in good perfect order.
Fitzgerald said that no other vehicle was caught speeding that day, and that he did a visual estimate of the vehicle's speed before activating radar.
During cross-examination, Kuhn asked how far Fitzgerald was in front of him when he activated the radar machine. Fitzgerald said he was 200-300 metres in front of the vehicle when it was activated. Kuhn also asked during cross-examination if electrical or radio waves could interfere with the radar system, which the officer answered no.
Officer Fitzgerald also denied that extreme cold weather could have interfered with the system, admitting that the weather was minus 47 degrees celsius with a windchill at the time, even adding that the radar gun itself does have temperatures show up on its screen.
During his statement to the court, Kuhn said is speedometer was at only about 107 kilometres per hour, and he was on four-wheel drive. He added that he considered himself a cautious driver who has never received a ticket in more than three years, and has had no accidents on his record.
Of the radar system, Kuhn said electronics can be finicky at times, and does not feel that he was going the speed the radar gun clocked him at.
Under cross examination from crown attorney Dave Hall, Kuhn admitted he did not know when the radar went off, and said that he did not have his speedometer tested by a qualified technician. He also admitted that he did not really know how fasthe was going at the time the radar went off.
In the end, Judge Peter Ayotte told Kuhn that cases were decided on evidence, not on opinion. While Ayotte noted that the defendant was an honest man, he said that the defendent only presented possibilities, but not evidence. As a result, the judge convicted Kuhn for speeding, noting the crown's evidence against him was solid, and that nothing in the radar manual states that power or freezing weather affects equipment.
Ayotte levelled a fine of $185 dollars, and gave Kuhn until July 16 to pay it off.
