First save along I-280?

[awj223]

Was driving northbound on I-280 yesterday, right around here https://www.google.com/maps/@37.493254,-122.301864,3a,75y,310.48h,93.16t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1s7lMdB7gC9AHYq_Op7eQVXQ!2e0?hl= en
between Edgewood Rd. and CA-92, doing about PSL+12 to 15. My ALP started alerting to hand-held lidar, so I took my foot off the gas, tapped the brakes, and was about to JTK when the alert suddenly stopped.

I pulled the stats file from my ALP, and it appears that I was hit by a "Marksman and UltraLyte" type gun. Is this something that CHP uses? Strangely, I looked all around for the shooter after I got hit, but I didn't see any CHP cruisers or motorcycles in the area. Looking at Google Maps, there IS an unused onramp (for a vista point that's always closed). Would CHP shoot people that far off axis?

I'm not sure if this really counts as a "save" though, because everyone goes PSL+15 in this area, and CHP mainly looks to ticket 85+ mph.

Also, could the fact that the alert stopped before I hit kill be an indication of a problem with the mounting of my jammer heads? Could it mean that the officer got a PT? Or do officers routinely just move on to other cars if they can't get a PT immediately (especially if one car appears to be going the same speed as everyone else)?

[beingaware]

You could have been collecting scatter from cars in the other direction being targeted.

I've experienced this a few times.

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[BestRadarDetectors]

You could have been collecting scatter from cars in the other direction being targeted.

I've experienced this a few times.

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x2

If you were going the flow of traffic you were probably not the target but maybe the pack leader was or someone else looked to be going faster that the flow.

[curmudgeon]

X3, but we can wait for a Kalifornian to weigh in

[Clint Eastwood]

That spot is one of the hottest spots for LIDAR on I-280. They usually tag you about a 1/2 mile prior to that particular spot, in the curve leading toward the Vista Point exit. If you pull up the map and look up the hill to the right, it is a Vista Point, and they can hide there easily. They have been known to shoot rear LIDAR from there, though they usually do a frontal shot so as to time it so they are merging into traffic as you pass. That spot is also used by CHP as a LIDAR training location. If you were painted in that exact spot in the map, then they were probably just screwing around with the gear, as it would be a nearly 90-degree off axis shot, and way up the hill. But it was almost certainly CHP, as that very spot is THE most common shoot location - so much so I always visually check as I approach there.

I have also seen them running C/O radar from cars just sitting on the ramp - from the rear.

[Clint Eastwood]

It is also possible - as was stated earlier, someone ahead of you was painted and you got back scatter.

Also, FYI, on I-280 in that area, the PSL is 65, but you will not get stopped unless you are going 80+.

[awj223]

That spot is one of the hottest spots for LIDAR on I-280. They usually tag you about a 1/2 mile prior to that particular spot, in the curve leading toward the Vista Point exit. If you pull up the map and look up the hill to the right, it is a Vista Point, and they can hide there easily. They have been known to shoot rear LIDAR from there, though they usually do a frontal shot so as to time it so they are merging into traffic as you pass. That spot is also used by CHP as a LIDAR training location. If you were painted in that exact spot in the map, then they were probably just screwing around with the gear, as it would be a nearly 90-degree off axis shot, and way up the hill. But it was almost certainly CHP, as that very spot is THE most common shoot location - so much so I always visually check as I approach there.

I have also seen them running C/O radar from cars just sitting on the ramp - from the rear.

It could have been slightly before that point on the freeway. I don't remember EXACTLY where I got the alert, but I do know it was from the front (red LED from the ALP). I was just surprised because I looked all around, and I couldn't find the LEO. I forgot about those ramps, even though I've driven past them many times, because that vista point is always closed, and I've never been up there. OT: do you know WHY that particular vista point is always closed?

[Clint Eastwood]

It could have been slightly before that point on the freeway. I don't remember EXACTLY where I got the alert, but I do know it was from the front (red LED from the ALP). I was just surprised because I looked all around, and I couldn't find the LEO. I forgot about those ramps, even though I've driven past them many times, because that vista point is always closed, and I've never been up there. OT: do you know WHY that particular vista point is always closed?

Most of the time it is a CHP moto cop. You can see them sitting on top shooting down onto traffic head-on. A really good hiding spot, but I always do a visual scan when that area comes into view. They are easier to spot once that grass turns yellow - as it may be doing now. The dark green makes it a bit harder to make them out.

CHP uses that vista point for obvious reasons. I think the maintenance costs closed some of them state wide. There are several in close proximity and they chose to close some..... I think there is an open one right after Edgewood, a mile or so before that other one.

[awj223]

I did a google search, and it looks like the place was shut down a long time ago due to illegal activity: http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Shooting-Closes-Scenic-Stop-on-I-280-CHP-2986202.php

I really wonder if I was the target in that attack. I was mostly going with the flow, but on the other hand, I was cruising in the fast lane (but not being a LLH, as I routinely check the mirrors).

When you're hit by LIDAR here, how far do you drop your speed before you JTK? Would dropping all the way down to PSL be suspicious?

[radargeek]

When you're hit by LIDAR here, how far do you drop your speed before you JTK? Would dropping all the way down to PSL be suspicious?Probably not, since people always brake when they see a cop, usually well below PSL. As long as you match the surrounding traffic you should be ok to JTK.

[Clint Eastwood]

I drove past this spot yesterday, and there was a CHP car running C/O Ka 34.7 halfway down the onramp (NB). I was going in the opposite direction, so would not know if he was also running FF laser. Either way, he was giving up his location by spraying radar down the highway.

[Clint Eastwood]

Also, there is no way you can see the patrol cars when they are on the ramp due to the way the ramp is recessed with a berm between the ramp and the highway down below. They are there so often now that I just slow a bit until I determine it's clear.

[awj223]

I drove past that spot again last Friday morning, on the way to SF to fight a parking ticket (which the Judge ended up throwing out). There were 0 CHP cruisers/motorcycles on that ramp at around 8am.

Do they tend to sit there at certain times of the day more than others?

[curmudgeon]

Congrats :thumb:on having the ticket tossed

[Clint Eastwood]

I drove past that spot again last Friday morning, on the way to SF to fight a parking ticket (which the Judge ended up throwing out). There were 0 CHP cruisers/motorcycles on that ramp at around 8am.

Do they tend to sit there at certain times of the day more than others?

Commute hours, 6-8 pm. I did see a trooper shooting laser SB near the 92/280 interchange.

280 is ripe with laser from 380 south to Page Mill Road, in the weekday late afternoon, early evening times.

Good show on the ticket, a long way to drive for a parking violation.

[awj223]

Congrats :thumb:on having the ticket tossed


Commute hours, 6-8 pm. I did see a trooper shooting laser SB near the 92/280 interchange.

280 is ripe with laser from 380 south to Page Mill Road, in the weekday late afternoon, early evening times.

Good show on the ticket, a long way to drive for a parking violation.

Thanks. Was quite easily, actually.

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d17/vc40202.htm


40202. (a) If a vehicle is unattended during the time of the violation, the peace officer or person authorized to enforce parking laws and regulations shall securely attach to the vehicle a notice of parking violation setting forth the violation, including reference to the section of this code or of the Public Resources Code, the local ordinance, or the federal statute or regulation so violated; the date; the approximate time thereof; the location where the violation occurred; a statement printed on the notice indicating that the date of payment is required to be made not later than 21 calendar days from the date of citation issuance; and the procedure for the registered owner, lessee, or rentee to deposit the parking penalty or, pursuant to Section 40215, contest the citation. The notice of parking violation shall also set forth the vehicle license number and registration expiration date if they are visible, the last four digits of the vehicle identification number, if that number is readable through the windshield, the color of the vehicle, and, if possible, the make of the vehicle. The notice of parking violation, or copy thereof, shall be considered a record kept in the ordinary course of business of the issuing agency and the processing agency and shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein.

Officer failed to put the last 4 digits of the VIN on the ticket. Ticket was therefore invalid, and had to be tossed.

They also had a sign 45' away, mounted way up a pole, on a busy street with A LOT of other signs around, saying that there was no parking due to street sweeping. This sign also happened to be illegal because some of the lettering on it was only 1" high, and the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/engineering/mutcd/ states that you need 1" of letter height per 30' of viewing distance. They also lacked a 17"x22" sign at the entrance to the street, as specified by CVC 22507.6, so their only option was to follow the CA MUTCD, which they did not do (CVC 22507.6 specifies that they have to either post a 17"x22" sign at the entrance to the street with lettering at least 1" in height OR follow the MUTCD which specifies at least 12"x18" signs with 1" of letter height for every 30' of viewing distance). However, I didn't even have to get to this part of the argument because the lack of VIN was an easier way to get out of it. I figure if this stupid city is going to get me for supposedly not reading their illegal signs, then I'm going to rake them over the coals for not reading/following the laws of our State to the letter. Now if they had actually put a notice on the meter itself, I wouldn't have bothered to park there, but they chose the bush league tactic of posting signs in easy to miss places instead.

That makes a total of 2 parking tickets San Francisco has given me in my life, but I've yet to have to pay a single one.

[awj223]

I drove past this spot yesterday, and there was a CHP car running C/O Ka 34.7 halfway down the onramp (NB). I was going in the opposite direction, so would not know if he was also running FF laser. Either way, he was giving up his location by spraying radar down the highway.

This happened to me this morning, as I was coming NB on 280 to go to watch the Blue Angels. Really deadly since there's hardly anything for the radar to reflect off of, and you get only about 5-6 seconds warning until you're in the kill zone. Not marked on Waze either.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZiup4awBJs

[Clint Eastwood]

This happened to me this morning, as I was coming NB on 280 to go to watch the Blue Angels. Really deadly since there's hardly anything for the radar to reflect off of, and you get only about 5-6 seconds warning until you're in the kill zone. Not marked on Waze either.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZiup4awBJs

Thats the spot. I always look up the ramp in the mirror, make sure I am not blowing through there super fast. Also confirms my suspicion that this is and has always been a radar spot. When they do laser there, they are at the top of the hill and shoot from the front before the bend. (Been shot once and saw them doing it several times)