From: John De Armond
Newsgroups: rec.outdoors.rv-travel
Subject: Re: SA-2006 question
Date: Sun, 31 Dec 2006 20:42:02 -0500
Message-ID: <6uogp2hdpat2fqvopudc35r5fc9afnc28k@4ax.com>

On Sun, 31 Dec 2006 20:48:00 -0000, Frank Tabor <ftabor@gmail.com>
wrote:


>>>Neon John wrote:
>>
>>>> I'm trying to decide whether to buy the bluetooth version of the
>>>> Earthmate that stores tracks.  Anybody have one?  Does it just store
>>>> location points or does it store more info such as the speed at each
>>>> point?  I really want one that will store speeds since the logging
>>>> function in 2007 is STILL broken.  I need to store speeds as a defense
>>>> against fraudulent speeding citations.
>
>You really don't need that.  Your trucks onboard computer logs all the
>on-off times and speeds.

True to an extent but my company doesn't log in that kind of detail
(Qualcomm charges for that option) and I don't have access to anything
but the average speed of the current trip.  I want the speed data to
be under my control in a format that I can play back in court if need
be.  I used much cruder log data from an early GPS and put the data in
a spreadsheet in my Stop'n'Rob defense.  That worked but being able to
play back the track on the map to a judge would be soooo much more
effective.

John

From: John De Armond
Newsgroups: rec.outdoors.rv-travel
Subject: Re: SA-2006 question
Date: Mon, 01 Jan 2007 03:48:55 -0500
Message-ID: <v5ihp2h1ji6dtq4116eqiviik78c59esv9@4ax.com>

On Mon, 01 Jan 2007 04:56:51 -0000, Frank Tabor <ftabor@gmail.com>
wrote:


>> True to an extent but my company doesn't log in that kind of detail
>> (Qualcomm charges for that option) and I don't have access to anything
>> but the average speed of the current trip.  I want the speed data to
>> be under my control in a format that I can play back in court if need
>> be.  I used much cruder log data from an early GPS and put the data in
>> a spreadsheet in my Stop'n'Rob defense.  That worked but being able to
>> play back the track on the map to a judge would be soooo much more
>> effective.
>>
>> John
>
>I'm not talking about Qaulcomm.  I'm talking about the truck's engine
>computer.   The one where they can tell whether or not you're abusing the
>engine, idle time versus run time, aggregate fuel mileage, max speeds, max
>rpms.  All the pertinent data about engine and truck operation.

Yes, I'm quite familiar with J1709 bus.  I have a copy of the standard
around here somewhere.  Real time data is spit out on the J1708 bus
but the PCM only records aggregate data.  There is no real time
logging.  It would do me no good to present to the court that I had
averaged so many MPH over the trip duration.  I need speed vs location
so that I can prove that I wasn't speeding where the cop claims I was.
The Qualcomm connects to the J1709 bus and if the company wants to pay
for it, it will deliver the same real time data that the GPS will log.
My company doesn't pay for that and even if they did I'd not have
access to it.

There's a J1709 bus connector beside the ignition switch in my truck.
I have the network interface cable and software that could log the
real time data stream from the PCM but that won't do what I need
because it doesn't have location or time information attached.  GPS is
the only way to go.

John

From: John De Armond
Newsgroups: rec.outdoors.rv-travel
Subject: Re: SA-2006 question
Date: Mon, 01 Jan 2007 17:04:14 -0500
Message-ID: <f1vip25nme31p37vfbrhj9jn6gdqrvohst@4ax.com>

On Mon, 01 Jan 2007 09:51:44 -0500, Matt Colie <mattcolie@nospam.net>
wrote:


>We were there at the appointed time and there to was the officer in his
>clean and pressed uniform.  We were called up, the officer was given the
>standard set of stupid questions for the record by the ADA.  Then
>counselor went after him, but not too vindictively.  Then I was called
>and asked questions and gave honest answers.  Then counselor called the
>dispatcher to the stand.  He explained what the "tachograph?" did and
>that the instrument was calibrated to known standards and its operation
>was not accessible to the vehicle driver.  They entered that piece of
>signed graph paper into evidence.
>
>The judge looked at the officer first then the ADA and asked what they
>had to say.  Then not much returned, judge said he would rule right then
>on the motion to dismiss, down came the gavel.......  He had an eye on
>the officer that still is stuck in my memory.
>
>It turned out that this officer had been well known for what he was
>doing, but nobody (until that day) could nail him at it.  Less than a
>month later, he moved on.

Good job!  Unlike most truck drivers, I think that electronic logging
is a good thing, as for a good driver, it will invariably vindicate
him of anything he's accused of.

I have enough experience with cops, both as a training officer and as
a volunteer "field deputy" to know that what you experienced is common
and in many jurisdictions, endorsed.

Radar guns are easy to fool into reading whatever the cop wants it to
read.  I've bought and still own several models, the main purpose
being to "know thine enemy".  I can, for instance, press the
"calibrate" button which sends a 64 mph signal to the electronics, and
then quickly pull the trigger to lock in the reading.  If my timing is
right I can interrupt the measurement interval and get any speed I
want less than 65.  If I need, say, a 54 mph indication to justify
stopping someone in a 45 zone, that's just a trigger pull away.

Most radar cops also know that one can add a little mass, say, a hunk
of chewing gum to the end of the calibration tuning fork to alter the
value.  Tune the 55 mph fork down to say, 44 and you have a nice
reading to bust someone in a 35 zone.  The advantage of this is that
it doesn't illuminate the "cal" light like some guns do when the
calibration button is pushed.  I had a cop try that "calibration"
trick on me once in Atlanta.  When I asked him what the illuminated
"cal" lamp on his radar meant, he quickly decided that a warning would
be adequate.  Busted!

Given how many truck hating cops there are out there, it's just a
matter of time before I have to defend myself against one of these
bogus busts.

>
>I don't know how you make the log file stand up as evidence, but I wish
>you luck.

Maintaining the chain of custody is the biggest thing.  My plan is
this.  When I get busted, I'll immediately photograph the screen of
the computer showing the SA screen, the system clock and the GPS
displaying its clock. That establishes the time and location. I'll
immediately copy the log and the photos to a CDR, sign and date it and
seal it in a plastic bag. Next opportunity, I'll FEDEX it to my
lawyer, further establishing the time line and chain of custody.

The last time I had a GPS without a computer interface.  Fortunately I
had an Army intelligence officer of Major rank in the RV with me.  He
and I went through the log point by point, copying the coordinates and
speed to paper and then entering them into a spreadsheet.  We both
signed and dated the paper and the spreadsheet printout in front of a
notary. My friend also signed an affidavit stating that he was playing
with the GPS when the cop stopped us and would swear that it indicated
precisely 55.  Lastly, when we resumed travel, I started the video
camera, hit the RESUME button on the cruise and videoed the speedo
returning directly to 55. All that was good enough for my attorney to
go to the ADA and make the ticket go away.

In case non-drivers are wondering why the effort for a lousy speeding
ticket, to working CDL holders, a speeding ticket IS a big hairy deal.
It gets reported to DAC (think credit bureau for truckers except that
one lacks the legal right to force corrections) and the federal
government.  Many companies won't hire a driver with a speeding ticket
in the last year and most all won't hire a driver with 2 tickets over
the past 5 years.  Many companies including mine, pull a ticketed
driver in for some forced retraining. And after so many tickets - I
forget the exact number, 2 or 3 I think - the state suspends the CDL
for a period.  Nothing like the simple tax on driving fast that a
speeding ticket represents to a civilian.

My ultimate defense is the system that I'm putting together that I
call the "P-cubed" or Pig Protection Package.  This consists of a
series of video cameras, a digital video recorder and a wireless link
back to my home server, the latter being for just in case the crooked
cop decides to "confiscate" and "lose" the DVR.  The current plan is
for 4 cameras.  One looking forward, one looking down and out the side
to where a cop will stand during a bust, one looking at the speedo and
GPS screen and a wireless portable that I carry in my shirt pocket.
The latter is for just in case he decides to make his in-car video
look good by calling me to the back of the truck to point out some
"problem".

I have everything in hand except the DVR.  I'm still trying to decide
on the hardware for that.

John