Raymond B. answered • 10/02/22
Math, microeconomics or criminal justice
Police give you a ticket for going 70 in a 65 mph zone
At traffic court you submit absolute proof that you had just driven 65 miles in exactly the past hour which is exactly 65 mph
If the judge is fair and understands math, how will they rule?
Probably guilty. Because while your average speed was definitely 65 mph,
the speed limit refers to instantaneous speed, not average speed.
If at any moment in time you exceeded 65 mph, then you are guilty.
Your average speed, while constituting some evidence of the instantaneous
speed, is not the relevant criteria. Odds are, unless you could show you drove at exactly the same speed limit for the entire hour, that at some point you did exceed the speed limit.
What if it turns out the sign actually said 65 km/hour not mph? Are you guilty? If so, was it a speed trap, if every motorist reasonably expected the signs to be in mph? Is 65 km/hr more or less than 64 mph? 65 kph = about 40 mph. You may have just gotten a ticket for reckless driving, going 20+ mph over the limit. Or felony endangerment, with 1 year plus prison possible.
Other related standard problems are convert 65 mph to feet per second or yards per minute
