Can you get a cop to help you with speedometer issues?

Question

I am not sure if my speedometer is accurate. It seems if I drive 55 everyone zooms past me like I am standing still. I can drive 60 and still they do. I am wondering if my speedometer might be inaccurate, and was wondering if a local police officer would sit with their radar at my car and let me drive past at a certain speed to see if it is accurate, or would this be setting me up to get a ticket if my speedometer is faulty (faulty equipment)

Answer 1

there is a formula, I think that when driving at 55 miles per hour it should take 54 seconds to go 1 mile you can use a watch to time this. Just call your local patrol they will be able to tell you this formula with 100 percent accuracy. I was told this by an officer when being given a speeding ticket I didn't feel my speedometer was correct he said then I could adjust my speed according to that .

Answer 2

A police officer cannot help you, he is not an expert on the calibration of your speedometer.  You need to see a mechanic

Answer 3

You're doing it the hard way.  All you need to test your speedometer is a road, a tachometer (on pretty much all cars) and a stopwatch.  In a 65mph zone your tachometer should increase one mile every minute and six seconds as long as you are going the speed limit.  If it's not then its not accurate and you should take it to a shop to get it calibrated.

An inaccurate speedometer is very common if you have aftermarket rims and/or low profile tires, the speedometer is supposed to be adjusted when you do that.

Answer 4

Sure things smarty pants....naw, that wont work... Have your friend drive side of you in their car at a certain speed......

Answer 5

Speedometer calibrations are best done at a reputable car dealership's mechanic shop.  That's best done if you have doubts your speedometer is accurate.

Small town law enforcement used to provide a free speedometer check service back in the day; I doubt they still do, however.  If you reside near such an agency in a small town, I'd call and ask.

Speedometer checks in metro cities are NOT done.

Answer 6

No..

Answer 7

What type of car do you have first off ? some older cars had gears in the tailshaft housing of the transmission and it wouldnt matter what size tires you had on them, newer model cars have elctronic speedometers which can be calibrated with a computer the best thing for you to do if you have an issue with your speedo is to take it to a speedo shop and have them calibrate it, all speedometers will have a small percentage of error usually only a mile per hour or so but you can usually have them calibrated

Answer 8

Sure all you do is speed and the cop will pull you over and tell you how fast that he thought you were going and give you a ticket.

Answer 9

very unlikely they will help you. Find a measured mile near you, drive that mile at 60mph as long as that is legal there, bring a stopwatch. 1 mile in 1 minute =60mph

Answer 10

Call the department's NON-EMERGENCY number and ask. Most departments should be happy to help you out- if you ask nicely & they're not very busy (i.e. NYPD vs Small Town USA).

-David

Answer 11

Most departments would be happy to help you out. You could call and find out, or if you see an officer patrolling around you could ask them. Otherwise are there any departments in your area that post the Huge speed signs/trailers so people know to slow down? You could drive past one of those.