Tickets: Less chance of escape?

[Farmer Dan]

Got my first road bike when I was 9 years old.  Got stopped once in all them years and just got a warning.  County Sheriff clocked me at 100+ mph on a 1970 Triumph Daytona.  He had one when he was younger so he let me go.

[atavar]

I got 13 speeding tickets for 65 in a 55 on the same road one summer in ND.  Of course that is a $13 ticket there (no points).  I don't know why the officer wasn't amused when I asked to buy a book of tickets in advance. 

[kirby1923]

GMT +5 at the moment. Had to pull out of +2 'cause of events. Friday back to +2.

:-)

[charlie b]

Kirby,

So, the cop wasn't chasing you, you just ended up blocking his way ahead.  When you went WFO you became a more lucrative 'target' than the one he had been chasing.  If you had just pulled in front of the truck and moved over he would have taken off after the other guy (if that's what he was really doing).

Around here if he had been chasing another motorcycle he might have accused you of obstruction.

Cops don't always turn on their lights when pursuing a speeder cause sometimes it means the speeder will see the lights and then try and evade the cop.  They do have rules about when they have to use them and when they don't.  I'll have to ask my neighbor the specifics next time we ride together.

[charlie b]

  Quick answer to paragraph 3 is Yes.
paragraph 3
 So, my question is:  Are the Police not giving warnings anymore?  Is revenue generation such a priority that they no longer have the option?

Not in all jurisdictions.  Around here the sherriff and several city/town depts do not have quotas and still give warnings when they choose to.  Heck, in ABQ you are more likely to get stopped for aggressive driving than speeding.

[jim_W]

  I have lost track of the many warnings I've had here in Phoenix over the years. Probably two or three a year but I've slowed down a bit the last few years. Last year I got one warning in ABQ while passing through last spring but it was from a Motorcycle officer on a BMW. I think he just stopped me to have a closer look at My CalVin as he seemed very interested in it.
  Latter in the year I was heading east on 56 in Oklahoma with a tail wind and no traffic. Found I was going a bit too fast when I met a State Trouper as I topped a small hill. His lights came on instantly and I pulled over before he could turn around. He was quite serious as he asked for my license. I made a comment about Italian speedometers being not too good but got no comment from him, just a ticket for 86 in a 70.   I was right about the speedometer being not too good as I was showing 92 when I saw him.  This was the first time in 50 years I got to pay so I guess I had it coming............. ...

[kirby1923]

Knock on wood.

Have received a total of 5 speeding tickets in over 40 years (one of these was from a red light camera).  10-15 warnings (yes, I lost count).  I am pretty careful about where I speed in excess of 10mph over the limit.  But, a lot of this has just been luck. Like when riding near 100mph in CO and had to slow behind another car, cop is around the corner with a laser (no radar or laser detector help there :)  ).  Or when I had to slow down for some cows near the road and a cop was just over the hill.  Or he already has someone pulled over, etc, etc.

Around here (NM, TX, and AZ state patrol) it has been warnings for me.  When I have been stopped the wife has been in the car and she is laughing at me when the cop comes to the door.  I think he feels sorry for me :) 

And, I have felt the need to speed less compelling the last few years.  I also think my luck may run out pretty soon.  I've pushed the limits for a lot of years and not had to pay for it.  So, I keep it for those times when I have an empty road in front of me for miles.

No it pains me when you call me out as an a Ass! and not adult behavior. I could take it as a comment from someone that just didn't read what I posted?? did you even read what I said??
Please no holy than I rhetoric, I have been riding longer than you.

No matter, the judge sided with me and afterword the trouper apologized to me.

No disrespect. just read before throwing an insult...I took it as an insult.

Some people when they become deputy dog get on a mighty high horse. This guy did not and treated me with respect.

m

[charlie b]

You are assuming I called you an A$$.  i did not.  The last was a general comment to not act like an a$$ when dealing with a cop.  Wayne's comment to the cop about california rules, if not done while laughing, could be considered in that realm.

I just pointed out that if you had just pulled over when possible (without the WFO part) you would have avoided a confrontation entirely.

I have no doubt you have ridden longer and more miles than I.  Many people have.  Doesn't matter to me.

PS as to my holier than thou, it is one message.  If you speed excessively and get a ticket just man up and pay the fine.

[kirby1923]

You are assuming I called you an A$$.  i did not.  The last was a general comment to not act like an a$$ when dealing with a cop.  Wayne's comment to the cop about california rules, if not done while laughing, could be considered in that realm.

I just pointed out that if you had just pulled over when possible (without the WFO part) you would have avoided a confrontation entirely.

I have no doubt you have ridden longer and more miles than I.  Many people have.  Doesn't matter to me.

PS as to my holier than thou, it is one message.  If you speed excessively and get a ticket just man up and pay the fine.

That is the point that the Judge made...I had no idea he was a police, un marked car. Don't tell me to man up, I did what I had to do and I did not mention one thing about being not responsible for my actions.
man up and pay the finds...wow that offends me. I said nothing against the police and went to court.

Please be careful what you say. It seemed to me that you didn't even read my post.

I'm thru with this.

[Arizona Wayne]

You are assuming I called you an A$$.  i did not.  The last was a general comment to not act like an a$$ when dealing with a cop.  Wayne's comment to the cop about california rules, if not done while laughing, could be considered in that realm.


PS as to my holier than thou, it is one message.  If you speed excessively and get a ticket just man up and pay the fine.

Charlie b, I believe we've met and I have never called you an ass.  I believe I'm older than have ridden longer than you.  You sure are loose with inappropriate words to others you really don't know.   That could make YOU an ass.   

[Moto Fugazzi]

Second was for 62 in a 50 going over Lolo Pass while passing in a passing zone.

In some states, it's illegal to exceed the speed limit while passing.
Ken

[charlie b]

Egad.

Kirby you did pay the fine.  You aren't the subject of that comment.  Your only error was a burst of speed that put you well over the speed limit because a car was tailgating you (so, how fast were you going after being 'WFO for about 10 seconds').  I just pointed out that you could have avoided any fine and a trip to court if you had simply waited a little and pulled over to the slow lane after you passed the truck.  We have all pulled that stunt before, you just did it in front of an unmarked car.  (yes, I had to read your post 4 or 5 times before I understood why you decided to do what you did).

Wayne, yep, we've met.  And yes, telling a cop that, 'in CA I wouldn't get pulled over for 10 over the limit' is being an a$$ to the cop, unless you were laughing when you said it.

And, yes, in many states it is illegal to exceed the speed limit when passing.  Also something many of us do on a regular basis.  On an interstate there is no need to 'speed up' to pass someone.  Also something a lot of us do, especially when we see a car approaching from behind at a far higher rate of speed.

And, yes, some of you guys are older than me, since I'm only in my 60's and only have a few million miles of driving on the highways, of which only a bit over 100k of that is on bikes.  It doesn't change that when you speed you are likely to get a ticket at some point, and some of those times are going to be 'marginal' in your eyes.

[azguzzirep]

I have NEVER gotten a speeding tickets.
Been driving since 1976 and riding since 1979, maybe 1978.

In AZ the highway patrol will give "wasting a natural resource " ticket for up to 10mph over posted limit . I don't remember if there are points. Never got one of those either 😊

Tom

[Orange Guzzi]

We are all criminal's by design.  Pulling over a driver is the number one way to find criminals.   I call it low hanging fruit.  It is easy to pick and there is plenty of it.  I have recently received 2 ticket that I deserved.   While waiting for the paper work, I pointed out to the officer in charge all the traffic offenses happening right in front of us.  Count the violation you see and then imagine being  LEO and trying to decide which fruit to pick.  Not an easy job.  I watched a texting driver go thru a 6 lane intersection against a red light yesterday.  The driver slammed on the brakes, slid sideways while the opposing traffic went various directions to miss him.  I was stopped next to a local LEO with two police inside.  I rolled my window down and ask if the were going to do anything.  The driver LEO, reach over and flipped on the lights and pulled the driver over.

The last ticket I got a 10 days ago on my Guzzi, I deserved.  Going 62 in a 25.  The very small town assistant police chief was coming the opposite direction on a narrow, hilly, curvy county road.  When he approached me, he could tell I was exceeding the posted speed limit visually.  It was quite obvious.  He slammed on his Crown Victoria brakes, turned left, slid sideways, did a  three point turn around, smoked his tires all in front of oncoming traffic.  I had slowed down enough to look over my should and watch his driving skills.   I continued on until I found a safe place to stop.  By the time he caught up to me, he was easily doing 50 mph.  He saw me sitting in the pull off and slammed on his brakes, sliding 60 or more  feet, put the car in reverse, smoked the tires, put the car in drive and pulled into the pull off.  He jumped out of the car, walked around the front to where I was stopped and asked the me the stupid question of the day, Do You know why I pulled you over.  I laughed and said no.  I then told him to calm down.  He said that after the "Texas" shooting, every one is nervous.   I pleaded my case and pointed out that I pulled over and waited for him to catch up.  He wrote me a City Citation for $85.  I told him that was cheaper than track day and I was lucky he missed the 120 mph run thru the construction zone.  We talked for a while and he ended the conversation with a "you seem like a pretty nice guy".  Imagine that. 

[Arizona Wayne]

So what makes you an expert, Charlie b?  Are you a retired LEO?   Or just someone very opinionated.

[oldbike54]

 Oh hell , we are all a bunch of opinionated old fools  I know it is hot fellas , may be time to step back from this and get some perspective . Seems every discussion re the law , or anything related to it , turns heated , let's cool down a bit . Thanks .

 Dusty

[charlie b]

Yep, I am opionated  :)  Nope, not a LEO.  Two guys I ride with are, one is my neighbor.  Three of my shooting buddies are cops (one retired as a deputy chief).  Neice and nephew are both cops.  Have learned a lot from them, especially what sets them off during a stop.

One of my HS friends had a dad who was a cop.  We had long discussions with him about being a cop, especially during the highway shooting sprees in the late 60's in AZ.  He was the one who taught us how dangerous traffic stops are for cops and why they can react like they are on a hair trigger (cause many are).  He was also the one who convinced me to never become a cop.  Went in the Army instead.

One lesson I learned from my father-in-law.  He was ticketed for doing 67 in a 55 when he was only doing 52.  I asked him why he was going to pay it.  His response was that I may not of been speeding this time, but, this is my ticket for all the other times I was speeding.  I applied that to a ticket I got for doing 72 in a 65 when I was only doing 63.  Just accepted the ticket from the cop and told him I hoped he had a safe weekend and paid the ticket.

[Tom]

I have NEVER gotten a speeding tickets.
Been driving since 1976 and riding since 1979, maybe 1978.

In AZ the highway patrol will give "wasting a natural resource " ticket for up to 10mph over posted limit . I don't remember if there are points. Never got one of those either 😊

Tom

No points because it wasn't a moving violation but it satisfied the Fed. DOT requirements for enforcing the National 55mph speed at the time.

[rocker59]

First one was for 65 in a 55 on a back road with almost no traffic.

Second was for 62 in a 50 going over Lolo Pass while passing in a passing zone.

Both were pretty marginal in my opinion, especially the one in the passing zone.  No other way to get past the car in the short distance of the lane.

So, my question is:  Are the Police not giving warnings anymore?  Is revenue generation such a priority that they no longer have the option?
 

Go back and read your drivers' manual.  If you have to exceed the speed limit to pass, it's not a legal pass.  Nothing "marginal" at all in that one.

Ten over and twelve over, one while passing.  I guess the officers "could have" issued warnings, but you were clearly breaking the law.  You wanna play, you have to pay.

I've had mixed results with traffic stops while motorcycling.  I've had a few cops just give me the slow down hand wave as I passed, not even bothering to stop me for a written warning.  And I've been stopped for exceeding 100 mph, and had it reduced to 85 in a 65.

I don't think you should expect a warning when you get to the 10mph over mark.  If you do get a pass, chalk it up to a good day.  Otherwise, just pay it and move on.

Things are much more lenient around here since speed limits have been raised.  Back in the 55 mph days, there were some places that were "no tolerance".  Yes, I know people who were stopped for 57 in a 55.  That sucked.

Things are much better, now.

[PJPR01]

It is nice that on these beautiful American highways we have, that at least in some places speed limits are at least now legally 80 mph...head west from San Antonio to El Paso and it's a long ass day when you can only do 65 mph.  Honestly there's no real reason why it couldn't be unlimited like on the Autobahn out there...as long as folks would remember that the left lane is truly a passing lane and not a parking lane.

 

[oldbike54]

 Paul , yes there is a reason to not have unrestricted speed limits , American drivers would die in much larger numbers . When they have a wreck on the Autos , either Bahn or Strada , it is a mess. Most Americans aren't good enough drivers to go 100 MPH in any safety . Of course if the car makers would just listen to me and start building nerf cars ...

 Dusty

[charlie b]

I'd love to see some unlimited speed sections out here.

If they enforced the same rules as they do on the Autobahn, then it might work.  But, US drivers are not as good at that as the Germans were.  The idea that you MUST pull over into the slow lane to let a faster car go by??!!!  That's un-American!  :)

[Tom]

Going faster than 55mph has been better since the National 55mph speed limit was repealed through the lobbying effors of the NMA.

https://www.bing.com/search?q=national+motorists+association&form=PRUSEN&pc=U147I&mkt=en-us&httpsmsn=1&refig=2cccca4acb9a4b0b89df73ed937677ce&qs=AS&pq=national+motorists&sc=8-18&sp=1&cvid=2cccca4acb9a4b0b89df73ed937677ce

[PJPR01]

It might take a few years but over time, training and education and making it a mandatory part of getting a driver's license could eventually influence the next generation of drivers....over time, slowly, but it could happen.

There's nothing quite so entertaining as winding up the 911 on a wide open West Texas highway with no traffic and the sunset coming down...the music of the flat 6 humming as the RPM's increase...who needs music at that point!  If you've driven in Europe at all, you know how much fun it is to let the ponies run free from time to time...shoot even Diesel Volvo Station Wagons can run at 240 km/h with no sweat and still get good mileage...it's a pity it's so restricted here!

[Cool Runnings]

I'm putting 'the badge' on my rear fender and lower left-hand side of the bug screen. 

[Tom]

If the tiered licensing requirements were tighter for all involved then the speed limits could be raised to Euro standards.  I don't see that happening since that would mean a lot of people that have their licenses would need training and retesting.

[oldbike54]

 It could happen , but it won't happen  The death toll would be so high during the adjustment period that the idea would not last . We have 75 MPH limits on our Turnpikes in OK , which means the traffic flow is at about 82 MPH , no problem for a modern well maintained car , but when a 1981 Camaro with a muffler dragging running on bald tires is doing that speed it is unsettling. Heck , haven't the Germans instituted some speed control on large parts of the Autobahn system ?

 Dusty

[Tom]

Yes.....from what I understand it's not unlimited anymore.  Possibly only the Autostrada in Italy is still unlimited.  Going 90mph was a medium speed in the middle lane. 

[Cool Runnings]

Yes.....from what I understand it's not unlimited anymore.  Possibly only the Autostrada in Italy is still unlimited.  Going 90mph was a medium speed in the middle lane.

Fun, I could go flat out in the left lane with the Norge (beep, beep). 

[Tom]

What's more fun is that in the Alps region (Dolomites) they don't care how you ride your bike.  Moto Guzzis really shine.