Another Great Ride (foiled by an involuntary donation)

[escapefjrtist]

How many times have you had a LEO turn his lights on as a warning, then let you go on your way? I have seen this so many times, I think I'm Gandhi.

Yup, always a great reminder to slow down for a few miles...

--G

 

[900gc]

Speaking of riding in NH, two years ago on 91 N. near the Waterville Valley area, I was cruising right on 100 mph and gaining on an SUV slowly, as I got closer I noticed writing on the back, upon getting even closer I noticed it said STATE POLICE...agghh! Soooo....slowed down to match his speed which was 80 mph and then drifted back even a little. He either did not see me gaining on him or did not care because he just kept going along at 80 rather than pull over, let me go by, then nail me. Whew!

So Fred, just think of your donation as going to the 'Freshly Paved Road' fund...kinda' like a toll.

 

[Fred W]

How many times have you had a LEO turn his lights on as a warning, then let you go on your way? I have seen this so many times, I think I'm Gandhi.

I'd say you are more like a Jedi master... "These are not the motorcycle riders you are looking for."

Speaking of riding in NH, two years ago on 91 N. near the Waterville Valley area, I was cruising right on 100 mph and gaining on an SUV slowly, as I got closer I noticed writing on the back, upon getting even closer I noticed it said STATE POLICE...agghh! Soooo....slowed down to match his speed which was 80 mph and then drifted back even a little. He either did not see me gaining on him or did not care because he just kept going along at 80 rather than pull over, let me go by, then nail me. Whew!
So Fred, just think of your donation as going to the 'Freshly Paved Road' fund...kinda' like a toll.

That is I-93 (I-91 runs up the east side of VT), and north of Concord that is now posted at 70mph (so 80 is permissible). The only section of highway in NH that is posted at anything higher than 65.

Like I said, don't mind paying the state "toll". But I see no need to make the insurance companies any richer.

 

[900gc]

How many times have you had a LEO turn his lights on as a warning, then let you go on your way? I have seen this so many times, I think I'm Gandhi.

I'd say you are more like a Jedi master... "These are not the motorcycle riders you are looking for."

Speaking of riding in NH, two years ago on 91 N. near the Waterville Valley area, I was cruising right on 100 mph and gaining on an SUV slowly, as I got closer I noticed writing on the back, upon getting even closer I noticed it said STATE POLICE...agghh! Soooo....slowed down to match his speed which was 80 mph and then drifted back even a little. He either did not see me gaining on him or did not care because he just kept going along at 80 rather than pull over, let me go by, then nail me. Whew!
So Fred, just think of your donation as going to the 'Freshly Paved Road' fund...kinda' like a toll.

That is I-93 (I-91 runs up the east side of VT), and north of Concord that is now posted at 70mph (so 80 is permissible). The only section of highway in NH that is posted at anything higher than 65.

Like I said, don't mind paying the state "toll". But I see no need to make the insurance companies any richer.

Yes, I-93 (headed FOR I-91 in VT). I've only ridden these roads for 35 years, duh moment. Surcharges are a crock.....

 

[SacramentoMike]

How many times have you had a LEO turn his lights on as a warning, then let you go on your way? I have seen this so many times, I think I'm Gandhi.

Boy, I can tell you EXACTLY how many times I've had that light-flash warning. Twice. Both times in Nevada, on very very empty roads (amazing how far off they can gauge your speed, before you can even make out the light bar on the roof). Where did that happen to you, Tom? I'm gonna do more riding there.

As for the title of this thread, when have you ever made a voluntary donation to the local highway fund, Fred?

 

[Fred W]

As for the title of this thread, when have you ever made a voluntary donation to the local highway fund, Fred?

Ummm, yeah. Every time I buy gas, renew my license or vehicle registrations, I guess.

But in the thread title I just said "involuntary donation", not saying what the donation was going to. Even though my online persona may be of a tightwad stingy frugal Yankee, I actually do make (voluntary) charitable donations of both time and money occasionally.

 

[TomInPA]

How many times have you had a LEO turn his lights on as a warning, then let you go on your way? I have seen this so many times, I think I'm Gandhi.

Boy, I can tell you EXACTLY how many times I've had that light-flash warning. Twice. Both times in Nevada, on very very empty roads (amazing how far off they can gauge your speed, before you can even make out the light bar on the roof). Where did that happen to you, Tom? I'm gonna do more riding there.

As for the title of this thread, when have you ever made a voluntary donation to the local highway fund, Fred?

I have gotten lights turned quickly on and off in Nevada (twice), Kansas, West Virginia, and Georgia. As improbable as it is, I think once in Ohio. I have been super fortunate in that I can count at least a half-dozen roadside conversations that did not end with a ticket, and my record remains clean for now. During FJR rallies alone, Cav47 and I were released after speeding past a ranger on Mt. Mitchell, I was stopped by WV State Police during the SEO Ramble between Snowshoe and Mineral Wells on the Little Kenawah Pkwy, and I was detained in Mammoth on 395 during the 2012 Death Valley gathering. There have been others where we enjoyed good conversation and a promise to mend my ways, and I always found CHP to be surprisingly accommodating..

 

[El Toro]

There's been some discussion above about the "red" vehicle. I hadn't thought about it but ...

1. My only written warning on an FJR came on my red one (it was a 2006 AE but in 2007 A livery, changed at the dealership to provide a 2007 A customer with the grey bike he so desired).

2. I got a ticket on my ST1100, and it was red.

3. That ticket I got in Rockcastle County, Kentucky in 1999 (the ticket that led to the Valentines) was in a red pick up truck with red camper top.

4. When I was young and had many meet 'n greets with local gendarmes in Central Massachusetts, I was driving a red 1967 Mustang.

The number of times of been stopped in other colored vehicles is probably no more than 5% of the total number of times I've been stopped in 50 years of driving/riding overall.

I think there's something to this red theory.

I'm glad the 2016 is blue.

 

[lnewlf]

Had a red 340 Duster-got stopped every week..[meebee it was the glass packs]

 

[RaYzerman19]

There is a statistic that says red car owners tend to be more aggressive drivers.... perhaps a bit of a ticket magnet.... I've had the flashing lights 3 or 4 times, but at the time I wasn't crazy over the limit. Surprisingly twice in NY. And back in the day, the factory low restriction exhausts on my blue 340 Barracuda tended to attract attention.

 

[Fred W]

You guys are all wrong. It's because the red bikes are faster.

 

[08FJR4ME]

#1 rule! Always fight the ticket. You are never guilty until proven in a court of law. Nolo is the same as saying I am guilty.

Dave's rules,

 

[El Toro]

#1 rule! Always fight the ticket. You are never guilty until proven in a court of law. Nolo is the same as saying I am guilty.
Dave's rules,

It seems like a good idea, and I was going to do it once ...

I went to court and sat while the judge called person after person forward, and if they just pled guilty, he gave them "traffic school." Traffic School was an option that would expunge the ticket from your record with certainty. And it only required that you come to a one night class, taught by an old Army Vet, whose goal was to scare the bejesus out of you, pointing out that you had to be careful on the road, and that speeding was not being careful.

So I pled guilty, took the traffic school, and the ticket was erased.

The night of the traffic school, the Army Vet had a date, so we met for 10 minutes, he showed a short film, he told us that we were all going to die if we kept speeding, and he let us go after about 20 minutes. I went out and had a great steak dinner myself.

I had two other chances at Traffic School over the last 50 years. Both in a speed trap county where they were using speeding ticket donations to help with the local budget ... but traffic school tuition was just as good as a speeding ticket donation at inflating their coffers, so they would let you do traffic school instead, and the ticket would be expunged from your record.

The first of these was similar to the story above... relatively short and painless, with the focus on admonishing the wayward on the evils of speeding, except we were excused early so that we could go get free brats and beverages at a municipal celebration that was taking place that evening on the square.

The second was at Christmas time one year. They made no pretense about even telling us not to speed. We showed up, they checked us off the list, and they sent us out to the courthouse steps to join in a Christmas Carol sing.... I like Christmas, but I slipped out the back and headed for parts unknown.

 

[Geezer]

There is no traffic school option in my state. If you plead not guilty and go to court you normally have the ability to discuss things with the officer before going before the judge and, normally, you agree to a lower charge, frequently something that does not come with points against your license. So, it is always a good idea to plea not guilty and go to court.

What we do have is a class that you can take which, after you attend the required hours, you can either have the state remove some points from your record or, if you have no points, you get a discount on your insurance. For me, the discount just about covers the cost of the course, so I don't take the time to do this.

 

[CAJW]

I would love to see a different speed limit for trucks, especially on the interstate.

Be careful what you wish for. Here in California, we have a state highway speed limit on trucks of 55 mph and except in certain metro areas, they must remain in the far right lane, except to pass. On a freeway with a 65 to 70 limit for other vehicles, it creates a no win situation as far as traffic flow. Most times you can find a truck observing the 55 mph limit in the right lane with another in the left lane "screaming" along at 56 mph attempting to pass the "slower" truck, but so as not to attact the attention of the popo, they don't hurry around the slower truck. This creates a rolling road block that can and often does last for many miles. Coupled with idiots that think they can drive the right lane at 85+, slam on the brakes and then dive back into the left lane to pass a slow truck makes for interesting driving to say the least. In AZ where all vehicles are allowed to travel the same speed, traffic at least has a chance of flowing as when some dufus "parks" in the left lane, you normally can get around them in the right lane as the trucks are moving at or near the speed limit.

It was 75 on Interstate/65 for trucks. Now: 80/still 65 for trucks. I think they should have bumped truck limits 5 mph too. By the way, 10-over and less is $40, no points on Interstate; $20 and no points on secondaries. We can live with this.

I agree, the closer truck speed limits are to all other traffic, flow is improved. Regarding fines, geez, $40 to$126 is an absolute bargain. My son just got nailed for 10 over (80 in a 70 zone) and his total ticket fees with traffic school cost him $490! Like Fred, he too is wondering what that will do to his insurance rates. His 8500X50 went off, just in time to alert him that he'd been nabbed with LIDAR and he just pulled over for the inevitable.

Fred, I feel for ya man, the last ride of the season left a bad taste in your mouth and you won't be able to wash it out until spring.

 

[Fred W]

I appreciate all the advice. But I won't be "fighting" the ticket. We, also, do not have "driving school" passes, as far as I know. From what I have heard, the cops and the judges around here do not take it kindly if you plead "not guilty" on the ticket, get a court date, and then plead "guilty" in court. They have more important things to do than play games with people with traffic tickets.

Plus, they make it too damn convenient to just pay the thing (online, use a credit card) and so I did that the very next day so that I wouldn't forget to pay it in time, and then be in some real trouble.

Having had a spotless record for as long as I can remember, I'm cautiously optimistic that the Insurance Companies (different ones for bikes and cars) will not penalize me too hard. Of course being a pessimist by nature, I know that this kind of thinking is just setting myself up for major disappointment.

I'm just putting this one behind me, taking steps to avoid another one (new RD on the way, old ones are already sold on eBay). If I did happen to get a second ticket sometime in the next 3 years, I'd probably be a lot more motivated to contest it then.

As for ending the season on a downer with the ticket, we're going to erase that completely on Saturday with another nice ride. Low will only be 40 and a high expected in the mid 50's!! Mother nature is being most cooperative this year.

 

[lnewlf]

There is a statistic that says red car owners tend to be more aggressive drivers.... perhaps a bit of a ticket magnet.... I've had the flashing lights 3 or 4 times, but at the time I wasn't crazy over the limit. Surprisingly twice in NY. And back in the day, the factory low restriction exhausts on my blue 340 Barracuda tended to attract attention.

not me

 

[ionbeam]

I was pulled out of my red car and arrested. Deserved it, really deserved it. I was pulled off of my red motorcycle and did not deserve it, at all. Red V-Max = lots of unwarranted attention.

I'm willing to risk it again with a '14ES. Heck, it's an old mans bike, bags, shaft drive, cruise control, suspension adjusts to 'pillow' setting; how can you get in trouble with that?

Oh wait, I see that Fred can... My brother the LEO says to get your helmet off as quickly as you can to give the officer a good long look at your gray hair as he walks up to your bike. (There has to be some advantage to being old.)

 

[El Toro]

I would love to see a different speed limit for trucks, especially on the interstate.

Be careful what you wish for. Here in California, we have a state highway speed limit on trucks of 55 mph and except in certain metro areas, they must remain in the far right lane, except to pass. On a freeway with a 65 to 70 limit for other vehicles, it creates a no win situation as far as traffic flow. Most times you can find a truck observing the 55 mph limit in the right lane with another in the left lane "screaming" along at 56 mph attempting to pass the "slower" truck, but so as not to attact the attention of the popo, they don't hurry around the slower truck.

I have traveled extensively in states where there are different limits for trucks, and sometimes I've been "the truck."

I can say with certainty that being the truck in a state where trucks are limited to lower speeds is one of the most frustrating driving experiences I've ever had.

However, being the "not the truck" in these environments has generally been a joyful experience.

Even at 80 mph (our limit is generally 70, but there's no regulary or predictable enforcement), we get the rolling road blocks. To fix that problem you need truck lane restrictions.

Maybe 10 or 12 years ago when I was still more active professionally than I am today, I took the issue up with TDOT. And I was told my high muckity mucks that it might be a good idea, but with the truck traffic we have on I-40, that there were circumstances where the trucks would create a multi-mile long parade and that no one would be able to merge to enter, and that it would be difficult to merge to exit. So they weren't interested in it.

In the next legislative session it is expected that they will consider a bill to make it illegal to be in the left lane except to pass (sort of like on the Autobahn).

Yesterday I made a 200 mile loop ride on the '09 FJR AE, and RIGHT lane traffic was often running at 85 mph. No evidence of enforcement anywhere on the loop, which included over 100 miles on interstates.

In any event, I would will willing to take my chances and see how a 65 mph limit with enforcement at 5 over for trucks and a 75 mph limit with enforcement at 5 over for cars would work.

It will never happen though. The best thing for traffic control in my experience would be $5/gallon fuel. It is amazing how nicely the roads clear out, even at $4/gallon. The gas on my run yesterday was as low as $1.699 on some parts of my loop.

 

[wheatonFJR]

There are gonna be assholes put there no matter the price of gas.

On a two lane interstate, its not the trucks that are the problem...its the left lane losers. I had 1000 miles of I-80 to get out to Colorado, before my SW trip with wifey...1000 miles of jackasses fucking up a wide open two lane interstate.

The most dangerous part of my trip...

...and no involuntary donations.

Sorry Fred, that a good day ended that way.