Speeding ticket on VFR

Discussion in 'General VFR Discussions' started by Ennsync, Jun 20, 2018.

  1. Bubba Utah

    Bubba Utah Member

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    I am guessing that the officer that put me in the office was cleaning the whole thing up! As the other took me to the condo. I am sure that he got a shitty detail for a while. And I am sure that is the last time someone in my condition at the time was allowed to sit it out in the police offices. Drunk tank or jail for anyone there after. I didn't even get a ticket so I did not have to go back and see possibly the "Old Man" in court. I am sure he would have me do community service cleaning up messes like mine somewhere. ;-)
     
  2. JIMLARCH

    JIMLARCH New Member

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    Police, as you say, have radar which is called an MDR (moving digitat radar) . This is placed on the dash and can be used to check the speeds of oncoming vehicles while the cruiser is moving. It can be used in regular mode, and the speed recorded locked in at any time. Or, when a speeder is detected it can be put in automatic mode. It will then record the highest speed that occurs in 6 seconds, and display it. The problem with this is if in that 6 seconds it momentarily picks up a ghost reading from another vehicle such as a large truck in the distance, it will record that as the highest speed. On conventional radar a motorcycle has to be almost on top of the radar for it to be recorded. The automatic mode is best used for a line of cars coming towards it, switched on to catch the speed of the last vehicle .in that 6 seconds. Which is why being the last vehicle speeding in a line is the easiest target.
     
  3. 34468 Randy

    34468 Randy Secret Insider

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    This is where some police really fail with radar. It does not necessarily get the reading from the nearest vehicle. It may get it from the largest mass. It could be a big truck barrelling down on a bike or small car. That is where the operator of the radar is supposed to look out there and see just what the hell is approaching and determine where that reading has come from. I was taught to look, see a violation, then turn the radar on to get a reading to verify my observations. I suspect this procedure is not followed my all, which is really too bad.
     
  4. FJ12rydertoo

    FJ12rydertoo Member

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    This would make sense if the purpose is to slow traffic, but not so much for revenue generation, which is the general usage around here. If the LEO's were
    really interested in making the highways safer, they would concentrate more on distracted driving rather than speeding. But speeding tickets are a snap to
    issue and get a conviction, thus generating income, which seems to be the main objective.
     
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  5. 34468 Randy

    34468 Randy Secret Insider

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    I agree with you on where they should focus their attention but to agree that writing tickets as a means of revenue generation is so far out there that those who insist on this being a reason just shows how uninformed they are. The administration of most tickets costs more than the revenue they get. I won't argue that in some smaller jurisdictions, there are some officials who may have their own agenda for the wrong reasons for being intense on enforcing some traffic laws. But I would suggest, that is done by smaller departements and town cops, and not the larger ones.

    The Public Insurance Comapny here, ICBC, are quick to say speed is the most common contributing factor to collisions on the highways here. They get that statistic from accident reports completed by mostly police, sometimes, in some ,places fire departments. What is wrong here, is that the people completing these reports are using the contributing factors wrongly so ICBC are getting or interpreting their stats wrong as well.

    I can't say that "speeding" (exceeding the posted speed limit) has been used by me in the completion of any report I have done that I can remember as a contributing factor. "Speed" has been many times. "Speed" does not mean exceeding the limit. It means driving at a speed that is unsafe considering the condition of the roadway, weather conditions or driver's ability to drive. A huge difference. That often meant the speed they were driving was below the posted speed limit, yet contributed to the cause of the collision such as on wet or snow covered roads.

    If police were to ignore enforcing speed limits all hell would break out in the not to distant future so yes, they still need to enforce speed limits. But you are so correct in that they need to focus far more time on things such as distracted driving. Just as important is following too close, fail to signal lane change, and in my opinion, running yellow lights. Most collisions that happen in the city environment happen at an intersection, usually because someone has filed to obey the yellow and red light laws.
     
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  6. FJ12rydertoo

    FJ12rydertoo Member

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    Can't say that I disagree with all of it, just some of it.

    If, as you say, "The administration of most tickets costs more than the revenue they get." were strictly true, speed traps wouldn't exist, but they do. In fact Missouri has enacted legislation that sets the amount of income that can be legally generated from speeding tickets. They did that because they discovered
    that there were places where up to 75% of the area revenue was from speeding tickets. And police departments had more officers than strictly necessary for
    regular law enforcement, but many were simply handing out tickets.

    As far as "running yellow lights", "In Missouri, a steady yellow light is a warning that the light is about to turn red. In other words, you’re allowed to enter an intersection while the light is still yellow.". So there really isn't anything wrong with going through an intersection during a yellow light.

    Now about all hell breaking loose with no speed limit enforcement, I would agree that speed limits need to be enforced in an urban area. If it were true that no speed limit enforcement would lead to wholesale carnage, then what explains Germany's autobahn? "Germany has far fewer motor vehicle-related fatalities (per 100,000 people) than the US." Actually that is a rhetorical question because I do know the answer, and it's not speed limit enforcement, it's training, cost, and licensing.
     
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  7. GatorGreg

    GatorGreg Honda Fanboy/LitiGator

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    Yep, you're at least the 2nd member to get dinged for speeding on their red VFR in the last couple of weeks. Should have gotten the pearl white VFR, she looks pure and innocent even at triple digit speeds :D
     
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  8. Bubba Utah

    Bubba Utah Member

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    Ok now you have done it! Karma is coming after white this month!;-) I should make a call to the Florida State Police stating that a lawyer riding a 2014 white Honda VFR800 is taunting them.;-) Better yet I should sneak up to Florida and put a old UTAH license plate that is not mine on your bike and see what happens.:)
     
  9. Nelix

    Nelix New Member

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    Cops hide round corners, they will never get GatorGreg.
     
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  10. Vulcanator

    Vulcanator New Member

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    I can answer your question regarding the Autobahns. The Germans are taught, and drive to a much higher standard than the Americans. In Germany, they drive their cars. In the USA cars are used for texting, phone calls, reading, eating, the application of makeup, computer use, and movies, etc! I totally agree with you regarding revenue from tickets, they are a cash cow in some municipalities which have been well documented. Any cop who infers to the contrary is being disingenuous. Speeding tickets are a license to print money, you hit the nail on the head. It seems that totality of the conditions (time, place, traffic, vehicle, driver, etc) never get applied-oh yes here's your ticket for 15 over in the middle of nowhere because it's against the law. If speed limits were reasonable, more drivers would comply with them.
     
  11. Samuel

    Samuel Member

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    2 comments embedded above

    IME, doubt it. 1. "reasonable" is subjective. "Anyone who drives slower than me is an idiot; anyone who drives faster than me is a maniac!" (paraphrased George Carlin). 2. I'd be willing to be the farm that people will exceed whatever the posted speed limit is (even a newly established "reasonable" limit) by the same amount they do now.
     
  12. Vulcanator

    Vulcanator New Member

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    I'll take that on:
    1) https://www.seattletimes.com/seattl...speed-traps-coburg-police-clean-up-their-act/

    Here's another account of the same:
    http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=95860
    2) Depends on the alleged types of violations that escaped the notice of law enforcement. Violations for minor offenses that do not endanger public safety should be dealt with through education not enforcement.

    I'm quite happy to concede that there are some motorists that will disobey the speed limit regardless, by what margin will depend on that limit, location, weather, traffic, etc.
     
  13. Samuel

    Samuel Member

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    1st article is from 2008 - as in 10 years ago - and it was already talking about changing their ways starting from 2005 - as in 13 years ago.
    "The Coburg Police Department is comprised of a full-time Chief of Police, two full-time Patrol Officers and one full-time Police Admin Specialist. To augment department services, the Police Department currently has ten Reserve Police Officers." We're talking Dukes of Hazzard kind of stuff there.

    [​IMG]

    2nd article is from 2004 - as in 14 years ago - and talking about the same town/PD. Care to share something a little more recent and from a municipality with more than a couple of traffic lights???

    Education? Maybe, MAYBE for "uneducated" violations ("didn't mean to", "didn't know" - although neither are excuses) - Education has no impact on violations that were "intentionally" or "knowingly" committed. Btw, the vast majority of vehicle codes are general intent - there is no need for any endangering of public safety for there to be a violation.
     
  14. Samuel

    Samuel Member

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  15. Vulcanator

    Vulcanator New Member

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    I did a quick search and found links speaking to my point, thank you for the above. As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter the size of the town, the practice of towns using the motorist to fund its coffers through punitive traffic enforcement exists to this day and is unacceptable. Until this stops, cops will continued to be viewed as revenue generators for the town, city, county, or state.
     
  16. Samuel

    Samuel Member

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    So basically you're saying that it is fair and accurate to judge All motorcyclists by how a couple of squids on muffler-less Vespas ride... Ok...
     
  17. FJ12rydertoo

    FJ12rydertoo Member

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    Be careful, you'll pull a tendon with a stretch like that.
     
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  18. 34468 Randy

    34468 Randy Secret Insider

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    Don't get too close to the edge of the ocean. You will fall off!
     
  19. JIMLARCH

    JIMLARCH New Member

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    If you ride a bike and speed, don't complain that the police are just generating revenue and using radar on roads with a high traffic volume. That means they are staying away from the back roads where you and I speed. Would really cramp the riding style of sport bike riders to have the police waiting for the occasional bike doing stupid speeds. You have only to look at the videos of rnickeymouse on youtube to see that there is plenty of scope for radar, but doesn't appear that the police do much clamping down.
     
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  20. JIMLARCH

    JIMLARCH New Member

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    There is a good reason why Germans have "fewer motor vehicle related fatalities." The plain fact is most europeans are far more skilled at driving than the average North American. Being an immigrant from England to Canada years ago, I can attest to this fact. I remember being here a couple of weeks and driving a co-worker to work. We were travelling on a two lane highway. I did a regular european overtake, which consisted of going past the vehicle in front of me, pulling in front of it, and a few seconds later the car in the oncoming lane would pass me. On this occasion when I got alongside the vehicle I was overtaking the driver coming the other way slammed on his brakes and was heading for the shoulder. I said to my passenger, "look at that idiot." My passenger whose gripping the seat in fright said, "what are you doing, we don't drive like that here." The point to my story is that very little skill in regards to time and distance is learned in North America. Very few people overtake on 2 lane roads. Nobody seems to know the width of their vehicles. I have no doubt if you were to ask the average North American about oversteer and understeer he wouldn't have the faintest idea what you were talking about.

    In regards to speeding on the autobahn. It may have changed, but it used to be that there was no speed limit, but, if you had an accident at a speed of over 130 km/h and were at fault they really hammered you in court.
     
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