From: jerry@stratford.dab.ge.com (Jerry Szulinski)
Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles
Subject: Re: Ticket fines...
Date: 11 Sep 92 13:48:14 GMT
Organization: GE Simulation & Control Systems. Daytona Beach, FL

In article <13535@pogo.wv.tek.com> kevinm@pogo.wv.tek.com (Kevin Mills) writes:
>OK, I was wondering whether anyone here has ever gotten a ticket for
>going REALLY FAST (tm), and if so, where, and how much was the initial
>fine, versus what you ended up paying (if you did. :>).
>
Well...I haven't, but I have this .... friend who has,....yeah, a friend.
Both very lucky:

1. Smoky Mountains; rain; running very late (about noon and we're still 
in the middle of the mountains in the rain - have to be in Daytona by the 
end of the day). We just got through one of the most beautiful roads in 
the area (Rt 129 - I think it's in the Great Roads Survey), but twisty 
as hell; in the rain we do about 25-30 MPH, and we still have a lot more 
to go. So, right past Robinsville there is about 1/4 Mile straight so
I ^D^D^D^D ...my friend opens it up a little. The GPz is not objecting, 
although the guy behind on CX500 has a hard time. Well, wouldn't you know
it, there is the cop coming the other way. He pulls off way ahead of us ^D^D^D
them and sits there with his idiot lights on. Being in the mountains with
the rain and him knowing the area, there is no point in trying to do
anything stupid and a)crashing and b)getting cought anyway. So we pull over
and the guy appears to be friendly..."where are you _boys_ in such a hurry to?"
We try to be nice...the only reasonable thing to do (did I mention the lame
GPz speedo was burried at 85MPH ). Anyway, he clocked us at 110 in 50 and he
says that he couldn't let us get away with it on _his_ highway. The end result:
$50 each...yes, I did not leave out any zeros - $50. He even asked if two 
weeks was enough time for us to pay. Now, if you don't know the reputation
of North Carolina cops wrt out of state drivers, I'll let somebody else 
explain it, I'll just say that I guy I work with was on his way to  
basic training (had to be there in the morning) and got stopped doing 80
in 55 and spend the night in _jail_ missing his arrival date in the army - you
know how happy they must had been. BTW, this was not back when the gas was 
a nickel/gallon; it was 1988.

2. The same friend again....just got a pipe for his '87 CBR600 and was jetting
it as he was planning to take it racing. You know the story, deserted road,
no traffic, good visibility...etc,etc. Well, it was deserted except for the
cop hiding in the bushes eating doughnuts. As I went by at way over the 
century mark, he appearently took off after me. Since I never got to see him
even though I did take an occasional look in the mirrors, I was still on the
gas moving right along. Needles to say, I was somewhat surprised when I saw
two cop vans parked across the road towards the end of the 6 Miles stretch.
The whole way I did not see any cars/planes/cops/bicycles etc, so what gives?
So I pull over and play stupid...I'm good at it:-); since they are in vans,
I figured there was little chance of them having radar, so I'm naturally 
curious as to why they are parked in the middle of the road. Well after a 
little while, I see this unmarked cop car catching up to us going really fast.
The guy jumps out of the car and he is furious; yelling and screaming his ass
off. Since cops can get away with a lot, I try not to give him any reasons
to get even more upset. He doesn't mention any radars or my speed though,
just saying he had his little Diplomat tapped out as was walking away from 
him...hehehe..he..he..I think. I figure he was taking a nap or something
as I woke him up, so he called for back up and the only thing they had in the
area was a couple of vans. So...nobody has radar reading, it's relatively
safe area to speed in (maybe not at close to 140 but still). So he figures the
fair thing to do is to write me up for as fast as he was going...go figure).
Anyway the figure that sounds good to him is: envelope please.....130MPH.
I think (IMHO) he knew his ground was shaky so he did not bother taking me in.
None less, 130 in 50 translates to: $52+$4*(130-50)=$372. I could had gone
to court and maybe won it, _but_ in Florida you are allowed to take a driving
course instead of paying the fine (once a year/3 time in a lifetime max).
The end result:$70 for the school, and I'm free as a bird. I went to court
on my appointed date and was going to play it by the ear, but when the judge
read: "_130 in 50_" and all the talking in the room stopped, I decided to 
bail and announced I'd like to take the course (since it looked like I really
needed it...hehehe).

Of course I have educated my friend since then, and told him how foolish and
immature his actions were, not to mention what they did to the image of all
of the motorcyclists in the world. He in turn promised never to do it again,
to always maintain safe speed, protect our image and to brush his teeth
after each meal. Happy end.

Jerry S.  ^D^D^D^D^D^D John X.