by "Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland)
Published 03/14/2017 at 18:16
by "Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland)
Published 03/14/2017 at 18:16
No Tags
STARS: 4
Now hear this, no one should be getting a damn speeding ticket unless they are actually going above the posted speed limit, there is an accident, or they are driving like a dumb ass.
We here in Montucky routinely throw down the miles on snowy and icy roads at speeds that would make David Tracy poop his pants. With a few caveats:
1. Like David our vehicles are generally up for the task, ie worn out snow tires on a mid 90's Buick LeSabre.
2. We were born in a snow drift 60 miles east of Havre so we are genetically predispositioned to survive in a cold climate 5 months of the year.
3. We have to drive 300 miles to get the mail or milk, so if you go too slow the milk will go bad by the time you get back to the ranch.
4. The entire population of Montana is in about 5 small City’s along I-90 and I-15, everywhere else is fucking deserted. I have driven for hours with the cruise at 82 and never needed to adjust it due to other cars or cows on the road.
5. Our cars and trucks are so shitty that if you went too slow all the tranny fluid would leak out before you get to your destination. So you have to keep your speed up between stops and top it off every 2-3 hours.
So concludes highlanders ramblings.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
"Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire" (arch-duke-maxyenko)
03/14/2017 at 18:18, STARS: 1
Hear
"Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland)
03/14/2017 at 18:21, STARS: 0
They’re I fixed it.
"For Sweden" (rallybeetle)
03/14/2017 at 18:26, STARS: 2
We here in Montucky
Sure but what about Eastern Montana?
"facw" (facw)
03/14/2017 at 18:29, STARS: 1
I think he’s right that he got pulled over at least in part because he was driving a shitheap.
"Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland)
03/14/2017 at 18:31, STARS: 2
You mean Western North Dakota or Southern Saskatchewan?
"Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland)
03/14/2017 at 18:34, STARS: 2
That happened to me once, had different colored body panels on my car and a bunch of rust primer. Cop was pissed I was 100% legal and couldn’t write me up for anything. Literally red in the face and huffing and puffing from his brief stint at 100+ chasing me down.
"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
03/14/2017 at 18:39, STARS: 2
I can’t find anything in that whole story that helps me understand why the officer chose to give him a ticket in the first place.
If there was enough of a speed differential between David and the “slow” cop for the cop to feel like issuing a ticket, then it should automatically throw the officer’s driving into question, too. The Basic Speed Law has something to say about drivers going at a speed “not greater than nor less than is reasonable and proper”.
"Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland)
03/14/2017 at 18:44, STARS: 1
I know right? I would be tempted to say to the judge, excuse me you honer, but I think Officer Smith is wrote the ticket because he is jerk who was scared of driving on 1 inch of snow.
"Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle" (1500sand535)
03/14/2017 at 18:47, STARS: 2
I’ve listened to a continuing education thing for lawyers where they have a cop talking about traffic citations and he states in it that he is probably more likely to pull over beaters.
"Eric @ opposite-lock.com" (theyrerolling)
03/14/2017 at 18:50, STARS: 3
Montana: The state that once removed speed limits, then only added them because the Feds were going to pull their highway fund.
Also the state that once had such low ticket fines that they would let you pay it right there at the side of the road to the cop.
"Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle" (1500sand535)
03/14/2017 at 18:52, STARS: 1
I interact with a lot of people caught up in the law. And so rarely do people’s stories about their circumstances seem likely to be the full reality. I don’t know David but if he is anything like most of the people I deal with, the cop would probably tell a different version of the story.
And I think being able to ticket for speeding under the speed limit is okay. Was it dumb in this instance based on one person’s re-telling? Yes. Doesn’t it take much imagination to see a scenario where the ticket is justified? No.
"Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland)
03/14/2017 at 18:58, STARS: 1
Yes, can confirm. We also had no open container laws on the books until about 10-15 years ago. So you could legally drink and drive.
I got one $5 ticket when I was 16. I was doing 79 in a 65. I didn’t have any money on me at the time so I had to go down to the court house and pay it a couple of days later.
"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
03/14/2017 at 19:00, STARS: 2
Exactly. The only fact that even remotely supports the officer’s opinion was that speed differential, and it goes both ways.
When you start digging into a case like this, there are just so many variables (vehicle capability, driver competence) at play, that it’s hard to nail down just how fast one should be going. The officer seems to have concluded that 35 mph was the target, which makes me wonder what he was driving, what his tires looked like, and if he was distracted in any way.
Even if we play along with the cop’s logic, note that David was only going 5 mph over this imaginary speed limit. That seems to imply that the acceptable margin between “greater than” and “less than” is extremely small. The precision demanded by this invisible, unposted speed limit is ludicrous, and leaves no room for differences in capability or competence between cars and drivers.
"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove)
03/14/2017 at 19:01, STARS: 2
I’m pissed that he even had to pay the fine, points or no points. But, Steve knows his stuff and must have thought he couldn’t push it.
"Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland)
03/14/2017 at 19:03, STARS: 1
That was my thought too, Steve probably felt that with zero points and no infractions on his record they should let it be and not fight it any further.
"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove)
03/14/2017 at 19:05, STARS: 0
I fought a speeding ticket in college by arguing that the officer didn’t present his statement before the hearing date like the law required and moving to dismiss. I got it knocked down to a broken speedometer non-moving violation with no points, but I’m still steamed to this day that I let myself get maneuvered into even that.
Although I was speeding.
"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
03/14/2017 at 20:02, STARS: 1
I would have liked to hear the cop’s side of this. When David said that his Jeep was handling the snow “like a champ”, I started to think that maybe the cop saw him clawing through the snow and kicking up rooster tails in a fight for traction, or maybe he briefly slid through a turn. But later on in the article, David clearly states that there was no skidding or sliding, so if he wasn’t breaking grip, then I don’t know what the cop was thinking.
I dunno. Sometimes cops do have a lapse in judgement, and when that happens, they rarely back down from it. I was ticketed for a seat belt violation once because it happened to be the same color as my jacket, and the cop couldn’t tell the difference. He just assumed that I buckled it while he was walking from his car.
"Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland)
03/14/2017 at 20:06, STARS: 2
It snows in Michigan and does so frequently in the winter. In some places say like Atlanta driving around in a storm might be grounds for a ticket, but not in Michigan. I wonder if the cop was out doing storm duty and just feeling his oats so he decided to ticket the junky looking Jeep that had been doing doughnuts in various parking lots just minutes earlier. He could probably smell the eau d’hoon on David.
"Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle" (1500sand535)
03/14/2017 at 23:06, STARS: 0
I lived in Minnesota for a long time, I know how it goes.
And Don’t get me wrong, a person in a 2015 Subaru crosstrek with one of those stick figure families who passes in the snow is probably less likely to get pulled over but again, two sides to every story; and this one has been processed enough for public consumption.