Commuting - <sigh> Good thing I bought a bike...

Totally my own fault of course, but...

I just got a ticket for "racing upon the highway"... No idea what the fine'll be but if convicted it carries a minimum 6 month suspended license. Ouch.

That's what I get for owning a Camaro...

I'm thinking of ditching the car (probably selling it for parts) before the court date and hoping they'll drop the ticket to reckless driving or something that doesn't result in a suspension.

If not I guess I'll be a 100% bicycle commuter for a while.

How fast were you going? And what was the speed limit?

Speed limit was 45, I probably didn't get much above that. It was stoplight-to-stoplight racing, you know, light turns green, you both go. Only it turns out there's a cop behind you.

The cop was "nice" about it; technically the rule in VA is that they are supposed to impound your car until the court date. He didn't do that.

They can fine you for acclerating too fast, under the speed limit? As long as your rear tires weren't lighting up the intersection that seem a little severe.

Well, tires were definitely spinning, but that's just reckless driving. It was the fact that it was me and another car that makes it racing, and yeah, the penalty is pretty severe. It is definitely not the 60s any more when racing was high spirits and joyriding got you a lecture.

That sucks, but obviously you were acting recklessly. Suppose you had lost control and plowed into one of us on our bikes? Not cool.

edit- I saw a mustang burn rubber at a green light and spin out of control once, luckily it hit the median and not the sidewalk my friends and I were standing on.

Maybe an off topic question... do you honestly think that the charges might be reduced or dismissed simply because you're getting rid of the car? I really don't think that'll work (or at least I don't think it should work...). Those six months might be the best thing in the world for you.

This is the exact reason I sold my Camaro. I once got an "unsafe start" ticket for doing a brake stand at a light in the city. Long time ago.

Well, the point is, I've realized that I'm likely to act recklessly with that car, so I'm not going to keep it. My other vehicles ('71 pickup and wife's minivan) will not have that temptation.

So I am myself making sure that the reckless behavior will not happen again. That's my argument for why the state should not penalize me as heavily. The state may not agree, of course. But I can hope.

Just as an aside, it wasn't as reckless as all that anyway. Late at night, very few cars, and tires were spinning some but it wasn't like we were sliding all over the place like some people do. But the rules are the rules...

County or City?

County. Heading south on 234, just south of 66. The light at Coverstone. County cop, too, if that's what you meant.

I hope you got a lawyer for this. If so, your best bet (after you try to get the charges reduced) may be to go for deferred adjudication. Talk to the lawyer about options. If you don't have a lwayer, you need to get one.

You do NOT want a racing (or even reckless driving) conviction on your driving record. If you do, then your insurance is going to go through the roof and you may not be able to afford to keep the car!. If you get deferred adjudication (assuming such a thing exists in VA) then after a probationary period with no other convictions, your conviction should be wiped out and the offense should not appear on your dirving record.

In Texas, deferred adjudication is used a LOT. You pay the same fine as a conviction and may need to do some community service, etc. This is different than probation. If you get probation, you still have the conviction after the probation period.

I am not a lawyer, so go talk to a real one about this and any other options that may be available to you.

County. Heading south on 234, just south of 66. The light at Coverstone. County cop, too, if that's what you meant.

You could have hit me! Just teasing...I live off Williamson (across from Coverstone) so I know the area well. Was just curious whether you were in county or in city limits. Been a long time since I've had a moving violation. Was the cop fairly cool with it or was he burned about it?

The cop was loving it. He was tickled pink. He came up to my window and goes "I bet a thousand dollars you didn't know I was behind you, huh?" I was like "No sir."

Supcom, I don't have a lawyer, not sure if I'll get one. I have never heard of deferred adjudication in VA, however it is fairly common to get charges reduced when you go to court.

At this point I don't think I'm going to keep the car anyway, but you're right about the insurance going up. I'll definitely see what I can do... I don't think I have more than a speeding ticket or two on my record so they may order traffic school or something in conjunction with reducing the ticket. I can hope.

A couple of months ago, I came upon a car that had spun across a median, taken out a couple of newly planted trees, and smashed into the fencing above a six-lane freeway. It is a total coincidence that the kid driving hadn't smashed into an oncoming car at this busy off-ramp (it would have been me if I had been two minutes faster) or the teenager walking on the street. As one of the first people on the scene, I called 911 and stuck around until the cops showed up, and found out the kid was racing another driver next to him, and had gone only about 200 yards before he spun out. Estimated speed? About 45.

The car didn't decide to race, you did. Whether you keep the car or not, a suspended license seems like justice to me.

The car didn't decide to race, you did. Whether you keep the car or not, a suspended license seems like justice to me.
I recall other recent news stories from here in the Phx-metro area about street racers hitting non involved parties and killing and injuring them.
Al

Hawaii has had a few non-racers killed by street racers recently. One was a scholl treacher in a mini-van with her kids (killed - not a racer). New laws for doing over 20 above the limit or greater than 85 mph can now get you jail time. I doubt the judges will hand out jail time unless you put another motor vehicle driver in the hospital. :(

Street racing nearly got me killed last year. I had a small 4 door sedan, and was turning left on a 4 lane (with middle lane) road, in a 35 zone. It was an unprotected left turn. I looked and there were a couple of cars over a block away so I went. I looked up, in the middle of the turn and both cars were so close you could see the drivers faces. Rather than continue into the path of either of the cars, I stopped dead in the middle of the lanes. My car didn't run so good so there was no chance of just blasting through. Both cars were doing a good 60mph (in a 35!) and the were both able to go around me, tires smoking, and they hit each other when they came back to their lanes. They missed my car by mere inches.

Had I known these two ricers in their cars were frickin racing I'd not have pulled out, but instead the arseholes nearly got me and my family killed.

If you lose your license, so be it. You really could've hurt yourself or somebody else. Good decision on selling the car though, sounds like you've got a good handle on how not to do that again, and kudos for that.

I actually lost a friend last year to street racing. Took his Mustang down to Florida and ate it. Bad scene. I quit that stuff a long time ago, luckily without having ever heart myself or anyone else. I do occasionally like to challenge one of the little Hondas or something to a race....I'll offer up a $20 or a $50 or whatever, get the nod, then point someplace like the other side of a culvert or something...hehe...

*goes to hide his SUV driving face*

But hey, the chances of riding with Jeff sometime just increased, right?

Yeah I know all the stories, and I like to think I always picked "smarter" places/times to do stupid stuff than some people do, but I suppose everyone probably thinks that. Either way I'm quitting now.

Yeah I know all the stories, and I like to think I always picked "smarter" places/times to do stupid stuff than some people do, but I suppose everyone probably thinks that. Either way I'm quitting now.
Thats a cool response. I'll bet biking is more fun in the long run anyway.
Al

God, the laws have become tough. My first ticked when I was a kid was conducting a speed race. Me and buddy raced down main st. and go caught. Fine was $110.00 dropped to $75.00 in court. Maybe it's different in a hick town in Oregon.

"You gotta busted tail light." SMASH! "That there is a 50 dolla fine in this here county..."

Yeah atombob, it kinda stinks. Of course it's because they are responding to things like rising deaths from traffic accidents, mostly due to the rising number of miles people spend driving. It used to be that you could fool around and odds are you wouldn't hurt people. Now the odds are that you WILL hurt someone.

It's one of those things, you have to balance how much fun/freedom/etc are you willing to give up in exchange for safety/security? Would I rather chance getting run over by a racer if it means I can race, or know I won't get run over but it means I can't race?

It situations like this that makes me wonder why they don't have a public dragway in most cities. People are always going to race, why not give them a place to do it? Sign a waiver and drive up to the line.

That's their argument for building public skate parks isn't it? You know the kids are going to skate so they need a safe alternative to sidewalks and other public places. BTW, I'm all for public skate parks but I also like to seem them ripping up a handrail at the courthouse.

You may as well build a fighting ring too. No sense in trying to eleminate the animal tendencies in us. It just doesn't work. It's like saying "Can't we all just get along?". The answer seems obvious, NO.

Jeff, glad to see you're trying to make the most out of a bad situation. Enjoy your new ride.

It situations like this that makes me wonder why they don't have a public dragway in most cities.
Many private dragways in many cities are open to the general public (for specific events) and I believe there are even programs to promote use of them to get racers of the streets.
A quick google search picked this up for example:
http://www.racelegal.com/news/news.asp
Al

I'm surprised no one has said this in this thread -- I bet you could buy a nice bike for what you will get for that Camaro. Just a thought.

Well, not really. It's a 92, 180000 miles and heavily modified. The biggest makes-it-non-saleable mod of course is that I converted it to run on Propane. Clean fuels aren't big in this area, the gas suppliers where I fill up all said they'd never seen a car that ran on Propane before.

I'll probably part it out. I'll probably throw the engine (and maybe the propane stuff too) into my truck, since I'll now be using my truck for those can't-bike-there kind of errands. The engine is fairly new and clean (no leaks) whereas my truck engine (1971) leaks a quart of oil every hundred miles and gets 11 mpg on a good day with a tailwind.

The remaining parts might get me $1500-2000 or so if I take my time finding buyers. Yeah that's a still a lot in bike terms, but not really a fortune, and I won't get it right away.

Well, not really. It's a 92, 180000 miles and heavily modified. The biggest makes-it-non-saleable mod of course is that I converted it to run on Propane. Clean fuels aren't big in this area, the gas suppliers where I fill up all said they'd never seen a car that ran on Propane before.

I'll probably part it out. I'll probably throw the engine (and maybe the propane stuff too) into my truck, since I'll now be using my truck for those can't-bike-there kind of errands. The engine is fairly new and clean (no leaks) whereas my truck engine (1971) leaks a quart of oil every hundred miles and gets 11 mpg on a good day with a tailwind.

The remaining parts might get me $1500-2000 or so if I take my time finding buyers. Yeah that's a still a lot in bike terms, but not really a fortune, and I won't get it right away.

*Sigh* Oh well, maybe it will pay for nice upgrades?

It sucks trying to be a responsible adult, husband, and father, doesn't it?

Growing up is no fun.

Growing up is no fun.
It sure beats the alternative. :p