Just a warning

[Bob Penn]

I just got back from Daytona last night. I should have known better then to travel through the state of South Carolina but I had no choice wanting to go to the FL. rally.
I was traveling north up I-95. The traffic was moving along at about 75 mph. 5 mph over the posted speed limit and I had my new Breakaway throttle lock set to the traffic speed. Most of the road is flat and my speed was constant. Unfortunately, for me there are a few dips in the road were the road goes down hill into the swamps and the bike sped up to 79 mph. Don't you know that's where the wonderful SC state police set up their radar. I'm sure that's not the reason they set up there but I wonder!
I have an alarm set up on my GPS that goes off when you exceed a set speed limit which I had set at 79 mph. Before I could react I hit the trap at the bottom of the hill. I tried to explain to the officer what happened but he didn't want to hear any of it. He took my information back to his car and came back presenting me with an $81 ticket for 9 mph over the limit and a card explaining how I could pay it via internet. The new electronics age is wonderful.
You would think a warning ticket would have been sufficient especially after looking up my record and finding I haven't had a violation in over 20 years. But I guess writing a tickets is easier then then picking cotton.

That's why I won't go or spend my money at the Myrtle Beech rally anymore.

[Hornblower]

So sorry to hear about your experience, Bob. Based on your great record, a warning ticket would have been more appropriate. I, too, have been the unfortunate recipient of what I call "cheap" speeding tickets. No, not cheap in the sense of cost but cheap in the sense of penalizing you for a minor and inconsequential offense. Traps, like the one you just experienced, are set up mainly to generate revenue. That is my own opinion, of course, and if you detect a note of disgust, you are quite perceptive. Traps like this have cost me plenty over the years, so much so that I spent quite a lot on lawyers and radar detectors. Still, my detectors don't totally protect but they do help. My last ticket was the result of a laser trap where, similar to you, everybody was doing 75+ on a straight, dual-lane highway (speed limit 65) and they were pulling folks over left and right. As you may know, no radar detector can protect you from laser so when your laser alert goes off, that's to let you know you just got a ticket. Some might say, well, just don't speed and you don't have to worry about getting tickets. What's the fun in that? Seriously though, especially on a bike, I believe the safest speed is to match the speed of surrounding traffic. I really don't want to get hit from behind. To each his own...

[stroguy]

As I told my kids when they began driving.....as long as you are economically viable you are welcome to speed, receive speeding tickets, pay the fines and pay the higher insurance rates. I drive with the same mentality. I don't fault the officer when I am speeding and I am nailed. Yes it hurts, yes it would have been nice to get the warning like I have received in the past (I get a lot of warnings). But, there is no defense, I was speeding. With your record you will easily receive deferred adjudication, pay a fee and there will be no mar against your record. I don't see the big deal with fretting over this. $81 for more than 10% over the limit. You got off easy. I just paid my 54 in a 45 ticket two weeks ago. Would have cost $222, but with defensive driving and 90 days promise to be a good boy it was reduced to $109. Myrtle Beach did nothing to you, it's an awesome place to have fun.

[shooter]

Sucks Bob. Unlike my stepcousin Stro I'm not gonna blow smoke up your azz. I would be POed also. I haven't had a ticket in 27 years. I don't know why. Just lucky I guess. I work on the local police and county police cars so maybe that helps. And you are right. They had that speed trap there for a reason. Cruise control always speeds up on a downhill and most have theirs set at the upper limit.

[MisterB]

I believe the safest speed is to match the speed of surrounding traffic. I really don't want to get hit from behind. To each his own...

+1
I haven't had a ticket for 30+ years because most of that has been in the cage and I drive the speed limit. Prior to 30 years ago I got a bunch of tickets and after a $200 fine (1980s dollars!) I decided to just go the limit. Forever.
That worked great for me until 2008 when I decided to start riding again. Traffic in St Louis has changed drastically since I was a teenager and I found out instantly that motorcycles don't have the luxury of going the speed limit if the local driving culture dictates that the minimum speed is over the limit. You risk getting mowed over.

When driving I stick to the limit like glue, if people want to risk a ticket they can go around me, I'll be in the right-hand lane.
When riding I go with the flow, which means risking a ticket but not risking getting rear-ended. I've been lucky enough to have avoided both.

I never knew how fast those other drivers were going until I got back on a bike. 90 in a 60 happens around here every day.

[stroguy]

Sucks Bob. Unlike my stepcousin Stro I'm not gonna blow smoke up your azz. I would be POed also. I haven't had a ticket in 27 years. I don't know why. Just lucky I guess. I work on the local police and county police cars so maybe that helps. And you are right. They had that speed trap there for a reason. Cruise control always speeds up on a downhill and most have theirs set at the upper limit.

stepcousin? LOL!

[wjduke]

My last ticket was in my own city for $200. I contested and won based on my past record. In your case, being out of state, contesting it isn't worth the trouble, and that's where they get you. The great state of Maryland busted me when I went to see my uncle get buried at Arlington. I was visiting, and was always warned. I came home, and a week or so later in the mail I was presented with a photo of my car speeding, along with a note that said..." pay the fine and all is forgotten". $40 was worth it. In your case, sounds like the same thing. Hope all is forgotten!

[Bob Penn]

Thanks for all support and understanding. The $81 dollars really doesn't mean anything to me. I'll pay it and never miss it. Heck, I spent more money then that during the week watching girls wrestling in a cabbage patch. It's just the point that the police are being used as a profit generator rather than a safety protector.
The shame is on me! I should have known better, SC. has a long history of these speed traps. Hence the warning here nothing has changed down there!
But my planned trip to Myrtle Beech is off!! I'll save my money and take it to Americade a true Gold Wing rally where the people appreciate my business. The cops are there but they are reasonable and only bust on people doing really illegal or stupid things. Like good thinking cops do!

[stroguy]

Understood, but do check the deferred adjudication with the local DA to defer the ticket. I was hauling ass through VA, another known speed trap state. I got pulled over and they gave me a warning. My brother was so pissed because he has been hammered time and time again in VA. Some police never let anyone go, some flip a coin, some give more warnings than tickets. You never know that you may have come through a known young kids race area and the police have had enough. Maybe they had a rash of accidents on that stretch the last year. Hilly terrain is known for higher accident rate than flat unobscured terrain. Good luck Bob.

[SimonTemplar]

.........The new electronics age is wonderful.
You would think a warning ticket would have been sufficient especially after looking up my record and finding I haven't had a violation in over 20 years. But I guess writing a tickets is easier then then picking cotton........

It's not about speed, safety, or any of the other histrionics that I am sure he preached at you while giving you the ticket.


It's all about the revenue. Nothing more...nothing less.

Many years ago, I used to live in the Cleveland area. There is an inner city neighbourhood there called Lindale. Lindale's city limits overlap barely 70 yards of I-71. Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night, there is a Lindale city cruiser sitting on the side of the road at the city limit...next to the speed limit sign which reduces the limit for those 70 yards by 10 mph (down to 45...yes, 45mph on an interstate). They routinely pull anyone who comes down the interstate at 47mph or above.

It's how the city makes their money. What they do with it, however, is beyond me. It's an inner city neighbourhood....basically, it's the projects. And even though they rake in thousands in speeding fines every night....the place still looks like a war zone.

It's just about revenue and nothing more. There was no chance in hell you were ever going to get a Warning. More likely...you would get a thank you note.




....sT