31 Oct
2003
31 Oct
'03
2:59 a.m.
On Fri, 31 Oct 2003, Fred N. van Kempen wrote:
appear in court." So, even though I was speeding
(100+mph in
considered attempted manslaughter in CA) they let me keep my
Not "attempted manslaughter" but rather "reckless driving".
car, my license and I could continue. In court, a
judge ended
up fining me (trust me, you dont want to know how much..) and
Around $371 probably. Perhaps more if this was not your first traffic
offense.
warning me: "this is not an Autobahn, son. I am
aware of your
extra training in Europe for speeds like these, but never forget
our roads, and, more importantly, our drivers, cannot usually
handle them. Drive slower."
The roads are perfectly fine, especially the I-5: perfectly straight and
flat for literally miles makes 100+MPH driving perfectly safe. It's
the other idiot drivers on the road that create dangerous situations.
So.. on roads like I5 (similar to many Autobahns) they
will
tolerate some degree of speeding (chp told me they usually dont
act on 80-90 if all is OK) but 100+ is a booboo there.
Hmm, that's interesting to know. Still, with my record I don't take those
kinds of chances :) I once got pulled over on I5 around Bakersfield for
doing 65 (then the maximum) in fog and without having my headlights on.
Obviously this cop was bored. He "did me a favor" by giving me a warning
only. Whatever...
[erm, two months later, I got another one *blush* this
time,
San Jose judge wasnt too pleased with me..]
I was "racing" a Porsche with my Honda Civic several years ago. We were
over 100MPH. The Porsche dropped off and flashed his lights. I, thinking
he was just sending me a friendly farewell, continued and sped off
happily. Not long after, a CHP was closing in on me fast (he must've been
doing 110). The ticket resulted in the mandatory court appearance. By
some stroke of luck, my record was completely clean, and so the judge
offered to reduce my ticket to the maximum fine under the Basic Speed Law
(which is $271 and only 1 point on my record). I took it :)
You CAN get arrested on the spot for doing 100+ on CA highways. But
unless you're a complete dick to the officer (or you have outstanding
warrants), this will never happen.
--
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
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