Another Great Ride (foiled by an involuntary donation)

[mcatrophy]

...The best thing for traffic control in my experience would be $5/gallon fuel. It is amazing how nicely the roads clear out, even at $4/gallon....

Currently in the UK there's something of a price war, probably brought about by the current glut of oil on the world market. Lowest price for some 5 years, about £1 per litre.
There are 3.785 litres to a US gallon, today £1 is worth $1.52.

I'll do the sum for you. $5.75 per gallon.

We've had prices up to around £1.70 per litre ($9.78 per US gallon). Conjestion seems unaffected, it's been abysmal at rush hour times (which seem to extend for four hours or so morning and evening) for years.

We just fill our tanks and drink less than you Americans .

 

[08FJR4ME]

I appreciate all the advice. But I won't be "fighting" the ticket. We, also, do not have "driving school" passes, as far as I know. From what I have heard, the cops and the judges around here do not take it kindly if you plead "not guilty" on the ticket, get a court date, and then plead "guilty" in court. They have more important things to do than play games with people with traffic tickets.
Plus, they make it too damn convenient to just pay the thing (online, use a credit card) and so I did that the very next day so that I wouldn't forget to pay it in time, and then be in some real trouble.

Having had a spotless record for as long as I can remember, I'm cautiously optimistic that the Insurance Companies (different ones for bikes and cars) will not penalize me too hard. Of course being a pessimist by nature, I know that this kind of thinking is just setting myself up for major disappointment.

I'm just putting this one behind me, taking steps to avoid another one (new RD on the way, old ones are already sold on eBay). If I did happen to get a second ticket sometime in the next 3 years, I'd probably be a lot more motivated to contest it then.

As for ending the season on a downer with the ticket, we're going to erase that completely on Saturday with another nice ride. Low will only be 40 and a high expected in the mid 50's!! Mother nature is being most cooperative this year.

You have to plead not guilty because that's the way the system is setup. I bet if you gave the same story as your original post there might be a good chance you could get let off. You can still go in admitting your wrong doing but if you give the circumstances that led up to why you made the mistake they are usually a lot more lenient. At least that's been my case.

Now if the judge had several cases before you that got let off. your screwed. law of averages.

To me it's always worth a shot at it.

Dave

 

[El Toro]

...The best thing for traffic control in my experience would be $5/gallon fuel. It is amazing how nicely the roads clear out, even at $4/gallon....

Currently in the UK there's something of a price war, probably brought about by the current glut of oil on the world market. Lowest price for some 5 years, about £1 per litre.
There are 3.785 litres to a US gallon, today £1 is worth $1.52.

I'll do the sum for you. $5.75 per gallon.

We've had prices up to around £1.70 per litre ($9.78 per US gallon). Conjestion seems unaffected, it's been abysmal at rush hour times (which seem to extend for four hours or so morning and evening) for years.

We just fill our tanks and drink less than you Americans

.

Yes, I know. I've been over and I've seen how even a country as oil rich as Norway can tax the daylights out of the fuel and create a tremendous amount of revenue (on top of the revenue they get for the oil itself since they also own the oil).

You folks do not typically drive as far as we do. The scale of distance is different here. Just to cross Tennessee from Bristol to Memphis is 500 miles on the interstate. To go from southern border to northern border within the state of California is even farther. And to get to Northern California from here is even farther still.

So ... your very high prices, which include a very large tax component, are oppressive, but not impossible.

There is a theory that fuel usage is inflexible, and that whatever the price is, demand remains the same. I disagree. There is a lot of discretionary fuel use in the US since many of us still see travelling in a vehicle as recreation.

When we had $4+/gal fuel prices some years ago, I-40 cleared out. Part of the reduction in traffic came from the reduction in discretionary travel, and part of it came from the lack of commerce due to the recession (which further reduced discretionary travel). Some commerce switched to railroads, and frankly, this seems like a good idea to me.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Whether gas is $1.00/gallon or $7.00/gallon, my kids still have to get to school, and people in the rural US still have to get to work. Anyone that thinks increasing gas prices has some huge impact on the amount we use is a ******* idiot.

Remember that those increases raise the price of everything delivered by truck, train, boat, or plane. NOTHING in your grocery store was grown inside that grocery store. It was all delivered somehow, and just because some of you are retired in the middle of a big city and have nowhere to be, does not mean the rest of us share that awful fate.

 

[Big Sky]

Ionbeam said: "My brother the LEO says to get your helmet off as quickly as you can to give the officer a good long look at your gray hair as he walks up to your bike. (There has to be some advantage to being old.)"

I certainly agree to an extent. My wife and I use a variant of this tactic: Ask the officer if it is okay to remove your helmet (establishes deference and respect), then shock them with your gray hair and wrinkles, that anyone behaving in such a juvenile manner (59 in a 40) could be, in fact, "mature." This worked beautifully for us on the Wildlife Scenic Byway in Idaho. The deputy was pissed and started to rip me a new orifice, but seemed to calm down when I, interrupting his ass chewing, asked if I could remove my helmet. Then he saw that I was at least a decade his senior. I suppose being contrite, apologizing, having a spouse along, decked out in good gear, on a touring bike, all helped, too. He finished with: "I never, ever let motorcycle riders go ............. (struggling) ..........but ........this time, I'm gonna give you a warning...." Whew! I've said it before, I've been stopped and not ticketed more than I've been stopped and ticketed.

 

[TomInPA]

Ionbeam said: "My brother the LEO says to get your helmet off as quickly as you can to give the officer a good long look at your gray hair as he walks up to your bike. (There has to be some advantage to being old.)"
I certainly agree to an extent. My wife and I use a variant of this tactic: Ask the officer if it is okay to remove your helmet (establishes deference and respect), then shock them with your gray hair and wrinkles, that anyone behaving in such a juvenile manner (59 in a 40) could be, in fact, "mature." This worked beautifully for us on the Wildlife Scenic Byway in Idaho. The deputy was pissed and started to rip me a new orifice, but seemed to calm down when I, interrupting his ass chewing, asked if I could remove my helmet. Then he saw that I was at least a decade his senior. I suppose being contrite, apologizing, having a spouse along, decked out in good gear, on a touring bike, all helped, too. He finished with: "I never, ever let motorcycle riders go ............. (struggling) ..........but ........this time, I'm gonna give you a warning...." Whew! I've said it before, I've been stopped and not ticketed more than I've been stopped and ticketed.

Don't wait. Remove the helmet while he runs your plate, and just keep your hands in view. Be prepared with license, registration and insurance. Don't let the ass chewing commence before he realizes you just an addled old man.

 

[El Toro]

Whether gas is $1.00/gallon or $7.00/gallon, my kids still have to get to school, and people in the rural US still have to get to work. Anyone that thinks increasing gas prices has some huge impact on the amount we use is a ******* idiot.
Remember that those increases raise the price of everything delivered by truck, train, boat, or plane. NOTHING in your grocery store was grown inside that grocery store. It was all delivered somehow, and just because some of you are retired in the middle of a big city and have nowhere to be, does not mean the rest of us share that awful fate.

Why don't you tell us what you really think instead of sugar coating it?

 

[HotRodZilla]

Sorry ET, that discussion puts me in a mood. Lol...

 

[TripperMike]

Sorry ET, that discussion puts me in a mood. Lol...

You know 'Zilla, we love you the most when you get in a mood. And so help me if I ever get stopped by a LEO of mexican descent and he decides to lecture me about speeding and rips me a new one...I swear I'll get images of you and start laughing.

And I'm sure that won't end well.

 

[HotRodZilla]

You're gonna end up in a Mexican prison Mike. Be careful dude!!

 

[Fred W]

Follow up on the Radar Detector false alerts issue...

Received my Escort Passport X50 black. Pretty decent service from Woot, considering it is holiday season and all. When I opened the box I thought that something was amiss as it felt too light to be a radar detector. Little did I know that one of the "features" of the new design 8500 X50 over the old one is that it is considerably lighter. The "old" X50 weighs 9 ounces, and the new one I just got weighs only 5 ounces. That will make it a bit easier to stay stuck on a windshield or other mounting.

I stuck the two RDs to the windshield of my car and went for a little test drive. I had both units setup identically (Only X band turned Off, POP on, no auto-mute) with the exception that the new one has the TSR feature and I turned that on.

Before I even got to the highway I had to pass a State Liquor Store, which I know from past experience generates a K band false alert. I was a tad disappointed to see that both detectors still give me the false alert there. Up on the highway though it's a whole different story. Came up behind a tractor trailer and the old X50 started in with a K band false alert while the new one was silent. Encountered a newer looking Audi SUV and it likewise alerted on the older X50 but not the new black one. Encountered another 3 false alerts on the old one, and none on the new one, so it does seem to be a whole lot more better. Thanks again to TominPA for getting me on track here.

Passing a different State Liquor Store (out on I-93) and both RDs alerted again, so apparently the NHSLCs are using a door opener that get in on K-band, Hopefully those door openers do not become more popular (most are Xband, which is why I keep it turned off)

My eBay auctions on my old 8500s are rolling along nicely. I have 2 bids on the X50 now at $77, and the older non X50 8500 now has 4 bids and is at $39. Auctions end Friday at noon time. Not that any of you would want to bid on those things...

 

[TomInPA]

Fred, thanks for the on-the-road comparison of TSR. This is a feature that I think a lot of Passport owners are not even aware of, and I have generally received blank stares whenever I brought it up in the past. Not using a RD due to the number of falses can get expensive as you found.

The other setting you might want to try is the ExpertMeter (MeterEXP) which will separately track multiple radar hits at the same time and show their relative strength. You get the same audible warning from the strongest signal, but the meter will display each band detected and what the signal strength of that band is. This is useful where a police radar is using a known "noise" source to cover his speed detection radar. You will see the number of bands on the display so an K may be coming in at 3-bars and Ka at 2-bars, or you might see multiple Ka bands, and you know something is up.

 

[Fred W]

Yeah, I was clearly one of those in the "unaware of TSR" group until you set me straight.

As for the ExpertMeter, that is beneficial when using it in the car or truck, but when the RD is on the bike I have the detector hidden in a small cordura zippered bag fastened with Velcro to the top of my tank bag. I only get the audio alerts, but the K and Ka bands sound different, so I should be able to pick up on multiple sources in the audio tones.

I do that so as not to attract the attention of any constables (when I got pulled over in this case the cop didn't know what was there) and also to keep prying eyes off of it when I am stopped somewhere briefly.

When I'm stopped for a while I yank it off and tuck it into a locked bag, but it would take literally seconds for some miscreant to yoink it when I go in for a minute to pay for gas or take a leak, so disguising it helps somewhat. It does mean no laser alerts when it is inside the bag I have Velcro on the bottom of the RD too, so I can also stick the RD directly onto the top of the tank bag (without the cordura bag) but for as little as laser is used around here, and as useless as a laser detector is in actually avoiding a ticket, I'm OK with losing the laser function.

 

[Geezer]

I come across a lot of K band door openers as well as some security systems that set off the K band alarm. Still, it is not often enough to be a problem for me.

Just stay away from those liquor stores.