I mentioned speeding tickets as tax collection.It occured to me this morning that a lot of the wealthy land owners shot themselves in the foot,when they snap up all the land that the poor people cant afford to pay the taxes on,then they put that land in a preserve so some poor kid cant get a piece of their homeland and get a special deal were they pay probaly 10% or less of the original taxes(subsidised to hoard land in other words) then the common 100% taxpayers are so rare that the area doesnt have enough revenue to do all the things they like(the rich people) and the feds require-so its a bit of a dilemma-Kevin
I have to get corrected occasionally, I was driving through a small town taking the back roads on a 525 mile drive, Sure I have been 10 over for years, going a little fast, whoops police car lights, now I am the first guy to pull over, and the police car pulls over after me. So there I sat, seatbelt on for a change and the cat and I on a road trip to the cabins. Well a beautiful police lady approaches me and says do you know how fast you were going? I said no I was not really paying attention to the speedometer. Did you realize you were passing other people? Yes, I am just out cruising, and did not realize my speed. Are you in hurry she asks, No says I just enjoying the countryside, now matrix the cat starts meowing, She says show me your license insurance and registration, 2 out of 3, license, registration but a bundle of expired insurance cards, so I am tearing through the glove box looking for a current card, she says quit looking you were 24 over and in spite of my better judgement I am giving you a $10 ticket for not having a current insurance card, I love that lady!
Matrix may not get you off that easily next time-Kevin
Got nabbed Saturday.
Just cruisin…lazily following one car in front…just left El Morro national monument…looking for elk…( this is pickup country, Zuni & southern Navajo reservations in NM )
A pickup or three comming the other way over the course of time…one of those is the local po-po, Ramah Navajo Police, the lights on his pickup ablaze and 'round he comes to pull me over. ( but . alas, not the car in front. both of us going the same speed , but you can’t catch all the fish with one hook ) 74 in a 65.
Really surprizing as this manner of driving is the norm out here in the wide open spaces.
Gotta make that year-end quota.
As for traffic control ;
if there is no traffic…
what is there to control ?
When one of you guys speeds with the flow of traffic, it’s not a big deal. When you get a ticket, you take a defensive driving class to keep your insurance rates from going up, you pay the ticket, and the problem is solved.
For a professional truck driver, speeding is a whole other ballgame:
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A fully loaded semi weighs about 80,000 pounds. Compared to your 4,000 pound car, that’s a huge difference in safety and momentum.
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A moving violation for a holder of a CDL means a lot more than it does to normal drivers. Even if it happens in your personal vehicle, moving violations could cost you your career. Even if you keep your career, those moving violations can keep you from getting a better job.
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A loaded tractor trailer going 80 MPH is a safety threat, even if the rest of traffic is moving at 80 MPH. Also, that tractor trailer going 80 MPH is more likely to get a ticket than the cars doing 80 MPH, even if they’re all moving at the same speed.
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Once you get a moving violation with a CDL, even if you take defensive driving, you still can’t take the points off your license.
So please stop telling commercial truck drivers to drive with the flow of traffic. Most company trucks are governed, so they often can’t drive with the flow of traffic, but even if they could, it would be a bad idea.
…and @WheresRick, if breaking traffic laws makes you happy, fine, but don’t come crying to me when you get a ticket. It might take some time before you get caught, but you know the risks.
You hit the nail on the head, If you have a CDL you are considered to be a trained professional and you are held to a higher standard, Even in your own personal car. Most people don’t understand that.
If you are involved in an incident, the judge will say " I see here you have a class A cdl" Yes sir…“well you should know better then” Yes sir…
If you have a Cdl you should get a discount on your car insurance.
Your right, I know the risks. I just am so aggravated with the horrible driving around here I decided why not break the law as well. In my county in the middle of the night there is a total of 2 sheriff deputies on duty. Its a big county, they don’t have the time or inclination to write tickets. Im telling you its almost impossible to get a ticket around here.
There was a lady who killed a guy when her car spun out in the rain and hit him. She was going too fast for conditions, and had bald tires. Jail? Surely you jest! Ticket? Nope, not a one. She was sorry so that made it all better.
If it all “worked” we would not have had 34,000 traffic deaths in this country in 2012.
It doesn’t work, the systems broke.
Here in California, if you have a CDL, your allowable blood alcohol content is 0.04 when you are driving your own personal vehicle, on your own time
If I go out to dinner, I don’t even have 1 single beer
Ran a (malfunctioning) red light last night.
At a 4-way intersection, on the less-travelled road. For whatever reason, inductive sensor did not recognize my truck, and cycles through the entire light sequence.
Now "mal"functioning (badly or contrary to design), I ran it accordingly. I checked for cops first; if stopped, I’d be looking at a court appearance, at least.
(As a bicyclist and motorcyclist, I’m more aware of this law than most of the motoring public.)
@Whitey and @WheresRick, now I’m aggrevated all the more about being tailgated by 18 wheelers with, I assume, drivers holding CDLs. I am frequently tailgated by these guys on I-95 when I am going 65 to 70 in a 65 zone. They also do the deed when I can’t go as fast as 65 because of heavy traffic. I stay out of the 2 right-most lanes because of these yahoos.
You’re right to be aggravated by those drivers @jtsanders. Like every profession, you have both professionals and hacks doing the job. I am aggravated by those hacks too.
Knowing that a loaded semi requires 3-4 times as much breaking distance as a car, I don’t tolerate being tailgated by semis … ever. In a situation like yours, I slow down to 60, then speed back up to 65 to create some distance. If the driver gets the hint, I speed up to 70. If not, I slow back down to 60 and gently repeat until the idiot gets the hint or passes me.
Yesterday I was driving behind some a . . h . . e on a 35mph street. There was absolutely nobody in front of him, yet he insisted on driving about 25mph. Every time I got close, he would tap on on his brakes several times.
Unable to pass him, I decided to “make the most of the situation.” I proceeded to ride his tail all the way to the intersection where I had to make a right. Even though it was very petty, I felt pretty darn good about my behaviour . . . !
When I made my turn, I took a quick look at him, and I realized he was a miserable old cuss
No offense intended to anybody except for that driver
I’m sorry, but that guy had absolutely no legitimate excuse to be holding up traffic like that. There is no reason to drive 25 in a 35, when it’ wide open in front of you. He was driving an older T-Bird, maybe 1990, by the way
Today I was driving the work truck on road that was clear, but had spots where snow had blown back onto the road in spots. It was icy in spots and had 2-4 inches of snow on the road in spots. I was going 55 in a 55 zone.
Still people were on my tail. Then god forbid I slowed down a bit to look at an address. Im sorry I had only 3 hours of sleep, Im sorry That im trying to find an address to a trouble call, to a elderly couple that had no power, thus no heat. Im sorry I delayed your commute by 20 seconds ( even though we all know you got stopped at the red light in town anyway.)
Its usually a big ass pickup that is tailgating me. Well im sorry, my truck makes your 3500 silverado look like a tinker toy, you can slow down to the speed limit and wait on me and You can suck it.
EDIT
(“You” refers to the nameless faceless people I encountered on the road yesterday.)
We don’t have any snow in Los Angeles right now
No rain either
It was a bright, shiny day
That miserable old cuss had no excuse to drive 25 in a 35 when it’s wide open in front of him
There’s a big difference between you driving slow in the work truck versus that jerk in the T-bird
@Whitey, will that dope in the Semi actually slow down or will he just smear me all over the pavement? As close as they are willing to drive to my bumper, I think I’m dead if I slow down. Seriously, no joke. That’s why I drive in the left 2 lanes.
I agree with you, My rant wasn’t in response to your post about the goof in the t-bird. Looking back it does look as if it was but it had nothing to do with your post.
That guy in the t bird is probably more dangerous than most drivers out there. It amazes me the amount of senile drivers on our roads… Those are the same people that manage to singlehandedly block the whole isle at the grocery store and stand there looking at the shelves like they never have been in a grocery store before.
The problem I had was Im going the speed limit and people are still on my tail…
2 thoughts:
First is that my experience is that “teaching those people a lesson” doesn’t happen. Tailgating doesn’t teach someone to go faster. Tapping the brakes only makes a tailgater angry. I thoroughly suggest people don’t do that.
The second thing is justifying unsocial behavior. I don’t think it is acceptable and while I have been known to exhibit those behaviors, I’ve regretted it - particularly when I see it in others.
CapriRacer Junior Grease Monkey8:37AM
The second thing is justifying unsocial behavior. I don’t think it is acceptable and while I have been known to exhibit those behaviors, I’ve regretted it - particularly when I see it in others.
Nothing like getting a taste of our own medicine to make us realize what jerks we were.