apparently, ALL traffic tickets in utah are misdemeanors. that way they can issue a warrant if you don't appear/pay.

i'll do the "plea and abeyance" thing. if the court balks, it goes to court, with an attorney.

...Why spend the time and money to paint the lines if everyone's gonna decide to use their own "judgement"? You've already admitted guilt...just pay the fine....

ummm... i am driving the motorcycle. i can and do exercise my judgment, all the time, as to what is safe for me. i think there is even a law that is written to the effect that the "driver is in control of the vehicle," etc.

anyway, i am not crying. it was just silly, as there were cars and other motorcycles traveling well above the posted limit of 55. somehow, this officer, just thought it was my day.

Driving to the coast and back recently on a twisty road I liked, I noticed that many of my old passing straights were now double yellow lines. Plenty of room & visibility for a faster machine to pass...probably not enough room for a Prius to pass.

I discussed this with a friend via email...he explained this change happened nationwide some time ago...new federal edict. (Thank you Joan Claybrook minions).

Of course, any state NOT complying is subject to loss of federal highway funds, so the spray trucks got busy...and ticket revenues increased, I'm sure...

Nanny Government...gotta love it.

ummm... i am driving the motorcycle. i can and do exercise my judgment, all the time, as to what is safe for me.

You may have thought it was safe for you, but you should have thought that it is illegal. Again, you're guilty, just pay the fine. Why do so many people feel the need to not accept the consequences of their willful actions? Sorry if that sounds harsh, but that's the reality of it.

I also enjoyed the fact that Vermont DMV has no reciprocity with its counterpart in Massachusetts. Which is why my buddy and I would ride up in VT instead of NH.

If you wanna dance, you gotta pay the band...........

what roads, Paul?

34

VT is great. NH ain't too bad either.

I can't believe how many folks are saying "just pay the fine".

Seems the modern American has given up. The original pretext behind this great nation was to be one where the government, and the laws it writes, were to serve the people. Now many of you seem entirely accepting of the 180 degree about-face we've experienced in that relationship where today, the people serve the government and the litany of laws it has written.

This case is a great example of where we have arrived. No harm was done. There was no potential to have done any harm. The idea that our government can now drag a citizen into court under such circumstances, and not provide that citizen the benefit of due process (a jury trial, representation, right to appeal, etc.) both saddens and enrages me. The general population's acceptance of this change in our relationship with our government perplexes me. I guess many do not see it as "worth it" to fight the small battles in an effort to reverse this relationship, and to return it to its proper order.

We have, through our laziness and apathy, made it far too easy for our government to badger us with and endless laundry list of nuisance laws. There is now a law to cover just about every aspect of our lives. "Violators" of such petty laws tend to be, for the most part, otherwise fine and upstanding citizens. Men and women who are "too busy", who no longer think it is "worth it" to fight back. They are really just too lazy and apathetic; they have really just given up and have subjected themselves to this over bearing government authority in their lives. The worst part is, since they seem to be the majority, they are dragging those of us who demand better, who demand a return to the proper citizen/government relationship, down with them. Laziness and apathy are carrying the day. How sad.

+1

Never, ever give up your day in court.

I'm all for less government intrusion. The fact is that he willfully broke an existing law. Pay the fine. If he wants to spend his time trying to get the law changed, that's a different issue.

Fight it. If it was on a straight with a clear line of sight, find another similar area (same speed limit, too) and make your case. I agree with JH- if we're not willing to fight the little battles, we may as well put down the keyboards and start grazing in a pasture.

Almost everytime someone balks about a speeding ticket on this board,
folks chime in about how it's a "cost of doing business on your fantastic machine. If you were speeding and you know it, take the lumps and move on."

Why is this different? We all know he did nothing "really" wrong, but he was wrong place, wrong time, wrong cop.

Even though I appreciate the spirit of Jeff's post, he himself has shown with his experiences that the moral high ground has little weight in the court of law. Should nynor give up a few days off of work, to go to the courthouse and end up with the same fine+costs? Sure, if he wants to.

The ghosts of America's great patriots aren't going to help him pay the fine, and they're not going to cover for him at work either.

Fighting each and every such charge leveled against us is how we need to fight this insanity. Clogging up our legal system with each and every citizen fighting each and every petty enforcement of petty laws is the only way we are ever going to reverse this tide. Demonstrate to our government, on a case by case basis, that we are simply not going to take it anymore. Working with them in a cooporative effort, or asking them nicely for our authority back, has not been working. Working to change, or better yet eliminate such useless law on a law-by-law basis will simply not work - it hasn't yet. We have been smothered by too many of them. The only solution at this point is to fight each and every individual case until our courts get so backed up as to cause this current level and nature of enforcement to collapse under its own weight. Make it so our government understands that each and every time it levels a charge against a citizen, we will demand our day in court, and we will demand due process. If it is important enough to charge us, it is important enough to ensure we receive both. If it is not important enough for that, then they need to leave us the hell alone.

+1

Does this make you feel better?:)

Motorcyclist taunts pursuing trooper after crash, says WSP | KING5.com | Seattle Area Local News

What if they build bigger court houses and hire more judges?

So the Fed mandated this so the states would have more revenue?

Not buying that at all.

When it comes to keeping a reign on dicks who tend to think THEY know better than anyone else what is and isn't safe passing i find there is value in SOME nannying.

I LOVE a good spirited drive but crossing double yellows, no matter how conservatively long, is not on the menu.

Sounds like someone is more than happy that "they" have told him how to live his life, down to the finest detail. Perfectly comfortable that "they" don't trust his judgement.

So when "they" decide your, let's say guns, are no longer o.k., are "they" still right? Is anyone who defies their decision and judgement a "jack ass?"

It's precisely this kind of thinking, this unquestioning deference to this notion that "they" always know better that has gotten us into this mess. I'm surprised you can't see that.