Guys, as I've posted before, Oregon has new speeding laws. This column proves that it doesn't matter who you are or what you're driving. Following is a cut & paste of a column in the 7 January 2007 OREGONIAN:
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Major stupid and Judge Kurshner
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Back in October, Oregon State Police nailed Michael Jay Mitchell, 19, for piloting his '99 Toyota Corolla at 117 mph as he flew into Gresham westbound on U.S. 26.
On an afternoon in December, an unmarked patrol car tracked Paula Jean Kurshner, 60, jetting through Wood Village on Interstate 84 at 103 mph.
On a fatal morning back in April, a high-speed . . .
Wait a minute.
Paula Kurshner? The Honorable Paula Kurshner? University of Oregon grad? Lewis & Clark Law School? Multnomah County Circuit judge?
The one and only. Going one-oh-three in her Audi A4.
I've never gone 103. A quarter-century ago, I took an Alfa Spider up over 90 on the wind-swept plains of west Texas. I'm comfortable passing semis in the high 80s in California's San Joaquin Valley.
But 103? Not even when team manager John Dick sent me out in one of those DeAtley Camaros at Portland International Raceway back in the day did I push the pedal to 103.
According to the state police, that means I'm increasingly out of fashion. In the first six months of 2006, OSP troopers cited 258 drivers for touring the state at speeds of 100 mph or higher. Eighteen speed freaks pushed the needle past 116.
More than half the drivers cited were 24 or younger; 80 percent were male. Kurshner may be close to the state record for her gender in the senior division. Since January 2005, OSP has cited only one other woman 60 or older moving at these speeds.
"I have no explanation," Kurshner said last week, noting that she was in no particular hurry. "I was out in the gorge. I was driving too fast. I made a mistake. I know that that happens. It just has never happened to me."
Kurshner's driving history supports her claim. I could find no record of a parking ticket, much less another speeding violation.
And give Kurshner credit. She didn't pull a Greg Smith. Back in 2002, the Republican legislator from Heppner was snared zipping through a 20-mph school zone at more than double the legal limit.
Smith responded like, well, a third-grader. "He told the officers that he was a legislator and on his way to the Capitol," said Lt. Bill Kohlmeyer, a Salem police spokesman, "and that they didn't have the authority to stop him because of legislative immunity."
Kurshner pleaded no contest to her speeding ticket and a second violation for "following too close." In her letter to the court, the judge admitted "it could be proven that I was going over 30 miles over the posted speed," but added, "I do not believe I was going over 100 miles per hour."
She further noted, "There were no cars around me, and I do not believe that I was following anyone too closely." However, Kurshner said, "I have decided not to contest this matter due to my occupation."
"You know," Kurshner told me, "I have cases in juvenile court where kids do something out of the ordinary and where I say, 'I hope this is major stupid and it will never happen again.'
"This was major stupid. It will never happen again."
Owing to a year-old state law that targets drivers who top 100 and keep on truckin', Kurshner was fined $1,182 -- of a maximum $1,345 -- by Judge Pro Tem Terry Hannon, and her license was suspended for 30 days. "If I have public enemy No. 1, I give them the full 90-day suspension," Hannon said. "She had a perfectly clean driving record."
Well, she did. Now, she has a show-stopping speeding citation and a stinging sense of regret. As the trooper walked away, Kurshner said, she wasn't focused on the fine or the embarrassment: "I just remember thinking this is really stupid. Other than that, there's not much more I can say."
Steve Duin: 503-221-8597; 1320 S.W. Broadway, Portland, OR 97201
steveduin@news.oregonian.com http://steveduin.blogs.oregonlive.com
You know, having a high performance car in Oregon just isn't the fun it was back when we had a "basic rule" speed law...
