WHOA!! Good Lord a TRAFFIC JUDGE gets it RIGHT. Damn..

[dmp]

Wow...Finally common sense applied to speed.

Biker cleared after 128mph chase

A US motorcyclist who zoomed through Nebraska at over 128mph (205kph) has been cleared of reckless driving.

udge John Steinheider reluctantly ruled that speed alone was not enough to prove reckless driving under Nebraska law.

Biker Jacob Carman accelerated away from a traffic policeman after he was clocked at 82mph (131km/h).

But Judge Steinheider acquitted him of reckless driving, fining Mr Carman only for having out of date documents.

"As much as it pains me to do it, speed and speed alone is not sufficient to establish reckless driving," the judge said.

State prosecutors admitted that they could have won a conviction for speeding, but had opted to pursue a charge of reckless driving.

Deer danger

Highway patrolman Tim Salmon told the court in Nebraska City that he gave chase after seeing two motorcycles speeding east of Highway 43.

While one biker turned away towards the nearby town of Palmyra, and was never intercepted, Mr Salmon pursued Jacob Carman, who accelerated away from him.

Mr Carman was eventually stopped and had his keys confiscated while Mr Salmon headed off to try and catch the second biker.

"It would have been an awful scene if a motorcycle would have struck a deer," he told the court.

Acquitting Mr Carman, Judge Steinheider said: "If you had had a passenger, there would be no question of conviction.

"If there had been other cars on the roadway, if you would've went into the wrong lane or anything, I would have convicted you.

"In my street mind it's reckless driving, in my legal mind it's not."

Jacob Carman was fined $300 (£171) for driving without insurance and other infringements.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4510992.stm

 

[insein]

Ha! What a dumbass cop. I'll get this sumbitch for reckless driving instead of just writing a speeding ticket anbd getting on with life. Still they found something fuck him for. $300 for insurance? They got what they wanted they just had a rare occasion where they looked foolish doing it. In reality the guy saved money by paying $300 for a fine instead of $5000/yr for insurance.

 

[dmp]

Ha! What a dumbass cop. I'll get this sumbitch for reckless driving instead of just writing a speeding ticket anbd getting on with life. Still they found something fuck him for. $300 for insurance? They got what they wanted they just had a rare occasion where they looked foolish doing it. In reality the guy saved money by paying $300 for a fine instead of $5000/yr for insurance.

Yup. I honestly can't believe otherwise smart people get all upset about 130mph. Wow. Hell, if a guy was riding alone, in an otherwise safe manner at 85mph on a deserted highway, I'd just let him go, if I were a cop. The only reason the guy went to 130+ is because the cop chased him.

 

[theHawk]

I agree that speed alone should not determine reckless driving. But in this case the guy took off and speed up after a cop was on him. He shoulda been fined/thrown in jail for evading police.

 

[Hobbit]

He better be glad he wasn't in Arkansas. Wreckless driving is automatic if you get a speeding ticket for, I think, more than 20 mph over the limit.

 

[Mr. P]

State prosecutors admitted that they could have won a conviction for speeding, but had opted to pursue a charge of reckless driving.

Screw-ups! I’d a gone for eluding, speed wouldn’t have mattered a bit.

 

[Annie]

Screw-ups! I’d a gone for eluding, speed wouldn’t have mattered a bit.

Yep, but they did go for the reckless, bad call. My brother would have had their asses.

 

[fuzzykitten99]

wonder if he was trying to top 205-Tilly?