Sunday 8th Aug

[ROB OWENS]

The good news:
Brunch was...Chopped roast pork in big roll with apple sauce at big classic car and model aircraft show near us.
Had great weekend at this huge show that includes model steam trains, radio controlled cars and bikes, dancing troups (mmm!), Military vehicles, but mainly hundreds of classic cars. Went on my own, so had no-one crying 'I'm fed up now'...

The bad news:
Came home SAT eve to find I'd been done for speeding....I was doing 35 in a 30 limit!!!! Big F***kin deal!!!
Our country is now FULL of roadside cameras costing millions.
Get this tho...£60 fine and 3 points on my licence, OR £90 to attend a police course but no other fines or points...to teach me how not to be such a FAST DRIVER and how not HURRY etc...All this for 35mph!!!
I've been driving 34 years and this is only second speeding ticket in that time and I get THIS SH*t.
Sorry, but had to get it all out...
Hope you had nicer weekend mail.

[jas]

I had a soggy turkey and cheese sandwich from a gas station. Our local newspaper said their sandwiches are good. Don't believe everything you read.

Rob, sorry to hear your plight - sounds like they've got you by the short hairs. Don't you all have those revolving license plates? James Bond was so far ahead of his time!

Here, one of our few remaining freedoms - now that you can't smoke pot at rock concerts anymore - is the freedom to ignore speed limits. When you get caught, as I did recently, you then go onto a website, pay them $35 and download detailed instructions on how to beat the ticket. They guarantee that if you follow their directions and don't beat the ticket, they'll refund your $35.

I went to court, loaded for bear with my folder overflowing with pages from the $35 report. The two cops who ticketed me met me in the waiting room and allowed me to settle by paying the fine but avoiding the points. Then they added insult to injury by telling me to not drive so fast in the future. Asshats.

-John

[Aldwyn]

I went to the Howard County Fair today... so I had junk. Italian sausage in a small hogie roll, and a mixed soft ice cream dipped in chocolate.

Good luck with that in Maryland, JAS. The police can't do that here... only the judge can.

If a cop pulls me over for speeding, I'm busted. Write me a ticket. BUT...

I hate red light cameras with a passion! Smokes of friggin Orwellian society... <tries his best not to get political..> (must resist urge to rant... MUST RESIST URGE TO RANT...)

But, I will offer this... which seems to work... http://www.phantomplate.com/photoblocker.html

Ok, that aside...

It does blow that you got a ticket for going 5 over. That's beat. Usually, in these parts, the police wont even look at you unless you are doing 9 over. And some of the cops can be cool... I have been 21 over, and the cop will drop it to 10 over to avoid that nastier fines.

And in PA once, as I was driving to Niagara Falls, I was pulled over for 80 in a 55. Rather then getting me for speeding, the cop gave me a ticket for driving in the passing lane without reason, and told me to slow it down to no more then 70. A MUCH cheaper ticket. HA! I almost bought him a six pack. The guy was so cool.

But, those incidents do their job... they do indeed remind me to slow down.

Peace,
Aldwyn "What Do They Expcect Me To Do With 270 Horses Anyway?" :D

[irwcustom]

I had a tarditional British 'sunday roast' - I'm well looked after.

Yep - had a speeding ticket myself, but don't speed basically. It was a temporary 30 from 60. I remember seeing the van. I'm fairly sure there were no signs for the temp roadworks that didn't start for another two months. But I paid up like a mug and took my 3 points on the chin. Then in the local paper I read about a guy who dug his heels in and contested it. - they must have caught literally hundreds that morning. He turned up in court and the police didn't ..so he got off Scott free - fair play to him, but it does rub it in a bit.

I didn't get the option of turning up to the course - I was doing what was effectively 48 in a '30'. Go to the course would be my advice - they start off apparently by showing you a crystal clear image of you in your car - you can't deny that it's you. Look like your listening to their lecture and try to put it behind you Rob.

I definately went through one red light in that States and I'm sure I turned right on a red where I shouldn't have the time before when I visited. Driving in Greece was fun - especially getting hit by 'Speiros' coming up one of those mountainous tracks.

[johnreardon]

Roast Chicken + vegetables.

I've been 'done' many times, mainly when I had a BMW 5 series, which was quite pokey.

Worst one was for doing 96 on the A1(M), just north of Stevenage. I had been doing 110 overtaking a huge stream of lorries. Started slowing down and got done by two policemen with a mobile speedgun. They chased and stopped me. Luckily they only had only clocked me at 96. 4 more miles per hour and I would have lost my licence.

These days, I try to stick to the limits. A lot easier in my diesel Ford Mondeo Estate.;)

[Greg Jones]

Togo's turkey and roast beef sub on a wheat roll.

YUMMY!

[BoyMambo]

Fresh Pasta with a cream, ham and musroom sauce. A glass of nice riesling and a lovely coffee.

I am not really sure, but I remember something from deep in the bowels of my brain, or was that deep within the brain of my bowels, that hairspray, spayed onto the licence plate does the same trick. (But considering it's dodgy source, I would take it with a grain of salt.)

[Aldwyn]

Not to mention that hairspray will come off with moisture!

Peace,
Aldwyn

[irwcustom]

You can get Licence / number plates over here that cameras don't detect - yes of course... they are illegal. Bikers usually know where to get them and use them, which has puzzled me since if approaching a speed camera on a bike, you can't see the number plate.

Over here speed cameras are trreated as small businesses. They have an outlay of about 13K GBP ($22.5) and they have a payback time. If they don't make enough money where they are situated, they get moved. They have to painted bright yellow and they have to have warning signs to say they are there. This gives the law the 'told you so' factor:rolleyes:

I saw one on the way to Birmingham the other week that had been run over by a JCB / lorry or something.

[redmax61]

PB&J.

I can relate. I got a ticket a few weeks ago. Parking too close to a traffic control signal. The sign is in my yard on the corner. I was parked in front of my house. Exactly where I've parked since I bought my house 6 years ago. Same thing with all of the other people in my neighborhood that own houses on corner lots. The female cadet (B#$&!) that gave out some 35 tickets that day is a very popular person down at the station. My neighbor told me that in the 20 years that he's been living here, that was the most petty BS he's ever seen.

As a side note: Apparently, I am allowed park in front of my own driveway as long as I can prove to the judge that it was my car parked there.

[pembell]

You can get Licence / number plates over here that cameras don't detect - yes of course... they are illegal. Bikers usually know where to get them and use them, which has puzzled me since if approaching a speed camera on a bike, you can't see the number plate.

Over here speed cameras are trreated as small businesses. They have an outlay of about 13K GBP ($22.5) and they have a payback time. If they don't make enough money where they are situated, they get moved. They have to painted bright yellow and they have to have warning signs to say they are there. This gives the law the 'told you so' factor:rolleyes:

I saw one on the way to Birmingham the other week that had been run over by a JCB / lorry or something.Years ago, Performance Bikes (or Bike - can't remember) magazine ran a brilliant article on spoofing speed cameras. They tried clingfilm over the plate (useless), and a variety of other things, including having a guy sitting backwards on the pillion chucking aluminium "chaff" as they ripped by!
The two things that worked were a slave flash unit on your plate which triggers when the speed camera flash goes and over exposes the plate, and spraying your plate with chain lube (sticky stuff that doesn't wash off), which just picked up road dirt for a few days and eventually obscured the numbers.

However, I'd recommend the apparently popular approach of rambling along day-dreaming then screeching to a near halt whenever you see a camera, causing a pile up in your rear view mirror. All in the name of safety of course.

Edit: Airport ham and cheese roll!

[irwcustom]

Had an argument of sorts about the speed limit on dual carriage ways. My mate and others said 70 unless shown other wise ..I said 60 - national speed limit unless shown otherwise and 70 only on motorways. I err on the side of caution anyway so will tell myself it's 60. Anybody know for sure?:confused:

[johnreardon]

Had an argument of sorts about the speed limit on dual carriage ways. My mate and others said 70 unless shown other wise ..I said 60 - national speed limit unless shown otherwise and 70 only on motorways. I err on the side of caution anyway so will tell myself it's 60. Anybody know for sure?:confused:
Darren, I used to think it was 60, however, it is 70 unless a limit is shown. I regularly travel on the A43 towards the M1 Junction 15a and there are two cameras there. Never been flashed doing 70. My mate is a van driver and he confirmed it is 70.

[jas]

Uhhhh, folks. When you need ME to tell you something like this, you're in big trouble:

Sunday was August 7th, not 8th as in the thread title.

-John

[johnreardon]

Uhhhh, folks. When you need ME to tell you something like this, you're in big trouble:

Sunday was August 7th, not 8th as in the thread title.

-John
This is for next year John. We like to be organised.

[ROB OWENS]

Uhhhh, folks. When you need ME to tell you something like this, you're in big trouble:

Sunday was August 7th, not 8th as in the thread title.

-John
Ahh, but when I wrote it, it was just after midnight, so my brain was still on Sunday, but it was indeed Monday!!! hahaha...tell you...my Scottish medicine works wonders, but addles the brain...which of course is why we drink it...err...isn't it??