To the Office

Sometimes I decide to take La Bomba to the office. Its 60 and sunny, and a good day for the backroads to Madison NJ. You pass Jockey Hollow State Park, continue on Tempe Wick Road, through horse country, west of Morristown, into the enclave of Madison. Its about a 30 minute drive, but is way to short. Shift though the gears, and wind it out. Blissful! Puts a smile on my face everytime. My staff can hear pull in and know its going to be a better than our normal good day. I just though I'd share. As Van the Man says, "Momma says the'll be days like this"

hey Doc - it's drives like that that reaffirm the fact your car is worth every penny! I'm sure your office staff appreciate 'good days at the office' when the boss is in a good mood!

Peace - Out!

Jimbo, Get ready for a big wet one in Carlisle! Matt and I are getting excited to participate again this year. What a great hobby and wonderful people to share it with!

Hi Dr Howard---certainly looking forward to seeing you and La Bomba at Carlisle this year!

Do NOT let any patients see that gorgeous car!

All the best on your drive to PA!

Drive, enjoy and smile. That kind of sums up our hobby doesn't it? See you and Matt in a couple of weeks. Looking forward to it.
Hoss

Hey Jack, Hoss Can't wait to see you guys again. Man, that Type 4 motor is a killer. I was THIS CLOSE to doing one instead of the 3.2, but Raby's 2465cc motor was close to 12k w/o transaxel, scared me away. Can't wait to hear all about it. Its 4pm and I can't wait till the last patient, so I can get back in and drive home. What a beautiful day for a drive!!!!!!

Howard phrased his feelings very well. Which, by the way is exactly why I chose to ride a motorcycle to work nearly every day for over 30 years. Why should commuting be confined to riding in a "commodity box" from one location to another? I really pity those people.

Howard:

Got up this morning, walked the "Terrible Jacks" and then wandered on down to my "Office".....my 2-car detached garage where Pearl is sleeping.

We've continued to be super busy since we got here (Back in New England for the Summer) and I haven't had time to even try to start the Speedster yet. Getting close, though - weather is mixed over the next few days so I may get a bit ahead and have time to get her running. I'm anticipating the usual grouchiness from carbs that have been sitting for 6 months, but we'll see.

After that, I plan on doing a LOT of day trips to make up for not having Pearl near for the past 6 months. We both need it. The roads around here are a lot like what you've described, although the speed limits keep dropping while we're away. I got a warning last Summer for doing "over 55" in a 30 zone and escaped "the big one" due to my South Carolina plates and the cop being an ex-Marine. I'll take any gifts they'll throw at me!

gn

Howard--$12k is a fair price for an air cooled engine that exceeds the best available Speedster engine that was available back in the day. I considered a 911 mill but wanted a teutonic type power plant for my car--thus the Raby monster mill.

Your car is without peer however and as we say here in Dogpatch---Doc, you done good.

Can't wait to see you at Carlisle!!

Jack, I know that the price was not out of line with what I was considering doing, Nikasil, sleeves, etc etc. Was going to build it with Raby too, and have Henry install it. Raby said that I'd be somewhere close to 200 reliable hp. The motor was about 150lbs lighter too. No small consideration. Heaven dropped a full 3.2l drivetrain in my lap, and went with the 6 hole/915 for the same coin the Raby mill would have cost w/o tranny. Im happy though, It ran and sounded great today. By the way Gordon, I got nailed for doing 38 in a 30 zone. Cop wasns't impressed with my credentials, NJ towns need the money I guess, so the tolerance for a "cushion" has declined. Many friends of mine have been ticketed for what would have been warnings a year ago.

Doc, there's no accounting for taste my friend! Obviously you have jealous officers out there! LOL.. You know for a fact that any one of us SOC'ers would have given you a warning for a test drive!

THIS JUST IN!!

Speaking of tickets and I'm definitly NOT making this up......

There are about 8 miles of I-95 going through the town of Ridgeland, South Carolina, somewhere between mile markers 16 (the exit for Hilton Head) and 26-ish.

The town has decided to install RADAR-triggered speed cameras on both the North and Southbound sides of I-95 to catch anyone over the speed limits, take a picture of the car, driver and license plates and MAIL THEM A SPEEDING TICKET!!!

The town counsel has determined that there are NO Federal or State of County laws to prevent them from doing so, OR collecting the ticket revenue.

They say that they will post signs on I-95 telling drivers about the cameras (I can just see them - something 8-1/2" X 11" on the side of the road).

I read this in the Beaufort Gazette - here's the URL for you all...

http://www.islandpacket.com/2010/05/02/1226848/smile-speeders-sc-town-using-i.html

gn

Bastards. Tax hungry sons of bitches that won't live within their means. Too tight to hire and use cops to patrol so they gub for money this way.

I have seen license plate holders with some special covering for the license plate that won'[t show up on one of those cameras.

Hi Guys,

welcome to the joys of the Gatso Camera !! We have had them in the UK for at least 10 yrs.....First you know is the sickening flash of the Gatso as it takes a pic of you and records your speed....Ticket arrives in the mail a week later. We also get points....typically 3 points for a few mph over the limit. Hit 12 in a 4 yr period and our licence is gone......You can easily do 12 pints on one trip if you are not carefull !!

in recent years we also got average speed cameras, they average your speed over a measured distance, say 50 miles, exceed the limit and the ticket arrives....

We also got mobile cameras, a gatso in a van, randomly located

Some say is entirely about raising revenue......as if the govt would do that...

Cheers
GErry

BTW, none of the exotic coatings and reflective plates to fool the cameras have been proven to work....

You can however buy camera databases for your sat nav....helps a little

Let me say, that I respect the police. I know they are doing their "job", they put their lives on the line, etc, etc.... but I was not an isolated incident. A number of my neighbors, good, law abiding people all, have felt their presence recently(last year or so). I won't use the word "harrassment", but I have stopped giving to the PAL, Fraternal Order of Police, and other police related organizations, in protest. This may wind up bachfiring, because people will lose respect for the job they do. If you can drop a name, a friend, someone you know from little league, a patient's father whose on the job, You can catch a break. If I wqas doing 50 in a 30, sure, officer, I wasn't monitoring my speed properly, my "Bad", but 38 in a 30 on a country two lane. PLEEEEEAZE!!!!!

Gerry:

I've got a Tom Tom Nav device and while the home page tells me that speed camera locations are available, they are not (yet) available for anywhere in America.

Maybe something like this (and all those cameras they supposedly have in Phoenix and Chicago) will change things.

I totally agree with Jack, tho........

I suspect the police officers on the road will suffer the most from this over jealous approach to generating income. The police force/government collects the ticket proceeds and the general public, which include many that feel they have been unjustly ticketed, lose a measure of respect for law enforcement. In the end, everyone loses, but the 'beat cop' will bear the brunt of the public's dislike. I'm sure many police officers feel like they're in between a rock and a hard place.
Ron

Let's get the BS out the way right up front...speed cameras are not and never have been about safety. Sorry Ridgeland Mayor Gary Hodges, but they are about revenue, pure and simple. Typically, 40% for the company managing the cameras and all the paperwork and 60% to the town.

Now for a (hopefully) constructive lesson for you SC residents or those that drive through.

Arizona has had speed cameras for several years. This despite the fact that the state attorney general is on record as questioning the constitutionality of a machine acting as accuser, judge and jury.

The good news is, Arizona state law requires the issuance of any civil or criminal action be done by personal service. That means a human, handing you a warrant or citation. And that warrant or citation MUST be personally served within 120 days from the date the court first hears the complaint.

When a cop hands you a ticket, because of an act he or she observed, that is personal service. An envelope from a contractor arriving in the mail is not.

I will not state in writing that I have or have not posed for an Arizona radar camera ticket. Let's just say that I am veryclose to someone who has. ;) The paperwork that comes in the mail is very threatening and misleading. It alleges you MUST sign away your rights to service and pay up. Sound the BS alarm here! Anyway, this person I am soclose to did indeed ignore the mailed documents. And when one goes to the Maricopa County Court's web site and searches the name and case number, one sees the case has been adjudicated and no judgments are on file. That means "charges dismissed".

So...to you SC folks...if you care, you need to research your own state laws to see if there are similar service provisions. This is the easiest way out of one of these revenue generators. If there are and you see the flash and get a summons mailed to you...don't answer your door and tell family members to not answer the door until your own time period has elapsed.

And a PS, just 'cause it annoys me even more. Redflex, the company that manages the speed cameras for Arizona is freakin Australian!

This is a couple years old, but it does question the legality of the SC cameras:

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/photo-enforcement-illegal-in-south-carolina/#more-337476

Sorry to belabor this issue...but I hate speed cameras!

2009 changes to SC law resulted in the statutes at these links. The "ticket" specs are in section 56-7-20. I'm not lawyer. But reading through this, I believe you can make a good case that tickets coming in the mail from a machine are not legal.

Come on Lane - take one for the team. Speed the Speedster through a speed camera and then fight he good fight. :)

Full Statute
http://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t56c007.htm

April 2009 legislation
http://www.scstatehouse.gov/cgi-bin/query.exe?first=DOC&querytext=3463&category=Legislation&session=118&conid=4445125&result_pos=0&keyval=1183463

Last one, I swear. Unless I find something else.

The place to search is "rules of civil procedures".

Here they are for South Carolina:

http://www.serve-now.com/resources/process-serving-laws/South-Carolina#summi

Scroll down to Summons: Personal service.

Personal service is required. But certified mail/return receipt requested may also be used.

Not sure if traffic violations are included in "summons" as used in this section.

OK, I could not resist one more.

Arizona has been the "leader" in speed cameras.

This great news was just posted on yahoo.com a couple hours ago.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100507/ap_on_re_us/us_arizona_speed_cameras;_ylt=AiGqFg6L8oAjU3CCePUNhxys0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNzc2cwMThlBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNTA3L3VzX2FyaXpvbmFfc3BlZWRfY2FtZXJhcwRjY29kZQNtb3N0cG9wdWxhcgRjcG9zAzQEcG9zAzEEcHQDaG9tZV9jb2tlBHNlYwN5bl9oZWFkbGluZV9saXN0BHNsawNhcml6b25hdG9lbGk-

Paul, you're a service to the community & thanks for the info... ~Alan

Hi Gordon,

My nav is also a Tomtom.

Have a look here http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/activecams.php

A 12 month subscription for UK is around $30 and get you a regular update of camera locations, (and I see they have US databases....).

Also legislation links and an active forum

I don't know how good the US databases are but the UK ones are spot on !

Cheers
Gerry
PS I don't work for them, just value my licence :)

Gerry:

Thanks, much! I'll check it out.

Paul: That Arizona news is encouraging. The key phrase above was: "rules of civil procedures"

Remember, this is South Carolina we're talking about. In the old days, this was the state (and the same county) that started the seccession that resulted in the Civil War (and many people there are still fighting that same war - google "Sons of Confederate Veterans" or "Southern Heritage Society"). Rules of Civil Procedure may or may not apply there - they're taken as mere suggestions. And even if you get a ticket in the mail, you'll still have to return to South Carolina and the Beaufort County Courthouse to fight it - How many peole hurtling through on the Interstate to get somewhereelse will be willing to do THAT??

Just look at our state government: The "Idiot" Governor Sanford with his Argentine floozy, Joe "You Lie!" Wilson who is still trying to block $700 million earmarked for imroving public education there, now ranked next to the bottom Nationally, and Lindsey "Wait! I may change my mind! No! I'm Against that!" Graham.

This especially applies to towns like Ridgeland, which has almost nothing going for it (it has ZERO industry and a jobless rate close to 24%) other than being kinda-sorta close to Hilton Head and can try to build a huge mall by giving ten year, zero property tax breaks to the developer (who is blatently lobbying to get them). THAT just got shot down at the state level, so they're trying to re-coup their losses there by setting up these rediculous speed trap cameras that will be almost invisible on an overpass. If the Feds tell them to vacate a Federal Interstate they'll tie it up for years in court under a "States Rights" smoke screen.

Ah, the South!

Gordo, Sounds like they moved Trenton down south!

The cameras are scattered about town and they 100% about taking money out of our pockets. In Chicago they are actually causing accidents. The story on the street was that in Schaumburg, IL a camera at a busy intersection caught one of the higher ups with his girlfriend in the car. Needless to say that camera was pulled out. But not until it had pulled in several hundred thousand. What a frickin shame. I myself got one in Wayne, IL for not stopping long enough at the Red light on my right turn. I called the Wayne police department after getting my ticket and said to the girl "I am calling in to make my $100.00 donation" She was young and clueless. After she figured it out, I said, I would be happy to give you money, but now that the village just takes it for frivolous tickets, I'll never donate again.

Jeeze.
I can't wait to get a ticket for not having a front license plate!

I got one of those too!

Paul is right, bottom line by law in ANY state you are entitled to face your accuser in a court of law and you can be certain those cameras don't do Court!

LAtest trick here in UK is to get a pull for not having regulation licence plate.....So many "revenue generating" cameras from Gatsos to ANPR and even gas station cameras rely on a standardised font and placement that the police are cracking down on even slightly non standard plates

1984 is late in coming, but it is coming....at least in Britain.
Ron

David is correct. any ticket may be defended court, including a speed camera ticket.

But the aspect unique to the speed camera ticket that I was trying to explain is that the "summons" you receive in the mail may not be a valid summons in your state(repeat that...MAY not). If it is not valid, you have NOT been served, you do not need to reply to the letter, and there is nothing to defend in court.

This is the case in Arizona which requires the personal service.

Again, you need to check your state rules of civil procedure (or the state in which the camera caught you).

Gordon,

I have a TomTom also. I have not yet found a reliable source for USA speed or red light cameras. The site Gerry posted is new to me.

For what it's worth, Arizona has many permanent cameras on the interstate and loop highways around Phoenix and Scottsdale. But they also put up mobile units in marked Police SUVs. On my last trip from Phoenix to/from Sedona, I saw about a half dozen of the mobile units. Mobile units would probably NOT be in any GPS database. Thankfully, all should soon be gone from AZ highways!

On my last trip to Sweden, my TomTom saved me a few times by warning me I was approaching a controlled speed zone. Sweden is filled with beautiful two lane black-top roads signed at 120kph. But as you approach towns, often with signaled intersections, the speed limit drops dramatically to 30 or 40 kph. Many of those intersections have speed cameras.

The TomTom alerted me before every one of them.

Geez, this thread started as "a drive to work". We've driven far beyond that topic!

Welcome to the Madness!

Here in PA, if you have a decent driving record (something shorter than a scroll) and find yourself with a speeding ticket, you can go to court a half hour prior to session and talk to the Municipal Prosecutor.
You can usually get the ticket reduced to a small fine with no points accessed and it doesn't get reported to your insurance company. I've suggested this to a few of the PA SOC guys and it works. ~Alan

Maybe Ive missed something, but just suppose your weren't driving the car at the time the ticket was issued. It seems to me that its the car/registration owner, who may not be the "offending" driver that is being unfairly penalized here. Simply because the car is registered to you, dosen't mean shit. Ive had other people, friends, my own wife who share vehicles. How could this possibly be legal?

Exactly Howard, spot on. I too drove my newly repainted Spyder to work the same day as you. What a nice day and a nice ride. Then do it all over again on the way home!

I don't know amything about speed cameras in NY. But recently(5 years ago) they changed the ticket procedures and ALL tickets are now done using the district attorney, not the officer who ticketed you. There is a police officer there with the ticket, but not necessarily the one who issued it. $$$$$$, it's all about the revenue!

Pretty Much....