At 147 mph, highway safety is just a blur

The Patriot-News ^ | September 17, 2010 | Liam Migdail-Smith

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Going 96 mph on a 65-mph highway is enough to land a speeder in serious legal trouble.

That’s 31 mph over the speed limit, and it’s the threshold between a regular speeding violation and the more egregious offense of “excessive speeding,” which earns violators a meeting with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation that they’ll likely walk out of with a suspended license.

On Wednesday night, state police stopped a motorcyclist they said was clocked at 147 mph. That’s 82 mph over the limit.

“That is probably the highest speed I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been at PennDOT nine years now,” PennDOT spokeswoman Fritzi Schreffler said.

The motorcyclist might be one of the fastest speeders caught in the midstate. Schreffler and Trooper Tom Pinkerton, a state police spokesman, said they’ve never seen reports of people caught at speeds that are even close to 147 mph.

The identity of the 24-year-old Enola man will be released after he’s charged when toxicology reports come back indicating whether he was under the influence of alcohol, police said.

In 2003, a Carbon County man was caught while going 182 mph in his Lamborghini Diablo.

In Wednesday’s case, an officer waiting in the construction zone on Interstate 81 northbound in Silver Spring Township — just before Route 114 — caught the red 2003 Honda CBR 600RR motorcycle’s speed on radar, according to state police. The officer pulled out, lights flashing, to signal the motorcyclist over.

Pinkerton said police wouldn’t chase a vehicle going that fast because it would put other drivers in harm’s way. But, he said, “You still have to pull out and afford the driver the opportunity to know that police are wanting him to pull over.”

Police said they caught up with the motorcyclist when he slowed down to avoid a cluster of three tractor-trailers.

“He should count himself lucky that the tractor-trailers were ahead,” Schreffler said.

It takes a person’s brain 1.5 seconds to identify an issue ahead in the road and react to it, said Greg Sullenberger of Crashteams Pennsylvania & West Virginia, an accident-investigation agency. Someone going 147 mph would travel about 322 feet in those 1.5 seconds, making it unlikely he or she would be able to avoid an accident, he said.

If someone crashes a motorcycle — or even a car — at 147 mph, experts agree it would take a miracle for him to come out alive.

“Your internal organs just can’t survive that,” Sullenberger said.

Fast-moving motorcycles present a special danger for other vehicles. Because a motorcycle is a narrow object, it would slice through a car rather than just hit it, injuring or killing the driver or passengers. “It will sort of cut into a car like a knife into butter,” Sullenberger said.

A speeder who survives going 147 mph could face steep legal penalties.

Drivers going more than 31 mph over the speed limit have to attend a special hearing with PennDOT, Schreffler said. That can result in a range of penalties, such as retaking the driving test, mandated driving classes and a 15-day license suspension.

There’s no special class under state law for drivers going as much as 82 mph over the limit because it’s so unheard of, Schreffler said. So despite the extreme circumstances, PennDOT officials, as much as they might like to, cannot impose penalties outside what’s specified by law, she said. But the motorcyclist in Wednesday’s incident likely will see doubled fines because he was clocked in a work zone, she said.

In addition to speeding violations, someone going that fast could face charges of reckless driving or recklessly endangering another person, depending on whether there were other vehicles on the road, Pinkerton said.

[dixiechick2000]

You are a real sweetie for defending Sara. And, a real gentleman, too. I can’t let this pass without telling you that I admire you, the standards you set for yourself...and, mostly, your manners.

If she was an old lady, she wouldn’t have kids wanting to drive the ‘stang. ;o)

[SaraJohnson]

I guess “old” is relative. :)

[dixiechick2000]

So is “young”. ;o)

Enjoy it, because it’s fleeting...

[fabian]

I once hit 65 mph on the 101 in my ‘72 honda 3 cylinder mini car...does that count??

[combat_boots]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGNBBZDRqFo

Black Denim Trousers
The Cheers lyrics
[Words and Music by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller]

He wore black denim trousers and motorcycle boots
And a black leather jacket with an eagle on the back
He had a hopped-up ‘cycle that took off like a gun
That fool was the terror of Highway 101

Well, he never washed his face and he never combed his hair
He had axle grease embedded underneath his fingernails
On the muscle of his arm was a red tattoo
A picture of a heart saying “Mother, I love you”

He had a pretty girlfriend by the name of Mary Lou
But he treated her just like he treated all the rest
And everybody pitied her ‘cause everybody knew
He loved that doggone motorcycle best

He wore black denim trousers and motorcycle boots
And a black leather jacket with an eagle on the back
He had a hopped-up ‘cycle that took off like a gun
That fool was the terror of Highway 101

—— Instrumental Interlude ——

Mary Lou, poor girl, she pleaded and she begged him not to leave
She said, I’ve got a feeling if you ride tonight I’ll grieve
But her tears were shed in vain and her every word was lost
In the rumble of his engine and the smoke from his exhaust

Then he took off like the Devil and there was fire in his eyes
He said, I’ll go a thousand miles before the sun can rise
But he hit a screamin’ diesel that was California-bound
And when they cleared the wreckage, all they found

Was his black denim trousers and motorcycle boots
And a black leather jacket with an eagle on the back
But they couldn’t find the ‘cycle that took off like a gun
And they never found the terror of Highway 101

(More updated version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9VnOnGufr4&feature=related)