Posted on 09/17/2010 10:18:22 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Going 96 mph on a 65-mph highway is enough to land a speeder in serious legal trouble.
Thats 31 mph over the speed limit, and its 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 theyll likely walk out of with a suspended license.
On Wednesday night, state police stopped a motorcyclist they said was clocked at 147 mph. Thats 82 mph over the limit.
That is probably the highest speed Ive ever seen, and Ive 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 theyve 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 hes 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 Wednesdays 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 motorcycles speed on radar, according to state police. The officer pulled out, lights flashing, to signal the motorcyclist over.
Pinkerton said police wouldnt chase a vehicle going that fast because it would put other drivers in harms 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 persons 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 cant 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.
Theres no special class under state law for drivers going as much as 82 mph over the limit because its so unheard of, Schreffler said. So despite the extreme circumstances, PennDOT officials, as much as they might like to, cannot impose penalties outside whats specified by law, she said. But the motorcyclist in Wednesdays 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.
It’s just as well I never owned one of those monsters, or I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be answering your post. Way too much fun.
LOL,,,Was that You??,,,;0)
I had a new 68 SS/396/375hp waiting for me at the airport
when I came home from the war,,,
It would blow a 435hp Vette off the road on top end...;0)
Heh. That would be US 101 and it's a tempting area to speed in. More is the pity, because it's really beautiful country.
They've long since corrected it. That stretch of road is now always patrolled and one of the biggest speed traps in the US. My final day as a speeder when I was young, was to try to make San Luis Obispo to Anaheim in 2 hours. Got nailed in Thousand Oaks.
Fortunately for me, the cop wrote me up for 1 mph less than where the most serious penalties kicked in. Fortunately for everyone else, I learned my lesson and haven't willfully broken the speed limit since. Win-win, I suppose.
I still drive 75-80 everyday on the freeways, sometimes 85-90 depending on traffic.
not always...see post 51
I perfer the term “Crash Test Dummy”
Would that make organ donors “udder nitwits”.
It took forever to pry the wife out of the passenger seat when we arrived at Mom's house.
Back in the day (60’s) we never knew how fast we were going...All we knew was when the speedometer went out of site, we were movin’, and that happened a lot with many of the ‘stock’ autos on the road...
Very cool, except that you have passengers when you break the sound barrier.
I'm sorry, but that is too funny. lol Saw a Porsche Cabriolet take off at a light and leave a fella who was gonna race him looking like he was absolutely standing still.
I spent a couple of miserable nights in Blythe with a horrible cold while driving back to Knoxville, TN from Davis a couple of years ago. It’s such a desolate place that I decided the locals, during the 1950s, must hve decided to improve it by leasing it to the Federal government for atmospheric nuclear tests. Unfortunatelhy, even the nukes didn’t do much good.
Oh, kiss my Fahrvergnügen.
However, the receipt of a driver’s license in many of those countries requires a lot more time and money to acquire than getting one in America
True, makes me wonder just how in God's good grace that I survived all the stupid things I did in my cars ........
Indiana State Trooper: "Son, do you know how fast you were going?"
Me: "No Sir."
Indiana State Trooper: "Do you have a speedometer in this car, Son?"
Me: "Yes Sir."
Indiana State Trooper: "Did you look at it?"
Me: "No sir, I was keeping my eyes on the road where they belong."
My then blushing bride swore I was going to jail, much to her surprise I got back in the car with a ticket for 75mph in a 55mph and a $90 fine. I was doing 126mph when I finally noticed the Indiana State Trooper's lights in my rear view mirror still waaaaaaay behind me.
Probably a good thing I did pull over or I'm sure I'd have gone to jail. I'm damn' sure glad I don't drive like that anymore, I'm lucky I survived all the stupid crap I did.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.