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"Mark T. Dame" wrote in :

Jay Honeck wrote:

LA is the only place I've ever ridden where (a) I was actually spat at,
and (b) people actively tried to cut me off.

And I was riding a Gold Wing, with Mary on the back. Not exactly the
"outlaw" biker you might expect would raise people's ire.

A strange bunch, out there in La-la land...

I lived in Long Beach for a couple of years. Although I got my drivers
license in Ohio when I was in High School, I learned how to drive in LA
after I graduated. I didn't ride a motorcycle back then, but it looked
pretty insane. I think the drivers out there get mad at bikers because
they're jealous: CA allows (or at least did back then) bikers to drive
between lanes so they're less confined by traffic. But when the traffic
is bumper to bumper at 80Mph and you see a biker whiz by at 150 between
cars... Well, Darwin will catch up eventually.


-m

Back when I was learning to ride in the late 80's, the law was
unclear about 'white lining'. The state itself didn't prohibit
it but some cities did. It was hard to know where it was legal
so the advise was not to do it. Well, after years of riding I
learned it actually has benefits if done with care.

My goal on surface streets is to be at the front of the traffic
at the red light. When it turns green, take off fast, and catch
up to the next block of traffic stopped at the next red light.
That way the only one moving is me.

My rule on the freeway is if I can hold 40-45 then I'll stay put
in traffic, otherwise I whiteline, and then not real fast. I try
to stay only about 10-15 faster than traffic. If something happens
I only have to loose 10-15 mph to avoid a collision.

But the above for me are general guidelines. The situation is
always fluid and I take the situation as it comes to me. Sometimes
I find myself near a driver or two that I feel unsafe being near,
like they're yacking on the cell phone and weaving back and forth,
and I'll take whatever measures to get away from them. Most
commonly it's to blow by them as fast as reasonably possible.

I've found from experience that speed on a motorcycle is your
friend. It is far easier to speed ahead of potentially dangerous
situations than it is to try stay behind them. I find that going
the speed of or slower than traffic only invites tailgater's and
people cutting you off.

I've also heard from multiple sources that motorcycle officers
are advised to whiteline at traffic lights as it's safer than
getting crushed between the stopped car in front and the car
behind that doesn't stop. It happens. People don't see what they
don't look for, and they don't look for motorcycles. I take active
control of my situation in traffic and if I don't like it, I do
something about it. I'm not a passive driver.

BTW, I don't recommend the above unless you are an experienced
rider. It works for me but may not work for someone else. I was
riding for 10 years before I changed to the above aggressive
tactics, and only because I was getting tired of nearly being hit
multple times a day. Now it's a rarity. In some instances I
actually feel safer on the bike than in a car because I have more
options for taking control of the situation.

But the last I heard was that 'lane sharing' was legal but if there
is an accident, it will likely be considered your fault.

BTW, in case anyone is curious...one accident (infamous opposing
left turn, no injuries) and one ticket (which in hindsight I could
have talked myself out of, I suspected the officer did not radar
me like he claimed, and I didn't ask to see the reading on the gun,
but I didn't know at the time that if they radar you and they can't
show you the reading, they can't give you a ticket)

Anyway...back to airplanes....

Brian
--
http://www.skywise711.com - Lasers, Seismology, Astronomy, Skepticism
Seismic FAQ: http://www.skywise711.com/SeismicFAQ/SeismicFAQ.html
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Skywise wrote:

BTW, in case anyone is curious...one accident (infamous opposing
left turn, no injuries) and one ticket (which in hindsight I could
have talked myself out of, I suspected the officer did not radar
me like he claimed, and I didn't ask to see the reading on the gun,
but I didn't know at the time that if they radar you and they can't
show you the reading, they can't give you a ticket)

They just show you a reading, showed it to the last poor soul they
ripped off as well...

Darrel Toepfer wrote in news:RV9jf.38652$Y82.27551
@bignews4.bellsouth.net:

Skywise wrote:

BTW, in case anyone is curious...one accident (infamous opposing
left turn, no injuries) and one ticket (which in hindsight I could
have talked myself out of, I suspected the officer did not radar
me like he claimed, and I didn't ask to see the reading on the gun,
but I didn't know at the time that if they radar you and they can't
show you the reading, they can't give you a ticket)

They just show you a reading, showed it to the last poor soul they
ripped off as well...

Possible for other situations, but not mine.

The officer claimed to have been sitting at a particular street
corner yet I suspected he had just paced me. I had passed a
motorcycle cop about a mile back that was doing someone else
over. It just didn't click quick enough for my inexperienced
young mind that this guy was probably the same cop and that he
didn't radar me. If I'd had enough foresight to ask, he wouldn't
have been able to show me any reading at all.

Later, on my return trip I checked out the area. Turned out the
corner he claimed to be sitting on was one I specifically
remembered looking at because of the nice houses, and I didn't
recall seeing any motorcycle officer pointing a radar gun at me.

Now for the fun part. I noticed that the distance from the
corner to where I came to a stop seemed awfully short. Turned
out to be only about 2700 feet. So I did some calculations to
see how fast the officer would have had to accelerate and to
what speed in order to catch up to me going the alleged 68 mph
and then for me to pull over in only 2700 feet. I seem to
recall he would have had to get well over 100 and back down to
0 in that short distance.

I tried arguing this to the judge, trying to show the officer
could not have in fact been there to radar me. His response
was "I happen to know for a fact that police bikes can go that
fast." Silly me, I should have said something like "what's your
evidence?"

Looking back on it now it's all so silly, but I learned several
things. Cops lie and judges lie. Yes, I was in fact speeding,
but the point is how I was caught was not the truth. Also, I
learned that one cannot defend themselves without first paying
the penalty of your alleged crime (guilty until proven innocent).
That is, you have to pay the fine BEFORE you're allowed to
dispute the ticket. Hey, I was just a young lad when this
happened, naive and full of optimism. Now I'm older, smarter,
and pessimistic.

Since then I've had a few other encounters with police officers
and in every case have successfully argued myself out of any
ticket. In all those cases I wasn't speeding. Sheesh, I actually
had one cop argue with me about calibration of speedometers! His
logic was flawed and I caught him with it. I later checked my
speedometer just for S&G and it reads 1.5% high.

It's been well over 5 years now since I've had any such problems.
Even though my driving style on the bike could technically earn
me several tickets, I've just not been pulled over. I guess
that's a good thing as I'd hate to have to argue that my driving
style is a direct result of the need for me to keep my skin alive
with all the nuts on the road. In a choice between my safety and
obeying the law, my safety wins every time. I really hope I never
have to argue this. I have a short temper when it comes to idiots.

And in a lame attempt to put this on topic, I sometimes liken
riding a motorcyle in LA as combat flying at zero agl, you're
out of ammo, and the other guy is a kamikaze!

Sheesh! You should have seen what happened to me on the 22 fwy
the other night! I really have to wonder about the statistics
that GA is slightly less safe than riding a motorcycle.

Brian
--
http://www.skywise711.com - Lasers, Seismology, Astronomy, Skepticism
Seismic FAQ: http://www.skywise711.com/SeismicFAQ/SeismicFAQ.html
Quake "predictions": http://www.skywise711.com/quakes/EQDB/index.html
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On Wed, 30 Nov 2005 07:24:50 -0000, Skywise
wrote in
::

I noticed that the distance from the
corner to where I came to a stop seemed awfully short. Turned
out to be only about 2700 feet. So I did some calculations to
see how fast the officer would have had to accelerate and to
what speed in order to catch up to me going the alleged 68 mph
and then for me to pull over in only 2700 feet. I seem to
recall he would have had to get well over 100 and back down to
0 in that short distance.

Accelerating to 100 mph in a half mile is easily doable; My 3,800 lb
Corvette will go from 60 to 0 in 158 feet.

I tried arguing this to the judge, trying to show the officer
could not have in fact been there to radar me. His response
was "I happen to know for a fact that police bikes can go that
fast." Silly me, I should have said something like "what's your
evidence?"

You should have provided some evidence of your own if you could find
any to support your argument.

Incidentally, it's *bail* you post before arraignment, as you haven't
yet been sentenced/fined at that point in the process.

Don't ever wave time when posting bail or appearing for arraignment;
that's how you can prevail. In California, the law mandates that you
receive a _speedy_trial_. The Court will try to tell you that the
21-day time begins at the time of arraignment, but if your trial date
is set more than 21-days from your arrest (citation date), it's
possible to successfully file a motion for dismissal.

Larry Dighera wrote in
:

On Wed, 30 Nov 2005 07:24:50 -0000, Skywise
wrote in
::

I noticed that the distance from the
corner to where I came to a stop seemed awfully short. Turned
out to be only about 2700 feet. So I did some calculations to
see how fast the officer would have had to accelerate and to
what speed in order to catch up to me going the alleged 68 mph
and then for me to pull over in only 2700 feet. I seem to
recall he would have had to get well over 100 and back down to
0 in that short distance.

Accelerating to 100 mph in a half mile is easily doable; My 3,800 lb
Corvette will go from 60 to 0 in 158 feet.

Yes, it's POSSIBLE, if you floor it, and then slam on the brakes.
The officer may have been "flooring" it on the bike to catch
up to me, but when he pulled me over, I didn't slam on my brakes.
I slowed down gently.


I tried arguing this to the judge, trying to show the officer
could not have in fact been there to radar me. His response
was "I happen to know for a fact that police bikes can go that
fast." Silly me, I should have said something like "what's your
evidence?"

You should have provided some evidence of your own if you could find
any to support your argument.

I had the calculations in my hand, but neve even got to show
them. The arse-hole judge slammed me mid-sentence as I started
to make my case.

Well, that's something else I learned that if it happens again,
I won't take that form the judge. I'll be polite, of course.


Incidentally, it's *bail* you post before arraignment, as you haven't
yet been sentenced/fined at that point in the process.

Yes, and the bail ALWAYS equals the fine.


Don't ever wave time when posting bail or appearing for arraignment;
that's how you can prevail. In California, the law mandates that you
receive a _speedy_trial_. The Court will try to tell you that the
21-day time begins at the time of arraignment, but if your trial date
is set more than 21-days from your arrest (citation date), it's
possible to successfully file a motion for dismissal.

Thanks for the hints. I've heard similar stuff since. Like I said,
this happened long ago when I was young and didn't know much.

I've also heard that if you go down to the courthouse immediately,
preferably the same day and demand your day in court, odds are that
you will be scheduled on a day the arresting officer can't make it
- other than the day on the ticket - and the case is dropped, unless
the guy actually wants to take time off his scheduled work to defend
a ticket.

But anyway, enough of my whining. I'm not worried about it anymore
as I just don't get caught anymore.

BTW, that's been my only ticket on the bike.

Brian
--
http://www.skywise711.com - Lasers, Seismology, Astronomy, Skepticism
Seismic FAQ: http://www.skywise711.com/SeismicFAQ/SeismicFAQ.html
Quake "predictions": http://www.skywise711.com/quakes/EQDB/index.html
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On Wed, 30 Nov 2005 23:55:02 -0000, Skywise
wrote in
::


Incidentally, it's *bail* you post before arraignment, as you haven't
yet been sentenced/fined at that point in the process.

Yes, and the bail ALWAYS equals the fine.

While the values are customarily equal, bail may be refunded unlike a
fine. So if your case is dismissed, the laws below apply:


http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/wa...ion=re trieve

42201.6. (a) A deposit of bail received with respect to an
infraction violation of this code, or any local ordinance adopted
pursuant to this code, including, but not limited to, a violation
involving the standing or parking of a vehicle, shall be refunded
by the agency which issued the notice of violation or the court
within 30 days of a cancellation, dismissal, or finding of not
guilty of the offense charged.
(b) Multiple or duplicate deposits of bail or parking penalty
shall be identified by the court or agency and refunded within 30
days of identification.
(c) Any amount to be refunded in accordance with subdivision
(a) or (b) shall accrue interest, at the rate specified in Section
3289* of the Civil Code, on and after the 60th day of a
cancellation, dismissal, or finding of not guilty or
identification of multiple or duplicate deposits, and shall be
refunded as soon as possible thereafter along with accrued
interest.


42202. Failure, refusal, or neglect on the part of any judicial
or other officer or employee receiving or having custody of any
fine or forfeiture mentioned in this article either before or
after deposit in the respective fund to comply with the foregoing
provisions of this article is misconduct in office and ground for
removal therefrom.

*

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/wa...ion=re trieve


However, it seems The Orange County Superior Court is unaware of those
laws mandating refund with interest within thirty days:

http://www.occourts.org/traffic/

If the fine is suspended or if you are found not guilty, your bail
is refunded by mail within sixty days and is returned to the
depositor at the address listed on the case


This provides some insight into lack of competence of the court which
can often be exploited to advantage.

Don't ever wave time when posting bail or appearing for arraignment;
that's how you can prevail. In California, the law mandates that you
receive a _speedy_trial_. The Court will try to tell you that the
21-day time begins at the time of arraignment, but if your trial date
is set more than 21-days from your arrest (citation date), it's
possible to successfully file a motion for dismissal.

Thanks for the hints. I've heard similar stuff since. Like I said,
this happened long ago when I was young and didn't know much.

I've also heard that if you go down to the courthouse immediately,
preferably the same day and demand your day in court, odds are that
you will be scheduled on a day the arresting officer can't make it
- other than the day on the ticket - and the case is dropped, unless
the guy actually wants to take time off his scheduled work to defend
a ticket.

Thanks for that nugget.