Insane speed in a Japanese Sedan

[jason@scirocco.org (Jason)]

At 11:08 AM 11/8/2002, Brandon Smith wrote:
>Damn Jason, 110 in a 55mph Zone...what  was the penalty on that one???
>I just recently got a 73 in a 45...fought it and somewhat beat it though.

It was $495, plus $295 for the reckless driving ticket (automatically 
issued because I doubled the speed limit).

I didn't pay it, though.  The cop defended me; wrote 8 pages in his log 
book and gave it to the D.A.  He said that he would rather ticketed someone 
doing 70mph and changing lanes like an idiot -- and that the speed was not 
unsafe for the conditions - clear night, straight road, new car, no one 
around... and that, in addition to my admission that I was trained to drive 
on speed-limit free Autobahnen, it was clearly visible both during the 
"pursuit" as well as upon subsequent review of the video, that I was 
obviously competent at those speeds.  He recommended dropping the charges, 
as he had rarely seen a driver so consensus of driving rules -- lanes, turn 
signals, etc... everything but the speed limit.

They didn't drop the charges, but they assigned me a Public Defender 
because of his suggestion to (it was criminal court, not traffic court), 
and once he got a copy of that, it went quickly... if I plead guilty, they 
would withhold adjudication (basically seal the record) and let me go with 
no points and no record -- with $127 in court costs and driving 
school.  (They send you to driver's school in FL all the time, including as 
a way to get the points dropped).

I was lucky in a lot of ways... especially that the cop took the time to 
appreciate that I wasn't _really_ doing anything stupid - 110mph at 3AM on 
4-lane wide I-95 is nothing in a car that can handle it with a driver that 
could handle it.  Didn't stop him from putting a gun to my head when he 
pulled me over, but that's another story, and probably another factor why 
he was so nice afterward...  :)

Jason

PS:  Disclaimer: I do not condone such speeds.  Nor do I drive on public 
roads at such high speeds for extended periods of time.... not anymore! :)