New Oregon Speed law

[pwd72s]

Imagine this scenario. You've been following that motorhome for hours, it crawling over the Santiam Pass, your favorite stretch of twisties. Finally, a passing zone. The motor home goes to the right lane, you move to the left, land on it in order to pass in the limited distance available. Your speedometer touches 90 just as your V-1 lets you know that you've been painted with instant on radar.
.....Well guys, In Oregon, that's soon to be a $1,000 fine and a license suspension. This bill passed both houses of the Oregon legislature, and is headed for our Governor's desk, where he will certainly sign it.
.....Get tagged for going triple digit speeds, OR going 30 over the limit, and it's $1,000 plus a license suspension. Most 2 lane highways in Oregon are posted at 55. So, 86 MPH? Don't do it in Oregon.
.....Be careful out there. Paul

[RickS]

Holy cats! Which legislator lost a loved one due to excessive speed? Excessive is the word for this law. Best to keep high speeds confined to the track in Orygun.

[pwd72s]

I believe it's a reaction to the "fast and furious" wannabe Rice car kids. Lots of publicity any time one gets ticketed. Two recently nabbed at 140 plus. All over the nightly liberal TV views, being touted as a serious problem. I had to LOL as the story was being read on Portland's See-BS affiliate. Damn, the female anchor there is a good actress! She read the story with a straight face, as if she'd never ridden in or driven a car that went beyond the posted speed. Uh, for those of you who don't know, that would be "Schmidt"'s wife.... Yeah, the same guy who posted that I drive like I'm trolling for hookers.

[RandyWebb]

Liberal?? How did that get in it? It was enthusiastically passed by the right winger House...

[pwd72s]

Randy, the "liberal" reference wasn't directed at our legislature...it was directed at "the nightly liberal views"...you know, the stuff that comes on the tube every night around 5:00?

[larry47us]

Careful, Paul, your "red" shirt is showing!!!!

larry

[RandyWebb]

HUh - all the stuff on TV I get here in Eugene is rightist... of course, the anarchists have their program on the public access channel on Wed. ....but they're just Republicans in drag. Maybe I need to see if I can get the PDX channels.

[john rice]

That you guys are contacting everyone that might make a difference.

Here in Leftie NCal we all raised H about taking away PBS funding. Like it or not I believe it has better balanced and genuine news and some excellent programs. They immediately went into "Who me?" mode and killed it.

If enough write and call it might not be too late. There already are laws on your books to deal with whatever they need... [How do you say "Reckless Op"] and it is totally political excess.

I hope you guys fight it. I might wanna move up there.

[6 Shooter]

Hey Paul,
I think that you've got it pretty easy up there... I think that in Calif it is 'reckless driving' if you've been written up for 15 over the posted speed limit. (triple digits is supposed to be impound/jail time.)
New this year are:
1) Get caught driving/weaving while sleepy/drowsy will have the same result as DUI. Not sure, but think that it will get your license suspended, plus lots of $$.
2) If you have a Class A driver's license (tractor/trailers, etc.), you are no longer eligible for traffic school (Sept 05). This includes any tickets in your personal car (off work, of course). If suspended/revoked, no provisional license (drive only to/from work). No traffic school to clear a suspended license.
3)DUI conviction or refusal of DUI chem test is one year loss of Class A/B license.
4) If they don't learn, it's a lifetime loss of Class A/B license. (Hmmmm... but they'll still be able to drive a car/bike???)
There are more, but....

FWIW, it's too crowded here. The way some of these people drive, they should have a bus pass.

[lisa_spyder]

Paul, Mike et al,

Stay where you are...don't come to Melbourne downunder! If you do here's what you'll suffer: remember we run in kms here, not miles -
You get booked at anything over 2 or 3 KMS over the limit - seriously! Fixed cameras have a tolerance of 2kms, mobile cameras 3kms. Now get this - if you drive around at night time without your lights on, this is considered much less of an offence than exceeding the speed limit by more than 10kms (not mls, kms!!). If you exceed the limit by more than 10kms, but less than 25km you lose 3 points out of a total 12 allowable in any 3 year period. Your wallet is also lightened by over $200AUD. Once you go over 25km over the limit you are gone, gone gone! One month's suspension minimum plus points to carry over on your licence as well and a massive fine. Our fines increase by the CPI each year; we have more cameras than ever before; there is hardly any visible police presence which would hopefully deter idiots from doing stupid things. We are told the Police Force doesn't have the funds to run a large fleet of vehicles and man them on the roads, yet our State Government is raking in record funds from speed camera fines. Our Road Toll figures haven't improved at all, in fact the number is still on the rise, yet the Politicians and Bureaucrats keep telling us that we must increase speed camera numbers. Our State Budget is totally reliant on speed camera revenue . If the policy was working then fine, but it is clearly not and every time Mike gets a fine I shudder with rage (I'm fortunate - no fines for me). You can travel a stretch of road around town for a few kms and encounter several different speed limits in a few minutes - bang you're gone!
Don't get me started on the 'Lefties' Paul...hopefully yours are better than ours - I'm hanging out for the next State Election when they'll be gone, gone gone!

So guys, even though I'd love to see you all come and visit us...take a cab or a bus downunder! Otherwise you could be contributing to our State Budget not just with your tourism $$$...