Is 128mph "reckless driving"?
 

Here's an idiot...

Lucky guy... but still an idiot.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051207/...ckless__charge

I have a hard time buying the judge's argument. Okay, sure, if there was nobody around then it's easy to argue that the guy on the bike didn't actually endanger anybody else's life. But, being on public roads, there's no way he could have known that the roads were clear of other drivers. Besides that, other drivers don't expect or anticipate a motorcycle traveling at twice the speed limit.

And I'll give an early warning to anybody who thinks they're going to turn this into a 'I went this fast while being chased by the cops once' thread - don't. Please.

You can not travel faster, than a police radio broadcast wave.

I'll bet Bill thinks he can! :D

I agree with the judge
 

Speed alone doesn't constitute wreckless driving. Its a stupid and risky thing to do but not completely wreckless. I think the guy got off lucky though with only $300 in fines. In texas (depending on what county you're in) the speeding ticket alone could have been upwards of $900 and more than likely he would have immediately thrown in jail. If i'm told right, here in texas you can be arrested for anything over 30 mph past the posted speed limit.

I just can't believe a judge would rule this way. Did the driver have some sort of family connection? 128mph is rediculous on public roads, anyway you slice it. You wouldn't reach 128mph falling out of a 5 story window, but the results would be obvious. This is reckless driving....any way you look at it.

I don't care how fast a person's reaction time is, you can't react fast enough at that speed to alter direction or speed. What's worse, no one else could see him in time to react defensively and stay out of his way. He would be on top of you in milliseconds. That means it's reckless driving. He should have his driving priviledges suspended, and be placed in jail. This is where he'll hopefully meet his new boyfriend affectionately known as "Big Bubba-boo".

Bail should be set $10 above anything he may be able to afford. His court date should be set 15 days past whatever feels convenient to him. His court appointed attorney should be a rookie first timer that barely passed his bar on the 23rd time of taking it. The judge should be selected on the basis of whoever hates this rookie attorney the most.

The charge should be Conspiracy to attempt mass murder...premeditated in the first degree. I don't care if that makes sense.....This guy should have fried.

Tell us how you really feel robert :D
 

Its not wreckless driving, its speeding. If he's going down a road in a straight line that is simply a speeding charge. Now if he had been zipping around cars at that speed then its wreckless driving and if there is someone else on the road, then it could also be endangerment. The judge ruled that way because that is the law. Its not a perfect set of laws but they work, and this guy just got lucky, thats all.

As usual Nick, I have to disagree with you :D

Someone could have been pulling out of their driveway and been unable to judge the bike's speed. That happend in Sheboygan when I was in High school. A guy was doing ablout 90 on a bike and a guy pulled out of his driveway. The biker left a 300' blood smear on the road.

At those speeds, a person's reaction time is too slow to react safely. At 128 MPH, you are covering 187 feet per second. Even someone watching and waiting carefully will have at best a .5 second reaction time and a .2 second response time. That is 131 feet before he starts to brake. A good bike can stop in 140' from 60 MPH, that would be 560' at 120 MPH and 760' at 130 MPH :eek: :eek:

You are looking at close to 1000' in optimal conditions for him to stop. On any public road that is reckless.

Doug

Next question - at what speed does it become reckless? (same situation)

I'd say at 30 MPH over the posted speed limit it should automatically be considered reckless.

by the definition of the word, he was driving recklessly. By the definition of the law, he was not. This type of situation is why some states have a "XX mph over the speed limit qualifies as reckless driving" laws.

You also have to consider the following. Was he on a closed access highway? If so, every arguement about "pulling out of a driveway" or other slow moving or stopped vehicles aren't valid.

Even so, the law is what it is. I think our traffic laws are rediculous at times.

Also mohrds, 140 feet to stop from 60 is kind of high. I think 125 ft is a better Average, where as a "GOOD" bike would be about 115 ft. which, barring any brake fading, would lead to approximately 650ft to stop (not including reaction times). Even so, its a long ways.

Figure a common tractor trailer stops from 60-0 in a minimum of 200 ft (best situation possible, law says 355 without trailor brakes) from 80mph which is about what I see most cruise at, a 400ft stopping distance without reaction time would be had. And an 18-wheeler is going to cause WAY more damage at 80K lbs than a bike is at 500lbs.

But you live in MI where the closed access highways are a 70mph limit...

Are you saying we should arrest people going 86 mph on a closed access highway when the only reason the speed limit is 55 is because the state likes making more money on people driving at reasonable speeds?

I'm curious as to why they couldn't hit him with both speeding and reckless driving at the same time, if reckless driving isn't defined as going XX mph or YY mph over the speed limit.

Thats easy! :D
Anyone going 20 MPH faster than me is a MANIAC!!!

And anyone going 20 MPH slower than me is an @ssh0le!!! :eek:

j/k :)

Actually, I live in Wisconsin, not Michigan :D

If the speed limit is 55, then yes, 86MPH should be a reckless driving charge in addition to the speeding ticket. From my experience, the only closed highway areas that are 55 are in metropolitan areas, the rest are 65-75MPH. I'd say that if the law is 55 where you live, you should contact your state representatives to change it.

As to the "Way more damage" claim, killing an innocent person is killing an innocent person no matter what you use to do it, a semi trailer or a motorcycle.

Reckless: Defiant disregard for danger or consequences, characterized by careless unconcern for self or others.

Usually trying to outrun a cop gets you a reckless charge, along with a speeding charge, and an attempting to elude an officer charge. I Have no idea why this guy got off with a $300 fine. An old college buddy of mine tried to outrun a cop and ended up in county jail for 18 months, had about $5k in fines, and lost his license for 5 years. He was also on a closed freeway and didn't cause any accidents or damage.

If you want to go 128 MPH, go to the track. Its that simple.

Doug