[DeTomaso] Gentlemen, Start Your Engines

Mike Thomas mbefthomas at comcast.net
Fri Jan 2 08:50:08 EST 2009


Here in the no-longer-frozen Pacific Northwest, a number of us have used a
law firm that specializes in doing nothing but speeding tickets.  It's a
brother/sister firm, he handles just Pierce County, she does King County.
You send them your ticket and a check for (when I used them 2 years ago)
$350, and there is a 96% chance your ticket will go away.  They know how to
work the system.

Mike Thomas

Dawg, gonna get the P-car out as soon as it thaws and stops pouring rain,
but it does sound great in the garage.

-----Original Message-----
From: detomaso-bounces at realbig.com [mailto:detomaso-bounces at realbig.com] On
Behalf Of Charles Engles
Sent: Thursday, January 01, 2009 11:15 AM
To: boyd casey
Cc: detomaso at realbig.com
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Gentlemen, Start Your Engines

Dear Boyd,


               A minor tale.


               I decide to drive the Pantera 130 miles to a small town for 
an athletic event the next morning.   I was going through a small town, 
Seiling,  and wasn't sure where the turn was for the highway.   It was ten 
o'clock on a Friday night and there was one other car on Main Street, a 
Nissan sedan.   I pulled off into a lighted parking lot to double check the 
map and re-entered the street, now sure the turn was on the right and near 
by.   As I am carefully going down the street I see my turn and make it and 
then slowly proceed north out of town.   ( I may blast between towns, but I 
am careful inside the town limits.....)

               In very short order a red, white and blue light show explodes
in my rear view mirror and I pull over.


               "Good evening, sir"
               "Good evening, officer"
               "Do you know why I stopped you, sir?"
               "I have no idea, officer."
               "You failed to signal when you made that turn.............and

you have an unusual car."
               "Oh.   Sorry about that."
               " I will need to see your driver's license and insurance 
verification.  After I run your plate, if there everything is OK, then I 
will let you be on your way.  No ticket.  No warning.  No citation."
               " OK.  Thanks. ( I think......)

               I wait while he runs the plate.   He returns and all is 
clear.  He notices my map and inquires of my destination and confirms that I

am on the right road.   Oddly enough,  despite the fact that he stopped me 
because I was in a Pantera in his town  rather than because of a flagrant 
failure to signal a turn, he never inquired about the Pantera nor asked for 
a show and tell, which was probably just as well since we were on an 
unlighted highway on the shoulder.   I later found out from a friend and 
former Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper, that Seiling is a notorious speed 
trap.   So, I guess I got off lightly and had no other problems the rest of 
the trip, but it is still a bit irritating.


                Under less pleasant conditions, I have found it  very 
helpful to hire a local lawyer in the same jurisdiction as the issuing 
citation.


                                 Warmest regards,  Chuck Engles




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "boyd casey" <boyd411 at gmail.com>
To: "Trevor Fougere" <trevor at fougere.com>
Cc: <detomaso at realbig.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 01, 2009 11:53 AM
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Gentlemen, Start Your Engines


> It may seem like to much trouble for some but after several incidents
> involving tickets received in high profile sports cars I came up with the
> idea of using available technology to assist me.   The incident that 
> pushed
> me over the edge occurred when I was driving my 911. A new York State
> trooper was coming toward me from the opposite direction. Around 100 yards
> before we met a guy in a Mitsubishi eclipse passed me going in the same
> direction as I was. ( I was doing around 35 mph) After the trooper and I
> passed each other he made a U turn lit up his lights and flew passed me
> after the Mitsubishi.  You can imagine my surprise when a half a mile 
> later
> ( it took him some time to catch up to the Eclipse)  as I approached the 
> now
> pulled over trooper and Mitsubishi , the trooper istanding in the middle 
> of
> the road and waves me over.  I will skip the dialogue and get to the end
> result , a ticket for doing 77 in a 35!
> Besides the fact that I wasn't speeding the other problem with this 
> officers
> citation is that legally when a person is ticketed for speeding as a 
> result
> of evidence provided by RADAR the radar gun has to be calibrated before a
> citation is issued and then re calibrated before another ticket is issued.
> You can't ticket two cars on one radar reading. ( besides the fact that at
> least in NY this is the Law ,logic and Physics would tell you you can't
> clock two vehicles traveling at two different rates of speed at the same
> time in the same place with one radar gun ( especially when the RADAR is 
> in
> a moving vehicle ). Anyway the point of my story is that by installing a 
> GPS
> tracking unit in your car you can record your speed , location , direction
> of travel etc. just like a aircraft cockpit data recorder. This won't help
> with tickets for signaling but it can provide evidence concerning your 
> speed
> and your exact location at any given time. It can even show if you stopped
> at a stop sign. It may seem like an extreme step to take but most often
> violations boil down to your word against the officer and we all know how
> that ends. With the advent of micro cameras I have even considered
> installing a video recorder with a time stamp. With the advances made in
> digital electronics you can install a small computer with camera lenses so
> small they would go unnoticed by most casual observers and you could 
> produce
> video evidence of events  ( like tickets and accidents) when the recorded
> events were in your favor. This can be a double edged sword if you are
> actually in the wrong and your technology records your violations or 
> errors.
> As a matter of fact in serious accidents involving newer cars the police 
> now
> impound the cars computer because it DOES RECORD SPEED, BRAKING, and other
> important information that can be used to determine fault in an accident. 
> It
> is in fact a data recorder that will show not only speed and braking but
> will show all the major systems and their status prior to and up to the
> moment of impact. So people who in the past had an accident as the result 
> of
> speeding or reckless driving and then claimed that the car suffered some
> type of "mechanical failure" that caused the accident are now out of luck.
> In conclusion the authorities use every available technology to their
> advantage ( RADAR, LASER, Video speed traps etc.) so in my opinion it's 
> best
> to fight fire with fire.  I have also found that many police officers
> scrutinize the Pantera out of curiosity, so sometimes it's best to just 
> pull
> over before they can fabricate an offence and then if they stop show them
> the car! I have had this happen several times. Spending allot of time
> driving in the same suburban area when those same cops see me I now wave 
> and
> they wave back , usually with a big smile on their face. They are Human
> Beings ( for the most part) and some of them have the same interests we do
> in nice cars and motorcycles but they can't pull you over and say " I just
> wanted to look at your car ".
>
> Boyd
>
> On Wed, Dec 31, 2008 at 11:17 PM, Trevor Fougere <trevor at fougere.com> 
> wrote:
>
>> Happy New Year...
>>
>>
>>
>> Sometimes it may just be better to rev it in the garage, than to actually
>> be
>> seen in public.
>>
>>
>>
>> This afternoon, taking a leisurely (for me) drive to do a couple of 
>> errands
>> in the Pantera..
>>
>>
>>
>> Halfway down the 6 minute drive to the freeway I passed one of Novato's
>> "finest" writing up a Jeep.  Downshifted
>>
>> and went up the hill. A little loud maybe, but at the speed limit. One 
>> stop
>> sign and on red light later, leaving the red light
>>
>> I slipped between two cars and got the free lane ahead. Swooping in 
>> behind
>> me at velocity was this same officer
>>
>> I had passed two minutes before.
>>
>>
>>
>> She followed me to the freeway.
>>
>> She followed me onto the freeway.
>>
>> She followed me down the freeway.
>>
>> I'm doing 60-65 (legal) and signaling the occasional lane change.
>>
>> She makes all the same lane changes.
>>
>> I'm in the slow lane doing 55.  5 miles later.  She's still on my ass.
>>
>> So.I see  a commercial van doing about 50 in the next lane.  I thought I
>> signaled, and moved into his lane at a slightly higher
>>
>> speed, cutting it a little closer than usual.
>>
>> Sure enough, she squeezes in behind me and lights up.
>>
>> Then she bangs me for not only "failing to signal", but also for an 
>> "unsafe
>> lane change".  And took at least 15 minutes to write it up.
>>
>> Color me livid.
>>
>> I was driving slower than I ever drive it, and not doing jack shit.  She
>> tailed me for 10 minutes over about 6 miles, waiting for any
>>
>> excuse to pop me.
>>
>>
>>
>> California is bankrupt.
>>
>> They are on a revenue crusade.
>>
>>
>>
>> But hell..my Pantera rolls, and I'm gonna drive it.
>>
>>
>>
>> I don't mind getting popped for speeding.  Hey, it's all part of the 
>> game.
>>
>>
>>
>> But getting stalked like this guarantees my attorney is going to get some
>> business in January.
>>
>>
>>
>> And the police wonder why they get shot periodically.
>>
>>
>>
>> Happy New Year..get out there and drive. no matter what!
>>
>>
>>
>> Trevor
>>
>> #3797
>>
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