At what point...
One of my co-workers was telling a story about how her friend had her license taken away by the police. It seems that she had just gotten a new Mustang and was seeing how fast it could go. They clocked Mustang Sally going 120... on Mason Road... at 5:30pm.
There are so many things that are wrong about that. First, there are several schools along that road. At that time of day, there could have been parents driving along after picking up little Joey from kindergarten. Second, Mason Road is a windy two-lane road with a max speed of either 30 or 35 MPH. It's not a highway and certainly not the Indy Motor Speedway. 120 is three to four times the speed limit. Third, there are homes and a farm along that road. If a animal or heaven forbid a child had wandered on to the road, she wouldn't have been able to stop in time unless she went into Bullet Time (tm) like she was a character in the Matrix. Fourth, at this time of year that time of night is dark or at best twilight. Neither is the best lighting conditions for breaking out your inner Andretti.
So, surprise! She's got a court date and will likely have to pay a substantial fine for reckless driving or some similar misdemeanor. And no, as my co-worker suggested, she should not get off with just a ticket or a stern warning. And this morning, as she should, Mustang Sally is riding the bus to work downtown St. Louis from her home out in the county. Next time, I guess she better slow that Mustang down. Before she kills someone.
I've been known to speed. My general rule is that adding 5-8 MPH is generally still safe especially in light traffic. And on occasion as I drive out to the sticks for work, I'll hit 80 MPH on 40 as I clear 141. But 120 is so far out of line that I have a hard time empathizing if she did it on the highway. At what point do you stop standing up for your idiot friend and tell them that they got what was coming to them and if anything got off easy?
There are so many things that are wrong about that. First, there are several schools along that road. At that time of day, there could have been parents driving along after picking up little Joey from kindergarten. Second, Mason Road is a windy two-lane road with a max speed of either 30 or 35 MPH. It's not a highway and certainly not the Indy Motor Speedway. 120 is three to four times the speed limit. Third, there are homes and a farm along that road. If a animal or heaven forbid a child had wandered on to the road, she wouldn't have been able to stop in time unless she went into Bullet Time (tm) like she was a character in the Matrix. Fourth, at this time of year that time of night is dark or at best twilight. Neither is the best lighting conditions for breaking out your inner Andretti.
So, surprise! She's got a court date and will likely have to pay a substantial fine for reckless driving or some similar misdemeanor. And no, as my co-worker suggested, she should not get off with just a ticket or a stern warning. And this morning, as she should, Mustang Sally is riding the bus to work downtown St. Louis from her home out in the county. Next time, I guess she better slow that Mustang down. Before she kills someone.
I've been known to speed. My general rule is that adding 5-8 MPH is generally still safe especially in light traffic. And on occasion as I drive out to the sticks for work, I'll hit 80 MPH on 40 as I clear 141. But 120 is so far out of line that I have a hard time empathizing if she did it on the highway. At what point do you stop standing up for your idiot friend and tell them that they got what was coming to them and if anything got off easy?
posted by mypetrock at 10:57 AM
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