# 2 steps forward, 3 steps back.



## james on bass (Feb 4, 2006)

Sorry for the coming rant...

The last few months it always seems my gig money is needed for household bills, a third income if you will. Hey, bills need to be paid, kids fed and clothed, but I usually try to keep some gig money, even a little, set aside for music expenses.

After I re-injured my back a couple months ago I decided I needed to put together a smaller rig. I sold a bass and part of my rig. Bought the wood for the cabs, and some componants for one of the cabs. Didn't have the money for the second cabinet components yet. 

Had 2 gigs this weekend and finally got paid the rest of the money my friend owed me for the bass so was going to buy the rest of the stuff I needed, as well as a new tuner etc...

*Got nailed by an unmarked OPP heading to my gig Saturday night. $300 speeding ticket!!
*
Back to square one - start saving again!!


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

I feel you pain. Here there has been an influx of new recruits AND there seems to be radar installed in the dash in every car. Speeding is a thing of the past. Especially with the new racing act. Seems like you don't even have to be speeding or racing either. 

Lock it on the speed limit.


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## nitehawk55 (Sep 19, 2007)

That's a bummer and the extra cost of gas and food seems to be really hitting out expenses . 

Don't know what to say on the speeding ticket , it's a bummer but too many have been speeding on Glendon Drive which runs west of London thru to Glencoe and there are too many speeding on this road ( it's 90km but lots doing 120km + ) plus some recent acccidents/deaths so they are clamping down . I go with the 10km over rule , if the road is a 90km they usually won't bother you if you do 100km...90 on an 80...etc. You really don't need to nor should you be pushing it any faster .

Slow down and enjoy life :food-smiley-004:


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

You have my sympathy and understanding on all counts except the speeding ticket. Just how fast were you going in what zone for $300? Why speed at all?

I know what you mean by back to square one. It happened to me last year when I got sick, needed surgery, and lost months of work. Money I had set aside for a new canoe and a new guitar just vanished into the household expense account. That is how it should be, survival first, toys second...but it still hurts.

Peace, Mooh.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Ouch...sounds like it could have been even worse! It's the new reality...a slower reality. 

Peace, Mooh.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

james on bass said:


> Sorry for the coming rant...
> 
> The last few months it always seems my gig money is needed for household bills, a third income if you will. Hey, bills need to be paid, kids fed and clothed, but I usually try to keep some gig money, even a little, set aside for music expenses.
> 
> ...


Thats 40 over isn't it? I got a $300 ticket over a year ago. Since my work schedule is pretty flexible and the court house is actually beside my office I decided to fight mine. I basically decided mainly because I didn't wan to pay it right away. The case took 8 months to come to trial. I really did meant to mount some kind of defense but procrastinated. There really wasn't anything I could have said anyway. So I show up to court and I see everyone going up to the crown or what ever you call her, and making deals. So up I go and I asked it to be reduced. She looks at the chart for my ticket and says she can go down to 125 plus this administration fee of $15 and I save a couple of points to. I try to get it further reduced but she says thats all she can do. 
Any way I save a couple of points and $160 just for showing up.
If you can show up you'll most likely save some bucks and you won't have to pay it right away. I've heard stories in the GTA area its taking some cases over 18 months to come to trial. Based on that alone you have a good chance of getting it thrown out.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Paul said:


> Based on the table here, he was doing 49 km over. One more km/h and that's the new racing charge with a one week impound.
> 
> !


From what I hear this is an easy one to beat. Unless the officer can provide proof of the driver that you were racing it pretty much can't be considered racing.


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## Hamm Guitars (Jan 12, 2007)

160km/h seems to be the normal velocity in the left hand lane on the 401. I can't say that I've noticed it come down since the 150km/h enforcment came into play.

Anyone know if fatalities have come down with the new law, or are they just making more money?


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

Hamm Guitars said:


> Anyone know if fatalities have come down with the new law, or are they just making more money?


Statistics are something the government uses to _take_ more money - it's not often that they use them after the fact to prove that they were right


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## james on bass (Feb 4, 2006)

No I wasn't racing. I had my cruise set for 100 in a 90 zone. I came up to one of those little 1 blink towns where the limit drops to 50, and saw the sign saying 50Km up ahead. I turned off the cruise, rounded the top of a hill and there was the 50Km sign and an unmarked car. He got me for 37km over the speed limit. I'm sure this a good cash-cow spot for him to sit and rest assured, I won't take this new scenic route again to my gigs.

You can all save your holier than thou attitude in regards to me being caught speeding.


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## nitehawk55 (Sep 19, 2007)

james on bass said:


> No I wasn't racing. I had my cruise set for 100 in a 90 zone. I came up to one of those little 1 blink towns where the limit drops to 50, and saw the sign saying 50Km up ahead. I turned off the cruise, rounded the top of a hill and there was the 50Km sign and an unmarked car. He got me for 37km over the speed limit. I'm sure this a good cash-cow spot for him to sit and rest assured, I won't take this new scenic route again to my gigs.
> 
> You can all save your holier than thou attitude in regards to me being caught speeding.



I live in one of those little blink towns and am on the main road were it drops from 90-50 . I don't like it when guys fly through here doing 100 plus . What really pisses me is when I'm signaling to pull over to the right so can get into my driveway and some a$$ is right on my bumper giving me the look as if I'm a jerk for slowing him down .Geez.... I'm trying to get into my driveway , I live here !!

I'm sure we have all had speeding tickets and got caught just like you . I'm no perfect driver as much as I try and watch it those sudden speed changes can come up on you if you arn't paying attention and that's where the police like to catch you . Your bigger issue will be when your insurance company gets the info.....that's really gonna piss you when you get your new rates .


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## bcmatt (Aug 25, 2007)

There is an infamous little town Southwest of Calgary named "Longview". Everyone who lives in the Crow's Nest Pass or beyond into BC are well aware of this town and the Local Deputy (or whatever he is) that parks by the highway that goes through it. It is the only place where the highway reduces to 30km/h and this officer awards tickets to anyone with 1km/h of the speed limit. We all believe that this is the primary and exclusive source of income for this town. 
I take a different route, so that I will never have to see a ticket from the old chap. Unfortunately, most people who are unknowingly travelling the road for the first time will end up with a fine.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

nitehawk55 said:


> I live in one of those little blink towns and am on the main road were it drops from 90-50 . :


It pisses me off when they put one of those little blink towns right on a highway. Can't they tuck those dam things off on a side road somewhere?


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## nitehawk55 (Sep 19, 2007)

guitarman2 said:


> It pisses me off when they put one of those little blink towns right on a highway. Can't they tuck those dam things off on a side road somewhere?


Yeah , lifes cruel that way :banana:

BCmatt....gives tickets if you are only 1km over ? I don't know how those would hold up in court , most speedos are off a Km or 2 . Now that is cruel :bow:


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Lousy luck on your part, but it's not "holier than thou" on anyone's part to be annoyed with those who consciously choose to speed. I don't live in "one of those little 1 blink towns where the limit drops to 50", I live in a several blink town, and folks still can't slow to 50 with lots of road to do so. I have lots of family and friends in "1 blink towns" and they deserve the same safety as anyone anywhere else.

Peace, Mooh.


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

I'm almost embarrased to say that the last speeding ticket I got was for recklessly going 54 km/h.

I crested a hill, the limit dropped from 50 to 40, my foot was off the gas. You can't see the cop because of the way the trees line the street at the bottom. Cop told me that was his "office" and he seldom missed a car.


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## Hamm Guitars (Jan 12, 2007)

Paul said:


> ...It's not as if he didn't know that exceeding the posted speed limit is an offence under the HTA...


 
If you ever go to court and are charged with exceeding the 'speed limit' you can get off scott free. In order to break a speed limit of 50km/h a cop would have to follow you around for an hour and make sure that you did not travel a distance greater than 50km - if you only made a half hour trip, you could do so at velocity of 100km/h and still be allright.

The word 'Speed` has been removed from all of the new posted signs in Canada because the limit posted is a velocity limit, not a speed limit. Breaking a speed limit would be impractical to prove, unless they changed the signs to meters per second.

A technicallity for sure, but none the less true.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Paul...What a lesson! My condolences.

The number of times I am passed by speeders only to catch up to them at some red light or intersection many miles later is amazing. Most of my driving is rural and it can be an hour later, but they've only gained a car length. 

Years ago I lost my best friend from boyhood to a hit and run speeder, and another friend was recently rear-ended by a speeder but he survived, though there were months of recuperation. 

I used to drive faster than I do now, but I never was much for speeding a lot. It's cheaper (as Paul mentioned), safer, and more defensive. Having a kid drive sobers one up a bit.

Peace, Mooh.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Paul said:


> On a good day on the 400 series highways I can set the cruise at 95 km/h, settle in the right lane, and have nothing but open space ahead of me as the rest of the world speeds away.


Funny just how that works isn't it?


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Well I'm sorry you got nailed going so fast.

Everybody learns their lesson sooner or later (hopefully before they kill themselves or someone else).

Here's the truth.

You can drive 119 kmph on the 400 series highways without too much worries. 125 and up will get you popped for sure. In the states it's a much smaller tolerence (about 5 mph above the posted limit is all I'll risk).

Yesterday I passed an OPP cruiser doing 119. The reality is that as long as there are folks driving 130 and up the cops will harvest the low hanging fruit so to speak and leave the rest of us alone.

I got two speeding tickets in NY within a month (about $200 a pop and I was only doing about 15 mph above the limit). That's when I decided to reign it in.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

It depends a lot on where you are as well. I grew up driving on the QEW and 400 series. When I was younger there was a lot more open space. Honestly, I find it really hard to speed even if you wanted to on any stretch of the QEW east of Burlington all the way through Toronto. Unless you are driving it at 2:00 in the morning. It's bumper to bumper most all the time now. However, I drove to Michigan almost every week for the last 14 years and from Brantford to Sarnia it's normally open. I set my cruise at 118 or so and never got bothered for 14 years and I never slowed down for parked OPP.

Early in my new job, around 1995 1996 I moved up to where the main plant was. Small towns all over. I got 4 speeding tickets in 2 years. All for going like 10 km over the speed limit. There was zero tolerance and lot's of boredom on the OPP that were stationed out there. They have nothing else to do but hide in little nooks and crannies along those barren stretches.

So while we continue to have to deal with the carnage on the roads they cannot control, they make up for it on the quiet ones.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

GuitarsCanada said:


> So while we continue to have to deal with the carnage on the roads they cannot control, they make up for it on the quiet ones.


Its not really about minimizing the carnage on the roads but more about the income that these speed laws generate. The speed laws are too slow to begin with.
I am pretty sure I heard that the autobahn has a far less mortality rate then our 400 series highways. Does anyone know if that is accurate?


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

GuitarsCanada said:


> It depends a lot on where you are as well. I grew up driving on the QEW and 400 series. When I was younger there was a lot more open space. Honestly, I find it really hard to speed even if you wanted to on any stretch of the QEW east of Burlington all the way through Toronto. Unless you are driving it at 2:00 in the morning. It's bumper to bumper most all the time now. However, I drove to Michigan almost every week for the last 14 years and from Brantford to Sarnia it's normally open. I set my cruise at 118 or so and never got bothered for 14 years and I never slowed down for parked OPP.
> 
> Early in my new job, around 1995 1996 I moved up to where the main plant was. Small towns all over. I got 4 speeding tickets in 2 years. All for going like 10 km over the speed limit. There was zero tolerance and lot's of boredom on the OPP that were stationed out there. They have nothing else to do but hide in little nooks and crannies along those barren stretches.
> 
> So while we continue to have to deal with the carnage on the roads they cannot control, they make up for it on the quiet ones.



All true. The 402 to Sarnia is a nice stretch.

I drove to Ohio and back Monday and Tuesday and as I said, 119 kmph (where possible) is safe from the OPP.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Yes I would say you have a fairly accurate assessment there Paul. The solution is not to keep handing out tickets as drivers are becoming more and more frustrated with 400 series highways. Of course solving this isn't high on the governments priority. They do enjoy the extra income that it generates. So keep on speeding we are doing exactly what they want. And when you get to court its "Lets make a Deal", because the faster they get you in and out and waste less time with you the better. And you'll feel like you got a deal when your ticket gets cut down some. Everybody's happy.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Milkman said:


> All true. The 402 to Sarnia is a nice stretch.


I played quite a bit up in Sarnia during my road days. Since I was on the road alot and Sarnia was about an hour and 45 minutes away from Brantford I would commute it nightly to spend sometime with the family. 
I have to say the 402 from London to Sarnia has got to be the most boring stretch of road. I hated it. It always seemed twice as long as it was.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

guitarman2 said:


> I played quite a bit up in Sarnia during my road days. Since I was on the road alot and Sarnia was about an hour and 45 minutes away from Brantford I would commute it nightly to spend sometime with the family.
> I have to say the 402 from London to Sarnia has got to be the most boring stretch of road. I hated it. It always seemed twice as long as it was.


When you drive it as often as I do it almost seems like a commute. Boring? I prefer boring to congested. I set the cruise and think deep thoughts.

The drive between London and Windsor on the other hand is brutal.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Milkman said:


> The drive between London and Windsor on the other hand is brutal.



I totally agree. I don't drive it often. Once this year on my way to Florida. I crossed over at the Windsor border.
And I have friends up that way that I visit a couple of times a year.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Milkman said:


> When you drive it as often as I do it almost seems like a commute. Boring? I prefer boring to congested. I set the cruise and think deep thoughts.
> 
> The drive between London and Windsor on the other hand is brutal.


Agreed. I used to use that time listen to new music, play audio books etc, until friggin blackberries came along anyway.


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