Motorcyclists break 160 mph on I-459 Wednesday, September 01, 2004 GINNY MacDONALD News staff writer Early Tuesday, state trooper Chris Haynes stopped two motorcyclists on Interstate 459 near U.S. 280. One was going 167 mph and the other 165 mph.
Also Tuesday morning, state trooper Sgt. Tim Sartain stopped a woman for going 90 mph on Interstate 65 in north Jefferson County. She said she was late for work. Danger and death on the highways were the main reasons Gov. Bob Riley announced a statewide crackdown on speeding last week. Alabama is on a pace for 1,300 highway fatalities this year, about 300 more than a year ago. Friday, on the first day of the crackdown, troopers wrote 579 tickets within 12 hours on I-65. State troopers across the state say they are seeing more speeders, including super-charged motorcycles capable of speeds up to 180 mph. A few days ago, a trooper on U.S. 231 near Ozark clocked a motorcyclist going 130 mph. When he tried to pull the cyclist over, the cyclist took off, hit a car and lost an arm in the wreck. The I-459 cyclists were ticketed for reckless driving just after midnight. If convicted, they could serve five to 90 days in jail or pay fines of $25 to $500. Under Alabama law, state troopers cannot arrest a motorist for a traffic violation. An arrest can be made only if a driver is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, is a suspected felon, has failed to appear in court or is involved in a wreck that causes injury or death. Chasing the super-cycles is not always worth it, state trooper Cpl. Spencer Collier of Mobile said. "My dealings with the motorcycles is that about one out of three is going to run when you try to stop them. Pursuing them is too dangerous. It is not worth somebody dying over it," he said. A motorcyclist once popped a wheelie in front of Collier's patrol car. "It's almost to a point where they try to antagonize law enforcement," he said. Troopers say the safety of other motorists and themselves comes into play when deciding whether to chase a speeder. "It's aggravating at times. We don't want to let anybody get away, but if it is safer, we do. It's a tough call to make," Collier said. In 2003, 51 people were killed and 949 injured in motorcycle wrecks in Alabama. Collier, also a state legislator, said a bill to make it a felony to attempt to elude a police officer has failed in the Legislature. "Alabama is one of the few states where all you can do is write a ticket," he said. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jeff Todd Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 6:27 PM To: RollTideFan - University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List Subject: Re: [RollTideFan] Bee Kerfull this weakhend Ken, First things first: LEARN TO USE PLAIN TEXT OR GIT! If you've got any COMMON SENSE...USE IT! I don't give a fsck if they had 200 cars writing tickets in Montgomery County. If there were THAT many troopers cars in one location traffic would damn near come to a halt! JT ----- Original Message ----- From: Ken To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 4:33 PM Subject: Re: [RollTideFan] Bee Kerfull this weakhend Now you do the math. It said two radar units. It didn't say how many units they had stopping the violators. I have seen this done before on my way to Florida on 65 south. They had an arsenal of cars 5 or 6 pulling them over to write them up. But if you have your doubts then go ahead an fly low and see for yourself first hand. Ken -------Original Message------- From: RollTideFan - University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List Date: 08/31/04 15:24:00 To: RollTideFan - University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List Subject: Re: [RollTideFan] Bee Kerfull this weakhend If you keep this up, people are going to start thinking you just _play_ the part of a dumb ass. Slef E. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joel Perry" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'RollTideFan - University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 3:14 PM Subject: RE: [RollTideFan] Bee Kerfull this weakhend > Let's do the math: > > 233 tickets by 2 officers in 4 hours = 116.5 tickets per officer in four > hours = 29.13 tickets per officer per hour. > > That's about 1 ticket every two minutes per officer. > > That sounds unbelievable. Unless the 'radar units' were actually staffed by > several ticket writers and one or more radar guns. > > Still, that's one ticket per 'unit' every two minutes. > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On > Behalf Of Jeff Todd > Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 3:05 PM > To: RollTideFan - University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List > Subject: Re: [RollTideFan] Bee Kerfull this weakhend > > Ain't no freakin way. > > Slef E. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Joel Perry" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "'BamaFan'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "'RollTideFan'" > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 8:15 AM > Subject: [RollTideFan] Bee Kerfull this weakhend > > > > Friday, two radar units stationed on I-65 for four hours accounted for 233 > > speeding tickets that were issued in Montgomery County. > > > ______________________________________________________ > RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List > > Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup! > > To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit > http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net > > New AOL.com addresses are NOT allowed on this list. Get a real ISP. > > > > > ______________________________________________________ > RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List > > Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup! > > To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit > http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net > > New AOL.com addresses are NOT allowed on this list. Get a real ISP. > > > ______________________________________________________ RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup! To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net New AOL.com addresses are NOT allowed on this list. Get a real ISP. ______________________________________________________ RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup! To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net New AOL.com addresses are NOT allowed on this list. Get a real ISP. ______________________________________________________ RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup! To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net New AOL.com addresses are NOT allowed on this list. Get a real ISP. ______________________________________________________ RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup! To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net New AOL.com addresses are NOT allowed on this list. Get a real ISP.