just venting here, but if you have a suggestion - pls feel free to butt in
My 2 sisters (one from Phoenix one from the Phils) came over to visit our 86 yr old mother (who is staying with me here in Canada). They both wanted to see Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia so I volunteered to drive them. It was a great trip, we were so happy to do this trip because this is the first time we actually went for a vacation where it was just the 3 of us and without our spouses.
We left Richmond, BC at 7:30 am yesterday and the traffic was relatively light. I was actually behaving and staying with the flow most of the time because we were talking and having fun along the way. Our pack of maybe 7 or 8 cars got stuck behind a rather slow moving pickup towing an RV for a while in a single lane (per direction) segment of the highway, at one point, the vehicles in front of me were able to pass the RV and I got stuck behind it. I actually attempted to pass once but did not complete it because there were vehicles coming from the opposite direction. If I am in the the aggressive mood and driving my CGTS, I would have passed it already... but this time I patiently stayed behind the big RV trailer but was constantly watching the opposite lane.
At one point - the pickup truck/RV trailer applied it's brake and I thought "damn were slow already and now you're braking, so I made the move to overtake. As I was completing the pass, I notice the flashing red and blue behind me... I stopped and waited for about ten minutes before the RCMP walked out of the patrol car.
He - you're going 129..
Me - I realize that, but sorry Sir, i was just completing the pass.
He - you're 59 over the posted limit, this is a 70 zone.
He pointed to the sign maybe 400 yds in front of us.
Me -I am sorry Sir, I did not notice the 70 sign and thought it is still 110, I sped up a little bit while passing so that I don't get caught by the incoming vehicle
He - No, I have to charge you for excessive speeding and will have to impound your vehicle for 7 days.
Then he walked back and went inside his patrol car. I followed him
Me - Sir, can you please give me a break this time for being a good citizen. You can check my records, I have only one speeding ticket in 1996, and there maybe be other photo radar tickets under our licence plates but they all belong to my wife and my daughter (truth). I won't knowingly drive that fast in town. I must have missed the sign because it was blocked by the RV and I passed it when I was making the move to pass.
He- there are buffer zones 100, then 90 then 70
Me - I did not notice that
He - sorry, I made my reports already and I will be in trouble with my supervisor if I remove it.
Me- can I talk to your supervisor?
He - no, sorry. he is off today
Me- how much is my ticket
He - $ 368, I could easily give you another $368 for wreckless driving but I won't today
Me - thank you, but please don't impound my car. It is almost 4 pm now, we are almost 500 kms away from home and my sister and her kids will have to be at the airport by 4 am tomorrow morning. Can I have my car impounded in Edmonton.
He - No. The tow truck is on the way.
Me - But how will I get home?
He - I can call you a cab which will take you to Jasper, you can rent a car there and you can drive home, but you will have to make your mind quick because the car rental companies will close at 5
Me - ok, pls
He called on phone. Within 5 minutes, the tow truck appeared in front of my vehicle and the taxi appeared behind the patrol car, almost simultaneously.
The taxi driver did not give much time to decide, he said "we are more than 90 kms from Jasper and will have to leave now". So we moved our stuff, turned over my keys to the tow truck and left in the cab.
While on the highway, I talked to the driver quite a bit and when he opened up a bit, I asked him
Me - so, you know this officer really well? Is he a good guy?
Driver - oh yeah, this is a small town (Valemont, BC), everybody know each other really well here.
Me - so, you encounter this situation quite a bit here? Where vehicles get impounded and you have to drive somebody to Jasper?
Driver - oh yeah, average of 5 times a week in the summer.
Me - he must be giving you a lot of business
Driver - I am the only taxi here, and we have only one tow truck here and one lot, so we get to do it all the time. Last week, I had to drive somebody to Kamloops, he paid me $1,200
Me - it surprised me that it happened that often. But you know what - I think he got the wrong guy this time. I know he is just doing his job, but he can do a service to the community if he does something else other than catch somebody making mistakes when the highway speed drops from 100 to 70. I won't knowingly do that and I did not notice. I admit I drive fast occasionally, who don't. But I don't drive recklessly in town.
Driver - I know, but in fairness to him, they put their lives on the line all the time, they arrested 5 guys with loaded guns in the bush earlier today.
Me - how much will you charge me for this trip
Driver- $350 but will take $300 if you pay cash
Me - hmm $350 x 5 times a week average, you make good money from people getting caught alone
Driver - not bad, but you know I have expenses too, like the special licence etc..
Me - I might come by bus to pick up my car next week, will you tell Ryan to give me a ride from the bus depot to the car lot? I will buy him coffee
Driver - I will tell and he might do that, or you could call me. Greyhound arrives here at 2:45 am, I can pick you up at 7am and drive you to the car lot for $40.
Then he gave me his business card and dropped us off at Avis in Jasper. We made it home at 10pm.. not bad
From expenses standpoint
Taxi to Jasper - $350
Ticket - $ 368
Tow - $150
Car Lot - $150
Car rental Jasper to Edmonton - $551 (with AAA discount)
RCMP ticket - $368
Still to Come - expenses to pickup car next week, time off from work. Valemont is about 500 kms away
Excessive speeding is a 3 point demerit - happened in another province so not sure if it will affect my insurance premium.
What pisses me off - this is obviously a speed trap. I won't mind all these if I got caught doing 169 in a 110 zone because obviously I am speeding knowingly. But like stated earlier, I got caught doing 129 on a 70 zone at a location before entering a small town along the highway. I admit I drive fast/above posted limits on the highways (who don't), especially when driving my sportier Porsche Cayenne GTS, but I really watch my speed in town and when there are other people/vehicles present.
I googled it up and found out that a lot of drivers get caught by the speed trap in this town, including this story by a lady from a Manitoba.
I have my Escort 9500IX radar detector set at Highway mode all the time (I keep this running all the time even when I don't intend to speed because it breaks the monotony of highway driving and keep me awake) and it went off a number of times during this trip, but never made a single beep this time. I am thinking that the RCMP officer never really clocked me and just read the 129 from the speedometer of his vehicle while he was driving behind me. I am quite sure I was not driving above 110 for a while, and maybe drive 129 at the peak while passing. Somebody told me that in court - the officer has to tell to the judge that he actually clocked the speeder 3 times before he can get a conviction. This could be an illegal charge, that will cost me $2,000 and a lot of inconvenience.
I don't really know the ins and outs of fighting speeding tickets - pls feel free to give your opinion.
I am really pissed off and want to make a lot of noise, but my wife said it is not worth it. Obviously, the RCMP give the local unit a lot of revenues, and the local taxi, towing and impound lot a lot of business. most probably the judge will be from the same small town and friends with them too.
Even if I get my $368 ticket thrown out, I am still out by $1,600.. I hate being a victim of the system. My wife arranged our car rental on the phone, she said the lady in the Avis/Thrifty branch in Jasper told her that this is a regular situation for them.
Some people made comments about the lack of appropriate warning signs in this particular town, If safety is their (real) concern, I am willing to call the local government and highway authority and will be willing to sponsor a couple of big signs to alert drivers to slow down - but I highly doubt the local RCMP unit, towing company and other businesses will appreciate that. I am very tempted to request ATIP inquiry at CIC to find out from RCMP office the real stats. If they are charging a lot of non habitual speeders with excessive speeding in this area - there is obviously something wrong
I don't get the merit of impounding my car, when after incurring a lot of expenses and inconvenience, I could continue driving in a rental car which I am not very familiar with (more risk for me and my family and other travelers)
My 2 sisters (one from Phoenix one from the Phils) came over to visit our 86 yr old mother (who is staying with me here in Canada). They both wanted to see Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia so I volunteered to drive them. It was a great trip, we were so happy to do this trip because this is the first time we actually went for a vacation where it was just the 3 of us and without our spouses.
We left Richmond, BC at 7:30 am yesterday and the traffic was relatively light. I was actually behaving and staying with the flow most of the time because we were talking and having fun along the way. Our pack of maybe 7 or 8 cars got stuck behind a rather slow moving pickup towing an RV for a while in a single lane (per direction) segment of the highway, at one point, the vehicles in front of me were able to pass the RV and I got stuck behind it. I actually attempted to pass once but did not complete it because there were vehicles coming from the opposite direction. If I am in the the aggressive mood and driving my CGTS, I would have passed it already... but this time I patiently stayed behind the big RV trailer but was constantly watching the opposite lane.
At one point - the pickup truck/RV trailer applied it's brake and I thought "damn were slow already and now you're braking, so I made the move to overtake. As I was completing the pass, I notice the flashing red and blue behind me... I stopped and waited for about ten minutes before the RCMP walked out of the patrol car.
He - you're going 129..
Me - I realize that, but sorry Sir, i was just completing the pass.
He - you're 59 over the posted limit, this is a 70 zone.
He pointed to the sign maybe 400 yds in front of us.
Me -I am sorry Sir, I did not notice the 70 sign and thought it is still 110, I sped up a little bit while passing so that I don't get caught by the incoming vehicle
He - No, I have to charge you for excessive speeding and will have to impound your vehicle for 7 days.
Then he walked back and went inside his patrol car. I followed him
Me - Sir, can you please give me a break this time for being a good citizen. You can check my records, I have only one speeding ticket in 1996, and there maybe be other photo radar tickets under our licence plates but they all belong to my wife and my daughter (truth). I won't knowingly drive that fast in town. I must have missed the sign because it was blocked by the RV and I passed it when I was making the move to pass.
He- there are buffer zones 100, then 90 then 70
Me - I did not notice that
He - sorry, I made my reports already and I will be in trouble with my supervisor if I remove it.
Me- can I talk to your supervisor?
He - no, sorry. he is off today
Me- how much is my ticket
He - $ 368, I could easily give you another $368 for wreckless driving but I won't today
Me - thank you, but please don't impound my car. It is almost 4 pm now, we are almost 500 kms away from home and my sister and her kids will have to be at the airport by 4 am tomorrow morning. Can I have my car impounded in Edmonton.
He - No. The tow truck is on the way.
Me - But how will I get home?
He - I can call you a cab which will take you to Jasper, you can rent a car there and you can drive home, but you will have to make your mind quick because the car rental companies will close at 5
Me - ok, pls
He called on phone. Within 5 minutes, the tow truck appeared in front of my vehicle and the taxi appeared behind the patrol car, almost simultaneously.
The taxi driver did not give much time to decide, he said "we are more than 90 kms from Jasper and will have to leave now". So we moved our stuff, turned over my keys to the tow truck and left in the cab.
While on the highway, I talked to the driver quite a bit and when he opened up a bit, I asked him
Me - so, you know this officer really well? Is he a good guy?
Driver - oh yeah, this is a small town (Valemont, BC), everybody know each other really well here.
Me - so, you encounter this situation quite a bit here? Where vehicles get impounded and you have to drive somebody to Jasper?
Driver - oh yeah, average of 5 times a week in the summer.
Me - he must be giving you a lot of business
Driver - I am the only taxi here, and we have only one tow truck here and one lot, so we get to do it all the time. Last week, I had to drive somebody to Kamloops, he paid me $1,200
Me - it surprised me that it happened that often. But you know what - I think he got the wrong guy this time. I know he is just doing his job, but he can do a service to the community if he does something else other than catch somebody making mistakes when the highway speed drops from 100 to 70. I won't knowingly do that and I did not notice. I admit I drive fast occasionally, who don't. But I don't drive recklessly in town.
Driver - I know, but in fairness to him, they put their lives on the line all the time, they arrested 5 guys with loaded guns in the bush earlier today.
Me - how much will you charge me for this trip
Driver- $350 but will take $300 if you pay cash
Me - hmm $350 x 5 times a week average, you make good money from people getting caught alone
Driver - not bad, but you know I have expenses too, like the special licence etc..
Me - I might come by bus to pick up my car next week, will you tell Ryan to give me a ride from the bus depot to the car lot? I will buy him coffee
Driver - I will tell and he might do that, or you could call me. Greyhound arrives here at 2:45 am, I can pick you up at 7am and drive you to the car lot for $40.
Then he gave me his business card and dropped us off at Avis in Jasper. We made it home at 10pm.. not bad
From expenses standpoint
Taxi to Jasper - $350
Ticket - $ 368
Tow - $150
Car Lot - $150
Car rental Jasper to Edmonton - $551 (with AAA discount)
RCMP ticket - $368
Still to Come - expenses to pickup car next week, time off from work. Valemont is about 500 kms away
Excessive speeding is a 3 point demerit - happened in another province so not sure if it will affect my insurance premium.
What pisses me off - this is obviously a speed trap. I won't mind all these if I got caught doing 169 in a 110 zone because obviously I am speeding knowingly. But like stated earlier, I got caught doing 129 on a 70 zone at a location before entering a small town along the highway. I admit I drive fast/above posted limits on the highways (who don't), especially when driving my sportier Porsche Cayenne GTS, but I really watch my speed in town and when there are other people/vehicles present.
I googled it up and found out that a lot of drivers get caught by the speed trap in this town, including this story by a lady from a Manitoba.
I have my Escort 9500IX radar detector set at Highway mode all the time (I keep this running all the time even when I don't intend to speed because it breaks the monotony of highway driving and keep me awake) and it went off a number of times during this trip, but never made a single beep this time. I am thinking that the RCMP officer never really clocked me and just read the 129 from the speedometer of his vehicle while he was driving behind me. I am quite sure I was not driving above 110 for a while, and maybe drive 129 at the peak while passing. Somebody told me that in court - the officer has to tell to the judge that he actually clocked the speeder 3 times before he can get a conviction. This could be an illegal charge, that will cost me $2,000 and a lot of inconvenience.
I don't really know the ins and outs of fighting speeding tickets - pls feel free to give your opinion.
I am really pissed off and want to make a lot of noise, but my wife said it is not worth it. Obviously, the RCMP give the local unit a lot of revenues, and the local taxi, towing and impound lot a lot of business. most probably the judge will be from the same small town and friends with them too.
Even if I get my $368 ticket thrown out, I am still out by $1,600.. I hate being a victim of the system. My wife arranged our car rental on the phone, she said the lady in the Avis/Thrifty branch in Jasper told her that this is a regular situation for them.
Some people made comments about the lack of appropriate warning signs in this particular town, If safety is their (real) concern, I am willing to call the local government and highway authority and will be willing to sponsor a couple of big signs to alert drivers to slow down - but I highly doubt the local RCMP unit, towing company and other businesses will appreciate that. I am very tempted to request ATIP inquiry at CIC to find out from RCMP office the real stats. If they are charging a lot of non habitual speeders with excessive speeding in this area - there is obviously something wrong
I don't get the merit of impounding my car, when after incurring a lot of expenses and inconvenience, I could continue driving in a rental car which I am not very familiar with (more risk for me and my family and other travelers)
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