One ticket, but a big one: Reckless Driving – Speeds in excess of 110mph. I was 26 yo. A friend and I had purchased identical new Honda CB750 Customs (first year models) for cash on a rainy day in February 1980 (got a great deal). We had just completed gingerly breaking in the motors, did the recommended oil changes, etc. and took a ride out to Malibu and the beaches at county line. On the way home, on the 101 South through the Agoura Hills area, there was no traffic so we decided to see what our new bikes were capable of doing. Getting over 110 mph was no problem and it really didn’t seem that it was so very fast. As we came up on the few cars on the freeway, we did some very quick lane changes, but nothing that seemed to put us or others drivers in danger. The CHP patrolman must have seen us from an overpass or tucked in an on ramp and was on us before long. Comparing notes with my friend later, I found we had the same thought: one of us could pull over while the other pretended he didn’t see the CHP immediately and the CHP would either also pull over and bust one of us, letting the other get away, or would chase the other allowing the first guy to quickly exit the freeway and conveniently disappear. Not wanting the extra burden, I slowed down and pulled over with my friend right with me.
And that was the first smart thing we did. The CHP had his say about the dangers of traveling at those speeds even tho there were few cars on the road and then said he was writing us up for Reckless Driving and was going to call in for a tow truck to impound the bikes. That’s when I got very nervous. I envisioned my new spotless bike falling off the hook as it was being raised into the tow truck, or the tow truck driver or impound personnel not giving a shit and mishandling the bike. We appealed to the CHP and he relented because we both pulled over right away and didn’t try to pull a fast one by splitting up, just as we had both considered in the moment before actually pulling over.
So we had a court date scheduled in Calabasas and we did the second smart thing. We dressed conservatively in suits and got there early. We thought discussing the situation with the DA would be a good idea so we asked where we could find him. We found him and he was so busy, he only briefly looked at us when we told him we wanted to discuss the violation. He told us to go on and I explained that there were no prior violations that the incident was just a foolish one time deal of two guys testing out their new bikes and I was sure there would be no future violations and asked for leniency. He said he would be willing to reduce the reckless driving violation to two moving violations, speeding and illegal lane changes, and that with a fine on one and traffic school on the other, only one infraction would stay on record and be available for insurance company review. We agreed.
When we were called into the courtroom, there was the DA and he had a look on his face like he was expecting someone else to be there. When asked if whatthefluther was present, I responded “yes right here.” The DA was suddenly pale as he stuttered to the judge that the County had agreed to reduce the charge but that he frankly had thought he had negotiated the reduction with the violators attorneys and not directly with the violators. Well the judge had some rather strong words for the DA but told him he would have to live with the deal he made. The judge ruled accordingly.
The morale of the story: don’t compound stupidity…get smart and cut your losses!
See ya….Gary aka wtf . (fuck, I feel like I just had a @dalepetrie moment)