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[AirBrian]

Minn. Trooper Writes 205 Mph Ticket

WABASHA, Minn. - With a State Patrol airplane overhead, a motorcyclist hit the throttle and possibly set the informal record for the fastest speeding ticket in Minnesota history: 205 mph.

On Saturday afternoon, State Patrol pilot Al Loney was flying near Wabasha, in southeastern Minnesota on the Wisconsin border, watching two motorcyclists racing along U.S. Highway 61.

When one of the riders shot forward, Loney was ready with his stopwatch. He clicked it once when the motorcycle reached a white marker on the road and again a quarter-mile later. The watch read 4.39 seconds, which Loney calculated to be 205 mph.

"I was in total disbelief," Loney told the St. Paul Pioneer Press for Tuesday's editions. "I had to double-check my watch because in 27 years I'd never seen anything move that fast."

Several law enforcement sources told the newspaper that, although no official records are kept, it was probably the fastest ticket ever written in the state.

After about three-quarters of a mile, the biker slowed to about 100 mph and let the other cycle catch up. By then Loney had radioed ahead to another state trooper, who pulled the two over soon afterward.

The State Patrol officer arrested the faster rider, 20-year-old Stillwater resident Samuel Armstrong Tilley, for reckless driving, driving without a motorcycle license — and driving 140 miles per hour over the posted speed limit of 65 mph.

A search of speeding tickets written by state troopers, who patrol most of the state's highways, between 1990 and February 2004 shows the next fastest ticket was for 150 mph in 1994 in Lake of the Woods County.

Tilley did not return calls from the newspaper to his home Monday. A working number for him could not immediately be found by The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Only a handful of exotic sports cars can reach 200 mph, but many high-performance motorcycles can top 175 mph. With minor modifications, they can hit 200 mph. Tilley was riding a Honda 1000, Loney said.

Kathy Swanson of the state Office of Traffic Safety said unless Tilley was wearing the kind of protective gear professional motorcycle racers wear, he was courting death at 200 mph.

"I'm not entirely sure what would happen if you crashed at 200 miles per hour," Swanson said. "But it wouldn't be pretty, that's for sure."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=8&u=/ap/20040922/ap_on_fe_st/205_mph_ticket_2

Holy crap!

EDIT: Bah, Doth beat me by a minute.

 

[Doth Togo]

Repost, yo.

http://www.ga-forum.com/showthread.php?t=15530

 

[sc0la]

I love how the person who posted it last had the most posts and was locked (AirBrian serving notice) then Doth Togo served notice in ABs thread about his, which unfortunately for being first has no posts.

TURF WAR.WEB RIGHTS.

200 is fucking fast for a bike, I would be scared shitless.

 

[mrmyth]

You wouldn't have time to be scared shitless. You'd be in the next county if you stopped to think at that speed.

 

[duderon]

How much was the ticket :lol

 

[Shogmaster]

How much was the ticket :lol

license revoked for couple of years, 30+ days in jail, $5000+ in fines, and a swift kick to the nads.

 

[Vitten]

I don't see what the probem is by driving as fast as your vehicle lets you on a deserted highway.
Then again, for me Germany's autobahns are only an hour away

 

[Cool]

Man, some of the assholes from my high school seem to move that fast out of the school parking lot.

 

[AirBrian]

I don't see what the probem is by driving as fast as your vehicle lets you on a deserted highway.
Then again, for me Germany's autobahns are only an hour away

The problem is that even though the highway might be "deserted," there are still the occasioinal cars on the road.

The speeding car is traveling at:

205 miles/hour, or
3.42 miles/minute, or
0.06 miles/second.

That means it takes him 17.56 seconds to go a mile or 4.39 seconds to go a quarter-mile.

A car ahead of him who might change lanes will check the mirrors and not see a car or might see a car but it's very far behind, and will then continue to change lanes. The speeding car then rushes up and could potentially cause a very dangerious situation. And all of this happens within less than 5 seconds (to compensate for the speed of the lane-changer), assuming both drivers are completely aware and have very fast reflexes. It's just really, really stupid to do unless you're on a track.

 

[Tommie Hu$tle]

The problem is that even though the highway might be "deserted," there are still the occasioinal cars on the road.

The speeding car is traveling at:

205 miles/hour, or
3.42 miles/minute, or
0.06 miles/second.

That means it takes him 17.56 seconds to go a mile or 4.39 seconds to go a quarter-mile.

A car ahead of him who might change lanes will check the mirrors and not see a car or might see a car but it's very far behind, and will then continue to change lanes. The speeding car then rushes up and could potentially cause a very dangerious situation. And all of this happens within less than 5 seconds (to compensate for the speed of the lane-changer), assuming both drivers are completely aware and have very fast reflexes. It's just really, really stupid to do unless you're on a track.

Yes there is that risk but, there is also the joy of hitting 205. That trumps risk.