[MARRC-announce] I fought the law and the law...

[thane stielow]

Insert theme to "Rocky," "Gonna Fly Now."

Congratulations on a well deserved victory and a well
fought battle.

thane

--- Tight Squeeze Racing
<tightsqueezeracing@yahoo.com> wrote:
> LOST!
> 
> Last month, while riding my Suzuki DRZ400, I was
> pulled over on the
> Dulles Toll Road after zipping through the SmartTag
> lane(a lane
> dedicated for transponder users only) in the Rt 28
> North toll booth. 
> Typically, cops stand there and bust people for
> State Inspection and/or
> county tax stickers. A fine waste of taxpayer money.
> 
> For those of you that aren't familiar this tollroad
> charges $.50, $.35,
> or $.25 (depending on the the booth) to ANY two
> axled vehicle,
> increasing $.25 for each axle.  I feel this is a
> grave injustice to
> motorcyclists, so I don't pay them.  I've been doing
> it for 5 years,
> and NO they don't send a picture to your house. 
> They're legalling
> allowed to, but they don't have the resources to do
> it, yet.
> 
> ---
> 
> Today was my day in court, and with a few tricks, I
> got a 'Not Guilty'
> verdict.  
> The items I used to prove my innocence were:
> 
> 1. I took pictures of the Big white signs that say,
> "EXACT CHANGE $.50
> CARS ONLY"
> 
> 2. I took pictures of my pickup truck and my
> motorcycle.
> 
> 3. I took my SmartTag that I use in the truck.
> 
> For my presentation to the judge, I handed the cop
> the picture of the
> bike and verified that it was the bike that I was
> riding at the time. 
> Of course, he couldn't remember.  Then had the
> baliff give it to the
> judge. 
> 
> Next, I gave the judge a picture of my Pickup, and
> showed her my
> SmartTag transponder.(If you don't have one, just
> borrow one, they
> won't check.)  I then launched into a diatribe
> complaint about the fact
> that my pickup has a GVWR of 6400#, and my
> motorcycle only 740#, and
> that there's no way that I should have to pay the
> same amount on the
> bike, as when I'm in my truck... less wear and tear
> on the roads, HOV,
> congestion, etc...   
> 
> During the arrest, the cop yelled at me that I
> didnt' pay the toll. 
> "But motorcycles don't have to pay?!" I retorted.
> "EVERYONE MUST PAY!", the evil troll growled, and he
> stormed off to his
> car to write the ticket.
> 
> Back in court, I then handed the picture of the
> three signs to the cop,
> and stated that I was under the impression that
> motorcycles would not
> have to pay, and recalled our roadside 
> "Conversation" to the judge. 
> The baliff passed the photos to the judge, and I saw
> her demeaner
> change.  At first, she was ready to slap me with
> some huge fine and
> points(and maybe contempt), but now she was rubbing
> her forehead in
> disbelief.
> She asked what my interpretation of the signs were,
> as to whether this
> meant that "only cars" could use the Exact Change
> lanes, or if it meant
> that non-cars weren't responsible for the cost.  I
> shrugged my shoulder
> and said,"Both?" and again started the rant about
> the truck weight vs
> bike weight.  She quickly defused me, and turned her
> attention to the
> cop.
> (Game!)   
> 
> (To really appreciate my mood at this point, imagine
> an egomaniac Hank
> Hill with a fat belly hanging over his cop belt, and
> a fat turkey neck
> sticking out of his starched collar.)
> 
> She inquired to him about the signs around the
> particular tollbooth,
> and tried to establish if there are any
> instructional signs giving
> motorists information about who should pay, and what
> the rates would
> be.  They both came up with the fact that the signs
> say $.35 per AXLE,
> and the cop really screwed up and said, "...but
> those signs are for
> trucks!"
> (Set!) 
> 
> She then asked if there were any other signs, and
> the cop stammered and
> muttered while shuffling some papers and then stated
> that he didn't
> know.
> (MATCH!)    
> 
> So, based on that, the judge stated that there was
> not evidence beyond
> a reasonable doubt that she could rule that I should
> have to pay the
> tolls when riding on my motorcycle.
> 
> Steve Clark
> TightSqueezeRacing.org
> '01 Suz DRZ400s
> '99/'00/'01 Suz SV650
> 
> 
> 
> 
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