Speeding at 124 mph: is this reckless driving?

Yep, I’d call it reckless. At that speed, how could he react effectively and stop the car quickly if needed?

I hope you wrote him a very expensive ticket.

While he may have been completely in control of the car itself, there are so many outside elements, in which he has no control. At 124mph, there’s no way anyone can appropriately stop in time to not crash into such uncontrollable elements.
If I were a cop, I’d go with reckless driving. But I guess I don’t really have a cops handbook to see what specifically determines whether something is speeding as opposed to reckless driving.

Yikes! I would call that reckless. I doubt if someone pulled out in front of them they could stop in time. They even surpassed the world speed limit. Currently, the highest posted speed limit in the world is 140 kilometres per hour (87 mph) on Polish motorways.

Depends on the road and situation. People routinely drive on the Autobahn at well over 100mph, without it being considered reckless. The conditions are the crux for me, particularly the other traffic, taking into consideration that Americans think 80mph is really fast, and may be driving half the speed of the car in this scenario. But I don’t think the info in the description above is enough to sustain reckless driving in my eyes.

Couldn’t you assess both? In NJ, I think the excess speed would actually be the worse offense where fines and points are concerned.

reckless with intent to kill

I’m going with reckless.

Even if he was a trained, professional driver who was in complete control of his vehicle, any other driver would not be remotely prepared to handle a car coming near them at that speed (nor should they be).

The rules of the road are for the majority. Not some guy with an insanely fast car, good driving skills anda need to masturbate publically.

Anything beyond 20 MPH over the limit is reckless driving.

Unless the speed limit is 120 mph….FUCK YES!

immediate arrest

I’m more interested in how the Trans Am managed to hit that speed without disintegrating into a fine mist.

Reckless: as it shows a complete, and dangerous, disregard for the safety of other road users and pedestrians. (as well as for his own safety)

…what did he get? im guessing just a traffic ticket (myself being Australian, im not exactly sure what a “State Citation” involves).

Yes, I’d definitely say it was reckless. The speed of the vehicle was not reasonable or prudent under any conditions.

Could he get both?

First, the driver was a college student at The Nashville Auto Diesel College. this college is well-known throughout the world as one of the best mechanics diesel colleges. graduates from this college go to work for Porsche. this should tell you something. anyway, the driver advises me that he had just added his “special touch” to the engine and was just trying it out. a simple traffic ticket would not suffice in this situation. like one answer stated, “he was driving for the disregard for the safety and property of others”. driving a vehicle this fast is not driving the vehicle, its just aiming it. you really have no control. i issued him a state citation. a state citation is not answerable in a traffic court, but rather criminal court. the driver plead guilty to reckless driving. his attorney in court was of no use. he was fined $1,2000.00 plus court costs, plus his attorneys fee. his auto insurance received 3 points.

I would say reckless driving. At that speed if any little thing had gone wrong or anyone else turned onto that road at the wrong time, the Trans Am and the other vehicle involved, if any, would dissolve into a fine mist.

However, if you could give him both you should.

I don’t want to admit it but it sounds like he was being as careful as he could be. Great minds often take great risks. Does your city provide a track?

@john65pennington “driving a vehicle this fast is not driving the vehicle, its just aiming it.”

I love that!

I’m glad he got reckless driving, and a hefty fine.

$1,2000.00? do you mean 12,000.00 or 1,200.00?

Oh, and i think those consequences are a bit harsh. I mean it could just be me, but answering to a criminal court because he was exited about his car modifications seems slightly unfair.

I think traffic fines shoud be on a sliding scale. $1200 is a drop in the bucket to some people, but it could devistate others.

@iRemy_y And if this jackass killed someone because he was excited about his car modifications would it seem unfair?

Fuck that guy.

@iRemy_y Driving at 124mph is a bit more than being “excited” about car mods.

Speed is addictive. Dangerous and irresponsible…but addictive. Yes, he deserved the punishment, but how many of us speed in more dangerous conditions (weaving between traffic, road rage, on the phone, etc.)?

Hopefully, this guy was arrested for public endangerment and his car should have been confiscated by the court. Scene: 11:00 p.m. – Texas panhandle – 2 guys on ninja bikes southbound from Amarillo. DPS picked them up on radar 45 miles south. DPS clocked them at 135. Chase ensued by DPS and local sheriff’s. Average speed of pursuit vehicles – 120. Ninja bikes may have hit 150 or higher…and were never caught nor seen again.
@john65pennington apparently, DPS called off the entire chase for their own safety. What would you have done?

Assuming it was in the US and not the Autobahn, I would consider it not only reckless driving, but reckless endangerment. The Autobahn may be constructed and managed for extreme speeds, but I can’t think of one US highway on which that kind of speed would be safe no matter how skillful the driver.

Logically, the driver was arrested?

Used to be anything over 85 was reckless driving with the option to arrest if the officer felt so inclined. In Cali.

@Kelly_Obrien . In my state it’s 20 MPH over the speed limit period.

They way I see it, there is no excuse to go that fast on a public road, period. Even many police officers break off chases at such speeds and just call for roadblocks unless there are other circumstances that justify the risks.

Now don’t get me wrong, I like going fast. However, I am also a fan of sanctioned racing in vehicles with appropriate safety equipment (roll cage, helmet…) in areas free of “innocent bystanders” (for lack of a better word) with safety crews standing by.

There is a time and a place for that sort of thing, and IMO public roads are not the place at any time. “Reckless” isn’t the word I’d use, but I think that the letter of the laws regarding reckless driving fit that type of fuck-wittery.

The driver was reckless and a public menace. His attitude was as bad as his behaviour and deserved whatever penalty he received… and then some.

That’s incredibly reckless driving. He should get more than a fine for that.

Come to think of it, the officer involved was also driving reckless. I mean if ”driving a vehicle this fast is not driving the vehicle, its just aiming it,” then you were also just aiming and barely under control yourself. You should have faced the same penalties as the speeder. Shame shame shame….Why didn’t you radio ahead? Were you in such a hodunk county that there were no other cops around?

@Kelly_Obrien – Did you not see that he was a cop?

Cops are exempt from the laws of physics? He was just as out of control as the perp. More so really, because as we all know, you must travel faster than the pursued to catch them, right? So our cop was traveling at speeds in excess of 125mph to catch up to our speeder.

Definitelt reckless driving, no matter how light the traffic conditions. Just a twitch on the drivers part would have turned that Tran-Am into a deadly missile. He should reserve race-track time if he wants to max out his toy.

Have the radar accuracy problems been worked out over the last 30 years? I was once clocked at 78 mph while driving my 1962 M-B 190d which has an absolute top speed of 65 mph. It cost me a lot of time and money to defeat that citation in court (lawyers,mechanics, expert witnesses, etc).

Not if you’re Buckaroo Bonzai.

Reckless. I mean going 20+ over is considered reckless in some states isnt it?

@stranger_in_a_strange_land: Over the 25 years I’ve been driving and the several times I’ve been ticketed, as well as my observations of those roadside radars that post your speed, the radars have been +/- 2 MPH.

I have taken my MINI Cooper S up to 120 MPH a couple times, but only on a recently paved interstate with no nearby traffic and no known speed traps just to get it up there, and then I immediately backed off and resumed normal speed. “Normal speed” on NJ highways is 70–80 MPH, despite the posted 65 limit in clear conditions.

@hearkat This was 32 years ago in a small town in North Carolina.

I think he got off easy. Driving that fast on a public roadway is beyond reckless. 3 points on his license? It should have been suspended.

Also, where I come from anything more than 20 over the limit automatically constitutes reckless driving and is grounds for arrest. It is also treated as due cause for search and seizure, so watch your speed if you’ve got drugs in the car.

I used to live near Virginia Beach, and the worst drivers were fighter jocks. They would be whizzing in and out of traffic at well over 100 miles per hour and you could just catch a glimpse of their flight suits as they went by. What you can do in the sky with a fighter jet you cannot do on the ground in a car with civilian drivers all around, but apparently no one told them that. I think anyone driving like that should lose their license and have their car impounded immediately. Then we can talk about how they get it back.

124 mph is the fastest speeder i have actually caught and hold that record for my police department. the very fastest vehicle i have clocked in lasar radar was 157 mph. it was a Suzuki color lime green and thats all i can tell you. it was like a green streak on the interstate. did i pursue this vehicle? no way. i value my life too much. and, besides, someday someone will be calling an ambulance for him, when he hits the pavement at that speed. a body bag is all that will be necessary, picking up the pieces.

@john65pennington Ambulance? More like a janitor since they are more likely to have a mop and bucket than an EMT is.

I haven’t driven a Trans Am so I don’t know how crappy they drive at 124mph, but I do know a BMW at 115mph is quite controllable on a good open road, and not a “missile.” But the relative speed of other drivers becomes an issue.

@Zaku BMW is known for precise, well-mannered vehicles with good handling. They are also designed for high speeds like those on the Autobahn. On the other hand, American cars are generally not known for handling, stability, safety, or anything of that sort. The main draw of many of the American “performance” cars is V-8—(or V-10) noise, lots of torque, and flag-waving patriotism.—
With rare exceptions like the Corvette, I would not trust most American cars much above 50MPH or in any situation where any sort of response of precision is required, like a parking lot or heavy traffic.

I have a picture of the spedometer of my hubby’s BMW 750 at 150mph.

@jerv
No offense man but I highly doubt (judging from your reply) that you know much about American cars and are just sort of making a slam.
If you are not versed in the awesomeness of the Salt Flat races you should check it out. This is sort of what sparked American Speed.
I could say with the same amount of ignorance that I would not trust a 4WD vehicle from anywhere else but America which is B.S. knowing that there are good vehicles that preform well at quick speeds and off-road. Half of which have amercian parts beneth them. Aside from all this….The biggest paert of driving safely is the driver behind the wheel.

@judochop If you think that the Salt Flats races are awesome then you and I have different opinions on what makes a car decent or great. When I see the “Car of Tomorrow” run Pikes Peak hillclimb in 10:01.408, I might be impressed. And when I find an American car that is actually decent to drive under the conditions I have been known to drive, I might change my mind about the street cars too. Until then, the ‘vette will be about the only American car I would ever actually want to own or drive.

So far the only American car I’ve driven that handled decently had poor acceleration (improper ratio selection in the tranny; not matched to the powerband of the engine at all) and even worse reliability (though that had more to do with age than anything). The rest were either “floaty”, disconnected, unstable, or otherwise ill-handling on anything other than the straight-and-level, and a couple of them were deadly in bad weather that every German or Japanese car I’ve owned would ignore. I will grant that they were comfortable… if you can ignore that discomforting feeling that you are not in control of your vehicle.

My statement was based on experience, and it seems that almost every bad car experience I’ve had involved a bowtie or a blue oval. It might just be a personal jinx, but it sure as Hell isn’t ignorance! However, I do agree that the biggest part of driving safely is proper calibration of the nut behind the wheel, but even the best driver can only do so much with a POS.

BTW – I think that the best all around vehicle that I personally owned was a Subaru that was built in Indiana. Second would be my old 4WD Civic Wagon.

@jerv
I think we do disagree on what makes what an amazing car.
I drive an Audi and I love it. It handles like a dream. I also own an old American truck and just recently got rid of a classic chevy which handled a little like a 3 year old from time to time however I’ve had it in the snow at 10,000’ and through a blizzard for over an hour. It did fine and I love, love, loved it on a nice open strech of road.

@judochop Audis are decent overall, and trucks are what they are; I don’t expect them to handle well with an 8-foot plow, a bed full of lumber, or a loaded trailer.
Now, what is this thing you call, ’’... nice open stretch of road.”? I am pretty sure that urban mazes, mud-bog driveways, NH 9, and the Alaska Way Viaduct don’t qualify.

Although certain vechicles perform better than others, this doesn’t mean that the lesser vehicles cannot handle some high speeds and maintain acceptable control. As someone else said, the driver is a key part of the equation. Put a bad driver behind the wheel of a Ford Festiva or an Audi TT, and the results may not differ significantly.

@avengerscion True, but all else being equal you have to admit that certain cars are stronger in some areas and weaker in others. Why do you think you don’t see many Subarus on the drag strip or Corvettes in the WRC?