new texas speeding law

Did you know that you can get a speeding ticket for going 58 in
a 60 on the southwest freeway in Houston now ? A friend of my
Dad'd got a speeding ticket last month for passing a Houston officer
giving a ticket on the inside shoulder on the SW frwy at Bellaire.
He slowed down below the posted speeding limit (60) but another
Houston officer after that officer pointed his radar gun at him and
motioned him over. The officer quoted the following law as of 9/1/03:

"SB 193 requires drivers nearing a stopped emergency vehicle that has lights activated, unless otherwise directed by a law
enforcement officer, to:
Vacate the lane closest to the emergency vehicle, if the highway has two or more lanes traveling the direction of the emergency
vehicle; or
Slow to a speed not more than 20 miles per hour (mph) less than the posted speed limit when the posted speed limit is 25 mph or
more; or
Slow to a speed not more than five mph when the posted speed limit is less than 25 mph.
A violation is a punishable by a maximum fine of $200. If the violation results in property damage, the maximum fine increases to
$500. If the violation results in bodily injury, the offense is enhanced to a Class B misdemeanor. "

Personally, I agree that you ought to vacate the lane next to an stopped
officer just for safety's sake. However, this is just too much !

Ya'll be carefull out there !
Lynn
2000 Nighthawk 750
www.mylinuxisp.com/~mmcguire/

 

lights activated, unless otherwise directed by a law

or more lanes traveling the direction of the emergency

speed limit when the posted speed limit is 25 mph or

results in property damage, the maximum fine increases to

I'd guarantee that is "one" that slipped through during the legislation
session.. Ever heard of TMRA II ? Tell your old man to challenge the ticket,
plead "not guilty" and go to trial by jury.. Chances are, he will beat the
ticket.. In Houston traffice, front, back and alongside, it is virtually
impossible to vacate the lane.. Twenty miles per hour is impossible also..
Fight back, dammit.. And support TMRA II.. And stay out of the freakin'
Wal-Mart..

Your friend in Irving
Bill Walker

 

lights activated, unless otherwise directed by a law

or more lanes traveling the direction of the emergency

speed limit when the posted speed limit is 25 mph or

results in property damage, the maximum fine increases to

Actually that has been discussed on this newsgroup before. The law is
designed to protect emergency vehicle workers such as paramedics, ambulance,
and firefighters. Too many people speed along at 70 mph too close to the
emergency workers. So they passed a law to get people to reduce speed along
the road. I've mentioned it here a few times and again at various meetings,
especially noting that after the 1st of the year that the grace period most
officers give will be gone. After that you would start to see speed traps
of officers watching cars go by too fast while other officers are giving
speeding tickets.
This did get some press in the media, well at least in the DFW area. I know
a lot of people bypass the political stuff, but sometimes we do pass out
good info.
Here is a link to a site that has more info on new laws that have been
passed. Watch out for the new handicap law, $256 for violating that
one......

http://www.defensivedriving.com/ddo/newlaws.html

 

Did you know that you can get a speeding ticket for going 58 in

Got more info on this ! The first officer was sitting on 59
with his lights going which created the 20 mph slowdown
situation. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th officers were respectively
writing tickets to everyone who did not slow down to 40
mph. The first officer did not have anyone pulled over,
they were just sitting there.

If it looks like a speed trap, walks like a speed trap and
talks like a speed trap ...

Lynn

 

Another good reason to support TMRA II..If the law is a bad one, work to
change it...

Your friend in Irving
Bill Walker

 

Another good reason to support TMRA II..If the law is a bad one, work to

What the heck is TMRA II ?

Thanks,
Lynn McGuire

2000 Nighthawk 750
www.mylinuxisp.com/~mmcguire/

 

its because off all the Leo's being run over...Its a good law IMO

Hi Steve,

Did you sell that Nighthawk yet ?

Thanks,
Lynn McGuire

 

Texas Motorcyclist Rights Association II.. Sputnik Strain is the president
and the association lobbies and endorses bills in our legislation to protect
the rights of motorcyclists in our state.. They also fight bills that don't
... Some of the bills they endorse or not, involve consumers and voters who
are not motorcyclists.. Look into it, if you are interested, there are
several on here that can give you additional info.. Good organization to
belong to and support...

Your friend in Irving
Bill Walker

 

I received a email from my brother-in-law who's on the Dallas
Sherriff's Department. He was informing us of this new law.

I wrote a reply to him and told him I intend to follow the law to the
letter. Then when I slow from 65mph to 20mph on the highway, I'll just
listen to the tires behind me as they SCREECH.

Many of the officers who've been run over have been because people hit
their brakes to slow from (say) 75mph down to 60mph trying to make
sure they're within the limit of posted. The people behind them end up
trying to avoid slamming into the back of them and go onto the
shoulder only to find a police car sitting there and no where to go
from there. Can you now imagine what it's going to be like if someone
goes suddenly from 70mph down to 20mph with cars and trucks behind
them?

It might be a good intended law, but with the many other laws where
people blindly supported...I don't want to hear a single person cry
because an officer was run down by a motorist who didn't see the
police car and was trying to avoid a wreck when someone suddenly
slowed to a crawl on a fast moving freeway.

 

If it said you must move over OR slow to 20-under, it might be a good law.
It says you must do both, which is foolish.

Just my opinion.

 

You didn't read it right. You slow to 20-under.... that would be 45.

 

When this thread commenced, my advice was to fight the ticket and challenge
the law.. Correct me, if I am wrong, there is another issue that hasn't been
addressed.. When a policeman turns his lights on you, you will proceed to
the safest area where you will pull over and stop for him.. Not sure where I
have seen this, but I have done this on several occasions.. Infuriating to
the officer, but he couldn't do much about it.. This is definitely a "bad"
law and should have been challenged before it ever got to the floor of
legislature.. It wasn't, so the challenge must be presented in court and to
the Attorney General.. Another good reason to support TMRA II.. Perhaps, if
they had not been so proccupied with fighting EPA and dress code
discrimation laws, they would have caught some of these bad laws and
challenged them at the appropriate time.. Hear me, Elmer, Mike, and
Sputnik..

Your friend in Irving
Bill Walker

 

You misread the comment I made.. Reminder.."he couldn't do much about it"..
LOL.. There are a lot of things he "could" do, but the question would be,
"how long would it stand up in court".? The things he "could" do could also
make him appear pretty silly under a decent cross examination..

He could try an evading or eluding charge if he

On my motorcycle, I have challenged a couple of officers who railed at me
for not pulling over "immediately" in an unsafe location.. "Write the
freakin' ticket, or shut up, I will talk with your supervisor while you
write".. I usually wind up with the ticket for whatever the infraction was..
I might add that I have beaten more than I have been found guilty of..

I suspect this one was a sleeper attached to another bill..

If something is proposed in the name of officer safety,

In Houston, Dallas or Austin and San Antonio traffic conditions, this one
could have been hammered down..

Look at the bans on cop-killer bullets and plastic guns,

I will bum kick TMRA II the same way that I will bum kick any corrupt
politician who isn't representing his constituents, Democrat or Republican..

I wish it

I support the work that TMRA II does with regard to legislation.. Some of
the issues they prefer to take on are not exactly to my liking.. I believe
they should be more concerned with "bread and butter" issues.. As far as the
"party" preference, it is no secret that I am a Democrat.. That being said,
I have gone after corrupt democrats as hard as I have gone after corrupt
republicans.. Corruption in politics is my main concern and should be for
all of us..

 

You're right...I mis-spoke (typo'd) it. Trust me, this wasn't the only
place I did that.

FWIW, I think this is a GOOD law...but as we've always seen in the
past, can/will be easily turned into a bad one.

I've had it pointed out to me via personal resources about how
"wonderful" the police are and how they do us all a favor by doing
these traffic stops "by making us all safe". As I've pointed out if
ALL law enforcement were upstanding, the Dallas Sheriff wouldn't be
fighting off an investigation of criminal conduct and we wouldn't have
police officers on trial for civil rights violations.

I hope the person who thinks traffic cops keep us "safe" can/is
reading this.

 

My "bad"... Sorry for the "let-down" for all my constituents and supporters
in my position as Grand Wizardly Wazoo Moderator.. Just can't keep a secret
on here anymore... Dammit.. Regards to the IceLady..

Your friend in Irving
Bill Walker

 

Ah! You are correct. In that case, I don't really have a problem with it. It
was being described on the news by a local officer as move over AND slow
down. I wonder whether they're giving tickets to people who move over but
don't slow down. Sorry for the error.

As Bill points out, if you are being stopped, you really should move to a
safe place. I was once stopped on I-10 in Houston, and I exited the freeway
and pulled onto a side road. I had been in the left lane. When the lights
came on behind me, I moved over to get out of his way. To my surprise, he
followed me! Anyway, I had to move two more lanes to the right before
exiting, so it took minute or so.

I asked the officer what I should have done, and he said I did the best
possible thing, because he hated being on the shoulder on the Interstate.

-Alan L.

 

You seem to have encountered one of the "good" guys, doing his job in a
professional manner.. Those are the ones who should be supported and
respected.. The San Antonio officer who tried to pull me over in a
construction area, raised a whole lot of hell about my not pulling over
"immediately" in that area, which was a death trap to us both.. The pavement
was cut, with a drop off of about six inches.. The barricades were placed in
such a way as to make it virtually impossible to park in any "safe" manner..
The officer followed me for approximately half a mile.. The first words out
of his mouth was "Didn't you see me attempting to stop you".. My reply was
"Yessir.. but the conditions prevented me from stopping in this area".. I
did slow to about 40 mph and was obviously not trying to evade and was
obviously searching for a place to pull over.. The officer persisted with
his "not pulling over, immediately" b/s and I requested a supervisor.. His
probable cause to pull me over, "unsafe lane change".. What ? I had been
running next to the barricades since being in the construction zone.. When
the patrol sergeant came on the scene, his advice to the officer was to
write the ticket for the infraction.. I immediately went back over the area
with my friend who had a camera.. We took appropriate pictures and when I
went to court, the judge dismissed the ticket..

Your friend in Irving
Bill Walker