On Sat, 01 Mar 2008 19:21:24 -0800, with neither quill nor qualm,
pyotr filipivich quickly quoth:

I missed the Staff meeting, but the Memos showed that Gunner
wrote on Sat, 01 Mar 2008 09:41:26
-0800 in rec.crafts.metalworking :

This is not completely correct. CA has a basic speed law that prohibits
driving faster than is safe. That is applicable on any road.

On roads that have a "maximum speed" posted, this can be enforced regardless
of better than average conditions. A prime example of this is in Gunner's
back yard. Trucks going down the grapevine have a maximum speed limit of 35
MPH. Enforcement begins at 36 MPH.

Indeed. and they DO enforce a 1mph overspeed. And its VERY expensive.
1-5 mph over on the Grapevine as I recall, costs a trucker $471 to
start off with and goes up from there.

Of course the Grapevine has had a LONG history of incredibly horrific
deaths on it as the result of truck traffic.

Dad's story was from the CHP officer who had it floored, was doing
over a hundred and climbing, lights and siren going - when the truck
passed him. I've also been told, if you were really, really,
extremely "use up a lifetime supply, eight and a half of your nine
lives", lucky, you might make it shiny side up, down onto the flat,

I was heading to Sandy Eggo with a buddy in his built 65 Goat, a 389
with 3 2-bbl carbs on it and a 3.03 rear end. We had just entered I-5
south from Oceanside, CA when he sped up to 70 or so, back when it was
a 55mph California. A CHP officer pulled up next to us and pointed for
us to pull over. Phil laughed, hit a long burn in second gear, and we
were off to the races. I **** a brick, thinking we'd be in jail in
minutes. He caught rubber in third and we were leaving the CHP behind
us long before he caught 4th. He leveled off at 140, ran for about a
minute there, and then backed her down. It was then that he told me he
knew the CHP officer and they did that every once in awhile for kicks.
I liked to have killed him for that, but it was a very memorable
evening.


and then coast to Bakersfield. Coast, 'cause you had no brakes.
But that was back in the good old days, before they straightened
the curves.

I had fun driving I-8 to Phoenix back before it was turned into a real
freeway and they removed all the nice twists and turns. sob

Ah, those were the days. I remember one time, beer between legs, when
I'd dropped off a buddy in my '70 AMC Javelin. It was a Mark Donahue
Special with the 390cid, 375hp, 420ft# V-8, Borg Warner T-10 close
ratio 4-sp trans, and 4.11 rear end. What a FUN car! He indicated
that I should light 'em up, so when I went around the corner, I
squealed 'em a bit, then caught second with a full burn. About then, I
noticed that the headlights coming up behind me were coming
increasingly fast. I kept on the throttle through the curves for about
a mile and hit a side street. I moved up a block and pulled over,
shutting off the lights and motor with him a good 1/4 mile behind me.
As the CHP officer in the Dodge Interceptor went by on the other
street, I saw his emblem glow in the moon and was glad I'd pulled off.
I finished my beer, got rid of the can, and retraced my steps as soon
as he was out of sight again. Whew! He'd have hit his siren and
lights as soon as he'd caught up to me and seen my license plate, but
that never happened. Oh, and I didn't spill a single drop of beer
during that high speed pursuit, either. vbg I'm glad the drunken
days are over.

Speed is fun, but a bit less fun once you get gray.

--
An idealist believes the short run doesn't count. A cynic believes
the long run doesn't matter. A realist believes that what is done
or left undone in the short run determines the long run.
-- Sydney J. Harris