Good Bye Road Bike....

[DEATH_INC.]

Bugger eh?That sucks.....
It's Funny how you always get sprung just over,yet heaps of clowns you know get plastered and get away with it regularaly....
I'm with the others save up and get something better after your time....

[monkey99]

yes and we all know the tolerance levels shown in the UK...mostly nil due to the insane group of courier bikers huh well in all fairness I have had a similar experience girlygirl...scared me straight...neva gonna do dat again! I had a few (ie: 2) glasses of red with a dinner party..pissin with rain and got all my wet weather gear on...got quizzed by a few about my sobriety.. we even did some co-ordination tests!! but half way home realised i was not all there...neva been so scared..till this day..choose ya passion, ride to live live to ride or sit ya ass down and drink and laugh with others equally rolled!!

[Two Smoker]

- everything happens for a reason.

Why did i crash my 600??? Still trying to work out the good bits of that...

Work licence costs around $1000-$1500 (ring your lawyer or go get one)

[Beemer]

I had a scare many years ago and it put me on the straight and narrow ever since! I had gone out to dinner with a friend and over a three course meal we'd had a bottle of wine between us. I'd gone back to their place and had one whisky (a double, and neat) and when I left there at about 1am, I got pulled over at a compulsory breath testing road block just north of the Terrace Tunnel. I wasn't worried, because it had been over several hours and I had eaten a decent meal, but I failed the initial breath test. I was so scared, but the first cop was great. He said it was only an indication that I had been drinking, not how much I had drunk. I had to pull over and have another breath test (blow in the bag type, shows how long ago it was!) and that cop was horrible. He said "you've obviously been drinking" to which I replied that I had shared a bottle of wine with dinner and then had a whisky about four hours earlier. He then said "and you obviously think you are fit to drive" - and I explained that I would not have driven if I thought I was not capable of doing so. You could tell he thought I was the lowest of the low, but thankfully I passed the second breath test and was free to go.

It gave me the biggest scare of my life and I have always been very careful of how much I drink when I know I have to drive. Now, I will have one or two small glasses of wine or a beer with food if I am driving, and nothing if I am riding. I had one beer once when on the bike and found I didn't feel as alert as normal, so I don't risk it now.

Your size and the amount of body fat you are carrying makes a huge difference to the amount you can safely drink when driving. Fat absorbs alcohol quickly, which is why men and women of similar size will be affected by alcohol quite differently as women usually have more body fat. Sad but true!

I don't have any sympathy for those who are done for being over the limit, but I certainly can see how easily it can happen after my experience. I was a sales rep at the time and if I lost my licence, I would have most likely lost my job too. Thankfully my husband doesn't drink, so whenever we go out I don't have to worry about driving home if I want a drink or two!

[unhingedlizard]

when i was young and stupider I rode home on an MT5 after getting completely trashed with some friends. Up in scotland in the back of beyond and snowing. How i got home without crashing i will never know. Now im strictly a no drinks when driving kinda chap.

[crashe]

hey when you go to court....
Please get your laywer to mention that it was a "TEMP 50km" sign and that it was also foggy on that night. So that there was no way that you could see it... as the fog was so low that night...

When did the sign get put up there.... was it there when you left home?
If it went up afterwards then thats the last thing you would be expecting to see...

You may just get a heavy fine and loose some demerit points.

Yep good on ya for putting your hand up and saying what ya did.
But I guess you have now learnt a big lesson...

[marty]

hey when you go to court....
Please get your laywer to mention that it was a "TEMP 50km" sign and that it was also foggy on that night. So that there was no way that you could see it... as the fog was so low that night...

When did the sign get put up there.... was it there when you left home?
If it went up afterwards then thats the last thing you would be expecting to see...

You may just get a heavy fine and loose some demerit points.

Yep good on ya for putting your hand up and saying what ya did.
But I guess you have now learnt a big lesson...

probably not a good idea to say it was too foggy to see the 50k sign - probably shouldn't have been going 100 if it was THAT foggy....

i'm not sure about arguing that you didn't expect to see the sign - you shouldn't expect anything when driving (especially when riding) - a classic case of assumption, makes for a dangerous cocktail.

diversion won't be offered - never is for EBA, as it has a MINUMUM penalty (as opposed to a maximum one - but it also has one of those too)

the 'cost' of a limited licence, which can be applied for once 28 days of your disqualification has passed, is around $1500, depending on your lawyer, and how much appealing he/she has to do. most of it goes to the lawyer, i think it's about $50 to lay the application.

[spudchucka]

I just noticed that you said he took you back to the station for a breath test. Did he not administer a roadside test?
If not, were you arrested and taken to the station? If so, what charge?
It's starting to sound fishy. I'd see the Citizens advice lawyer if I were you.

There is no need to administer a road side test if for whatever reason a testing device is not available. All the cop needs to do is form good cause to suspect that the driver has consumed alcohol in order to require the driver to accompany the officer to a police station. There is no need to arrest the driver in order to get them back to the police station. It doesn't sound fishy at all.

[marty]

a road side breath screening test is the norm, unless a machine/bag is not available, in which case, if reasonable grounds are established (ie 'i've drunk a bottle of wine') then a 'requirement to accompany' is then issued, not an arrest. that only comes about upon a refusal to accompany. the actual EVIDENTIAL test is carried out at the station, or on the bus.

but you already knew that, drawing on your vast relevant experience, didn't you lou?

[_Gina_]

Yep good on ya for putting your hand up and saying what ya did.
But I guess you have now learnt a big lesson...

Thanks Crashe I have learn't a HUGE lesson, I go to court tomorrow, will post and let you all know the outcome. I am mentally preparing for losing my licence, as it is apparently manditory nowadays, unless special circumstances are enough to sway the judge, I will be presenting special circumstances and have my fingers crossed.

Gg.

[_Gina_]

All the cop needs to do is form good cause to suspect that the driver has consumed alcohol in order to require the driver to accompany the officer to a police station.

You are right on there, he asked me and I told the truth, thereby requiring him to take me back for a breath test.


No point in lying is there?? Well, not in my experience!

[Zapf]

Why did i crash my 600??? Still trying to work out the good bits of that...

Work licence costs around $1000-$1500 (ring your lawyer or go get one)

I had that reply from a lawyer once, and I was asking him to defending me in court.... he said " don't bother, just admitt it and get a work licence... for like 1.5k.." naturally I walked out the door and defended myself. and walked out of court laughting. people have to remember that lawyers are NOT the law.

[SDU]

DOH
So I might need to revisit stifarms original idea of learning to ride off road first....although I don't fancy breaking bones at 31 years of age, it would be fun, buckets maybe?

Bummer of a situation you're in Girlygirl.
I Reckon you should ride off road in the meantime. You can learn so much trail riding and it is awesome fun.
I learnt to ride off- road in my thirties and I still go out trail riding when I can. Love it. I have crashed heaps and (probably asking for it now) not managed to break my brittle old bones yet -You can break your bones road riding or even just falling over walking if its on the cards.
Make the most of a shit situation.
Good luck in court.
Cheers
SDU

[CPB]

I figure it's a wake up call, although an ill timed one.

...sometimes the ill timed wake up calls are in fact timed perfectly. As has been said, everything is for a reason...not that you need me spouting off, sounds as though you're only to aware of how this game all works...