Victorian Speed Traps ( was: 3801/30 to ararat )

["Hoges" <pghogan@NOSPAMbigpond.com>]

Greg Triplett wrote :
> I got a little $105 reminder at Gheringhap on Monday morning.
>
> :-((((((((
>
Ah, we wondered who that was !  Bad luck, Greg, but we didn't gloat for very
long.

Two groups of NSW caders, running in convey on Tuesday night after the days
proceedings were over, were flashed by the speed camera about 40km outside
Hamilton.  Kind of ironic, after all the perils  of motorcading the train ,
to get picked up while on the transit leg, consciously trying to keep within
the speed limits by using cruise control.

The mistake we made was assuming the same degree of leniency as shown in
NSW, where you generally don't get booked up to 10km/h over the posted
limit.  We were doing just on or under 110 km/h, on a 100 km/h section. It
was a flat , straight and well made section of highway, and I don't consider
we were endangering ourselves or anyone else at that speed.  What was
dangerous was the blinding white flashes that went off straight in our faces
on a dark road in the middle of the night. We didn't even see the Police
car.  As we were both doing an identical speed, we will be comparing our
tickets when they arrive for any inconsistencies.

I consider this practice to be purely a revenue raising exercise, and highly
questionable in terms of driver safety. What if we had been startled by the
flash sufficiently to run off the road? And where are the Police on poorly
surfaced and winding sections of highway, where speeding drivers really are
a hazard?

Back to trains, we were talking to a local at Vite Vite on Monday, and found
out the reason for the extraordinary schemozzle between Inverleigh and
Cressy on Monday. As well as the huge number of motorcaders, it seems we
unwittingly became entangled in a funeral procession, on its way to
Berrybank!  What the mourners thought of the motorcaders can only be
imagined. Some of the caders also seemed intent on prematurely joining the
funeral!

Cheers,

Paul