smd4

It's all in books. 100 years ago you could take a correspondence course on locomotive management. I have all the textbooks (and have read the pertinent ones). Hands-on experience definitely helps, though.

tomato coupe

First ballot Hall of Fame material.

genejockey 

I have a copy of Forney's Locomotive Catechism, too. Found it at an old book store near the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum. I was amazed at all the stuff they had to know. There's a reason locomotive engineers were among the highest paid labor.

LarrySellerz

youd probably have to use water displacement to measure volume change, which sounds like a hassle

Reflector Guy

I tried that line of reasoning the last time I got a speeding ticket. It only made matters worse. Much worse.

LarrySellerz

I got a ticket a few months ago for "failure to stop at a stopsign" when I didn't even do anything wrong, stopped most of the way, and it was this weirdo cop who must have been new to the force and doesn't know who I am. I have a good relationship with the woodside police department and this was out of pocket of them to do, so I ignored it. No way am I gonna pay. I asked another cop what would happen if I ignored it and he told me they would put a warrant out for my arrest, and I told him he was full of ****. Will the fine eventually go away? I heard medical debt expires after like 10 years

tomato coupe

Yes, unpaid traffic tickets are technically classified as medical debt, so you’ll be okay ignoring it.

MixedRider

Unpaid traffic tickets (if issued to you with correct SSN and address) could result in late penalties and eventually head to collections. Additionally, your drivers license may be suspended until they are paid.
As for medical debt, I would check with a lawyer...

urbanknight

Don't believe this! I heard Big Gravel employs bounty hunters to track down cyclist traffic violators.

LarrySellerz

jokes on them I dont have a drivers license. I messed up and gave him my real info, and the penalty for not doing anything was 300$ according to the letter they sent me. Im not paying anything though no way, I was in the right.

livedarklions

Did you sign anything when he gave you the ticket?
Failure to appear if you signed a promise to appear can be a misdemeanor under California law.

Really stupid thing to do to ignore a ticket. Turns a no big deal into a potentially big deal problem.

livedarklions

So go to court and fight it. You like to argue, just wear a shirt and have fun with it. Bring in photos and everything.

ThermionicScott 

Air can hurt you, too:

m.c. 

An ignored ticket here gets you a warrant. Every now and then they take the list of people with warrants and go out and get them during the night.
Your relationship with the police is irrelevant to the prosecutor and judge.

urbanknight

Does Larry live in California?! I wonder if I've ever unwittingly lost a race to him.

Koyote

College roommate of mine accumulated three campus parking tickets back in the early '80s. They were $5 each. He went to the local court, where a magistrate threw out one of them. To get out of the courthouse, he had to pay the $10 -- but then he stopped payment on the check. (Same story as Larry's: felt he was "in the right.")

I suggested that they would not just forget about it...There would be consequences. But my friend just laughed and said, "We're going home for the summer. Nothing will happen."

About a month later, my friend was driving the tractor on his family's farm, 80 miles from campus, when a squad car pulled up on the nearby dirt road. The cops got him out of the tractor (shirtless), cuffed him, and took him to jail for booking. As I recall, it ended up costing him more than $10.

LarrySellerz

I'm in the bay, you can find me on the local group rides

tomato coupe

Big Gravel vehemently denies this. Big Gravel would also like to remind you that we know where you live.

Koyote

This line is my favorite part of the story. It's like one of those "Karen" stories.

smd4

Most of the way? Is this like being "sort of pregnant?" Either you stopped, or you didn't. If you didn't, then yes, you did something wrong.

njkayaker

So, you didn't stop.

So, again, you asked somebody who should know more than you and, because you didn't like their answer, declare that they are wrong.

urbanknight

Ah, unless that's "south bay" I'm too far away. Haven't cycled in Nor Cal since my racing days in the 90's.

But yeah, bench warrants don't expire here.

Koyote

Hey, try to follow the plot, please. It was the cop's fault. He was new to the force, and didn't know that Larry gets to, you know, break the law and stuff.

smd4

Probably. I'm in North Carolina, and it happened to me.

njkayaker

If he stopped, he would have said he stopped. Clearly, he didn't stop and is trying to pull one over on people here.