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Thursday, April 12, 2012

It’s just not fair


This person drives faster than I do

I just do not believe that I got a speeding ticket on the A23.

According to the notice I got by email from Rozalin (the notices go to Ducky Pharma) I was hammering along at 98 kph in an 80 kph zone.

Well of course I was.

I am very careful around Vienna – especially in the 50 kph zones – and at SCS where they are ferocious.

But on autobahns no one in Austria drives at the speed limit. I do not recall the exact occasion because I always drive at 100 kph on the A23 – but I do it in the slow lane because the fast lane is reserved for those doing 120 kph – or more.

I think I am being victimised - or else as I speak many thousands more people are getting surprised by fines for the speeding blitz on 23 March.

On the weekend when we drove to and from Innsbruck Cate reached speeds of 140 kph – I bet SHE does not get a ticket. And people were passing us at speeds of at least 160 kph.

Cate always drives like the Hounds of Hell are after her and she has had just one measly ticket since she has been here. This is about my fourth.

Fortunately – in Austria you just get fined – and not very much – and don’t lose points off your licence.

I know – all you curmudgeons out there will say ‘well if you don’t speed you won’t get caught’.

But if I did not speed I would be the only one in Austria doing the speed limit.

It’s just not fair.

11 comments:

  1. I went through a spell years ago where I was collecting speeding tickets at a record pace. Very expensive here. Been lucky for a few years but in Grosse Pointe if the sign says it is 35MPH they ticket at 38MPH.

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  2. 120kph (75mph?) isn't all that fast, is it? Here, our turnpike speed limit is 75mph and I always go at least 5mph faster than that.

    The only place I ever got a ticket was in Kansas, where small town police look specifically for out-of-state cars. Huge fine, plus it increased the insurance payment.

    Bastards.

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  3. I feel for you ! A was coming back late from Grafton on night and got pinged doing 119kph in 110kph zone - $216 !! But, given how much he is on the road, I am surprised that this is his first ticket although generally it is me that speeds and not him !
    It is unfair that everyone else is travelling faster than you and not getting ticketed.
    In South Africa we would drive about 150-160kph up the highway and never got tickets - apparently, not so much nowdays - they are generating revenue from speeding tickets at a rate of knots over there now.

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  4. :( speeding tickets - or red light tickets - are no fun! especially when you can pinpoint the day/area & KNOW that you were on the "slow" end of traffic at that time! heh.

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  5. People drive like absolute lunatics here - not only are they driving extremely fast, but they are usually staring at their phone.

    A main street in my neighborhood is 35mph (55-ish kph) and I've yet to see anyone drive under 50mph (80kph). Including the police.

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  6. fmcgmccllc: Well I collect them quickly - but they are not so expensive - i son't know why - everything else is.

    SK Waller: No on a motorway like they have here.

    Me: I think the NSW police are much tougher than the Austrian police.

    CarrieMarie: Well I should have been more careful and stuck closer to another speeder.

    Smedette: Don't you have laws about using a phone? Yes you probably do but people ignore them.

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  7. Bit late catching up with this depate because we were away at the weekend.

    During 5 hours driving to Medowie on freeway where speed limit is 110kph, we saw at least 6 police cars booking speedsters. We were also overtaken by streams of green p-platers, supposedly doing less than 100kph.

    And I swear I'm the only one who obeys the 60kph limit on the M2 heading south!

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  8. My children complain more about my driving lately than they used to while riding with me, but my wife seems to have gone the other direction, so I am not sure if I am becoming better or worse as a driver or if it is a difference between the previous cars versus the taller truck.

    I have noticed that Cooper of course complained almost constantly the last time we went on an outing but I think that was because my wife was in the front passenger seat and he was forced into the back. We also didn't go see prairie dogs so he could bark at them, or watch the trains, as we were using a road trip to escape a thunderstorm, sort of a mobile version of a storm shelter.

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  9. Annie: You would be on your own in Austria too.

    esb: I think it is the truck.

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  10. There's nothing like a voluntary fine to give you the irrits is there? Touch wood.

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  11. Sandy: Fortunately the are no so expensive and you lose no points.

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