Got ticketed with "move over" law, how to fight? (insurance, home)

[Ms_Christina]

You won't get out of it. Time to make some changes in your life. Your license will probably be suspended. Time to dust off the ten speed and get a bus schedule.

[convextech]

Four tickets in a year? Meh.

You're probably gonna lose your license, and it sounds like you deserve it. So far paying the tickets hasn't worked.

[bler144]

As Brett said, the rule is "Change lanes OR slow down," and you did neither.

At best you're walking in to court hoping the judge is sympathetic to your argument that you moved to the far side of your lane, but from a legal perspective that doesn't explain why you didn't slow down.

That you have an unrelated argument for hitting the throttle doesn't explain why you had not previously slowed. Probably is the case that the cop took your revving either as an affront to his/her safety and/or authority. But neither is likely to win you points in court.

[hush.bereel]

Yeah, don't take this the wrong way, but you brought this on yourself, and you probably do need to have your license suspended, so you can think about things. 4 tickets in 1 year (as has already been repeated) is too many.

The next part, in the MSF course (motorcycle safety course required for motorcycle endorsement, BRT) they specifically teach you to try staying out of cars blindspots and be as visible to other cars as possible, and I was in the cars blindspot to the left of me. So right as I passed the cop I hit the throttle a bit so I get be just ahead of the car on the left to me to make myself more visible to them and be out of their blindspot.

You know, there's more than one way to get out of the car's blind spot.

You chose the dumb way that is all but guaranteed to annoy the cop and result in a ticket if he can catch you. People all over Oregon encounter this exact situation every day and manage to not get a ticket by simply slowing down.

You can try going to court, but given your record and complete lack of a good argument for why you couldn't be bothered to slow down, I wouldn't expect much sympathy.

[Leisesturm]

Yep. Its unanimous. O.p. needs the downtime. I would add this. I've read the term "driving" in a number of posts. As a former motorcyclist myself I can't begin to express how profoundly different from driving a car, driving a motorcycle is. The stakes are SO much higher. The o.p. IMO might be someone who should not want to drive a bike. They don't have the discipline for it. Being killed would actually be a good outcome. Sadly, ALL the ex-bikers I know have had to live with life changing disabilities after their accidents. I am a pretty by the book kind of guy and I still went down. I am about the only ex-biker I know who has slid for a 1/4 mile or more on their back, side, front and other side and mangaged not to hit anything hard while doing it. I was very, very, very, lucky.

O.p. you have learned to ride your bike and now it is second nature and you are taking the physics of it all for granted. Don't do that! You are literally putting your life in your hands everytime you swing a leg over. Act like it! Pay attention. Never let your concentration lapse. If you can't do that, sell the bike. Its very hard on those who care for you to have to watch what is left of you after a wreck shamble through the rest of your life.

H

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Yep I agree with the above posters, and I know 100% it's not what you want to hear.

I have four sons, and I remember what it was like going through with them at your age and phase of their lives.

All I can say is man up, be an adult, and do what needs to be done.
Take accountability for your actions, pay the price and hopefully learn from your mistakes.
I say mistakes, because I don't believe that the "Man" is out to get you.

One thing, I'll bet that you watch your driving a lot more carefully from now on, and that's a step in the right direction.

The GrandPa lecture is over now.
Stand tall, grow a pair, and go take care of your business like a man.

[otemp14]

Originally Posted by Ms_Christina

You won't get out of it. Time to make some changes in your life. Your license will probably be suspended. Time to dust off the ten speed and get a bus schedule.

In reply to this and other people..

The thing is, school, work, and where I live are in 3 completely difference cities, and you can't get to any of them from the other by bus.

My school is 45 miles away from where I work, I live 27 miles away from school, and I live 21 miles away from where I work. I live in the "middle of nowhere" in a small town with no public transportation. I drive about 150 miles every day.

That transportation is impossible unless I have a car or something... So I need to work something out with the Judge, or something. I just can't function at all without a vehicle right now, especially in my current situation. If I could work something out with the judge where I only drive to work and school that'd be great, but I don't know how that would play out.

The whole reason I got a motorcycle (got my endorsement a week ago, started driving a motorcycle directly after I turned it into the DMV and made it legal) was so it'd be cheaper because of the immense time I spend driving right now, and to be honest I've been driving a lot safer on a bike (except for this "move over" incident..) than I usually do in a car, because I'm too afraid of going fast on it, and DO NOT want to get in an accident on it so I'm a lot more cautious of my surroundings, I've known a few people who've died on a motorcycle and my dad knows many more. I just made a false judgement while passing a cop, for a law I never knew about until I got ticketed for it.

[otemp14]

Originally Posted by Leisesturm

Yep. Its unanimous. O.p. needs the downtime. I would add this. I've read the term "driving" in a number of posts. As a former motorcyclist myself I can't begin to express how profoundly different from driving a car, driving a motorcycle is. The stakes are SO much higher. The o.p. IMO might be someone who should not want to drive a bike. They don't have the discipline for it. Being killed would actually be a good outcome. Sadly, ALL the ex-bikers I know have had to live with life changing disabilities after their accidents. I am a pretty by the book kind of guy and I still went down. I am about the only ex-biker I know who has slid for a 1/4 mile or more on their back, side, front and other side and mangaged not to hit anything hard while doing it. I was very, very, very, lucky.

O.p. you have learned to ride your bike and now it is second nature and you are taking the physics of it all for granted. Don't do that! You are literally putting your life in your hands everytime you swing a leg over. Act like it! Pay attention. Never let your concentration lapse. If you can't do that, sell the bike. Its very hard on those who care for you to have to watch what is left of you after a wreck shamble through the rest of your life.

H

I know this, I know how dangerous bikes are. I'm afraid of the bike when I ride it, I'm very cautious. I know what it can do to me, I've known quite a few people who've died on a motorcycle. I literally just got my endorsement a week ago and have driven a motorcycle since, so I'm always kind of afraid to go into any of the faster lanes on the freeway because I don't want be rushing with traffic, hence I'm usually always in the slow lane. That cop was on the right-most side when I passed him and I was in the slow lane. I just really want and need a way of getting out of this ticket, I don't care what I have to do.

All the other tickets I got where 5 months ago, after I got them I realized that there was a problem so I started driving a lot more, .. "better". I just made false judgement in this last incident..

[Leisesturm]

Mike, I think you need to chew on this kid's ***** some more. Talk about a hard case. You're breaking my heart o.p. Do you hear yourself? "I'll do anything...". Sometimes there isn't anything you can do except face the music. Think of it as the Universes way of telling you that it was insanity in the first place to lock yourself into the kind of crazy commute situation that you find yourself in.

I said "pay attention" when you are on the bike. I did not say "be afraid". There is no place for fear out there among the heathen! What is with this "slow lane, faster lanes nonsense". Any lane can be used to attain the maximum speed posted for the road that you are on. Are you even insured? Adequately? I have to wonder because your finances seem so close to the edge. Operating a motor vehicle requires cash reserves. If you don't have the money to fuel, insure and maintain your bike. Sell it. Move to town and call it good.

Your bike gets 40mpg. You are paying a lot of money DAILY to haul yourself thither and yon and at the end of the day you are just running in place. All the money you make you spend on your bike and/or school. All your time in school you spend worrying about how you are going to pay for this that or the other thing. What kind of grade point average are you running? Would I be impressed? Move near school, find a job near school. Live long and prosper.

H