austin356
06-30-2008, 10:01 AM
From the Washington Post (http://blog.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/2008/06/arizona_dot_official_to_speed.html) -
Arizona DOT Official to Speed Racer Roberta McCain: Get a Driver
UPDATE: We found a record of one traffic citation against Roberta Wright McCain in online Arizona courts files, dated Sept. 30 2002, but it didn't specify what the traffic violation was for or -- if it was a speeding ticket -- how fast Mrs. McCain was driving. Our request for more information from the local court in Seligman, Ariz., where Mrs. McCain was issued the citation, went unanswered.
All we know is that Arizona has two categories of speeding tickets: 1) civil, for anything less than 20 mph over the legal speed limit; and 2) criminal, for anything more than 20 mph over the legal speed limit. State transportation officials say the highest legally allowable speed limit on the highways in Arizona is 75 mph, which, of course, would put Mrs. McCain's 112 mph speeding ticket often mentioned by her son in the "criminal" category.
Regardless, we thought the 96-year-old would-be first mother could use some tips on how to avoid the blue lights in the future. So we turned to fellow lead foot Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), a McCain presidential supporter who, like Mrs. McCain, is known for his proclivity to put the pedal to the metal. (Davis brags about his "spotless record" of dodging radar-toting police, and confesses to two speeding tickets in the last 25 years, though none since 1998.)
Beyond his own credo of "never speed if you can spot a police car nearby," Davis suggests Mrs. McCain should follow this three-point plan for avoiding tickets:
* "Don't run a red light in the District, those cameras will catch you."
* "Drive at rush-hour, you won't have to worry about speeding because the traffic is so bad ... Or drive on I-95 anytime of the day between Richmond and Dale City."
* Take Metro, we just authorized another $1.5 billion for it here in the House."
But here's the advice from the Arizona Department of Transportation's Motor Vehicle Division spokeswoman Cydney DeModica: "I'm thinking she needs to get a driver."
Arizona DOT Official to Speed Racer Roberta McCain: Get a Driver
UPDATE: We found a record of one traffic citation against Roberta Wright McCain in online Arizona courts files, dated Sept. 30 2002, but it didn't specify what the traffic violation was for or -- if it was a speeding ticket -- how fast Mrs. McCain was driving. Our request for more information from the local court in Seligman, Ariz., where Mrs. McCain was issued the citation, went unanswered.
All we know is that Arizona has two categories of speeding tickets: 1) civil, for anything less than 20 mph over the legal speed limit; and 2) criminal, for anything more than 20 mph over the legal speed limit. State transportation officials say the highest legally allowable speed limit on the highways in Arizona is 75 mph, which, of course, would put Mrs. McCain's 112 mph speeding ticket often mentioned by her son in the "criminal" category.
Regardless, we thought the 96-year-old would-be first mother could use some tips on how to avoid the blue lights in the future. So we turned to fellow lead foot Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), a McCain presidential supporter who, like Mrs. McCain, is known for his proclivity to put the pedal to the metal. (Davis brags about his "spotless record" of dodging radar-toting police, and confesses to two speeding tickets in the last 25 years, though none since 1998.)
Beyond his own credo of "never speed if you can spot a police car nearby," Davis suggests Mrs. McCain should follow this three-point plan for avoiding tickets:
* "Don't run a red light in the District, those cameras will catch you."
* "Drive at rush-hour, you won't have to worry about speeding because the traffic is so bad ... Or drive on I-95 anytime of the day between Richmond and Dale City."
* Take Metro, we just authorized another $1.5 billion for it here in the House."
But here's the advice from the Arizona Department of Transportation's Motor Vehicle Division spokeswoman Cydney DeModica: "I'm thinking she needs to get a driver."