How do Americans get away with this?
Discussion
I happened upon this video where two Americans on sports bikes are seen riding at well over 170mph on public highways with plenty of other traffic around. The video author made no attempt to hide his speed, nor did they try to conceal their identities. If that had happened in the UK, the police would have identified the culprits and had them in court in no time with a custodial sentence likely. How do Americans get away with it? Can they not be prosecuted based on video evidence?
I'm no angel when it comes to speed, but in my opinion this is way beyond fast and is dangerous. Madness begins at about the 60-second mark
I'm no angel when it comes to speed, but in my opinion this is way beyond fast and is dangerous. Madness begins at about the 60-second mark
Edited by LunarOne on Sunday 3rd March 20:27
martinbiz said:
Happens everywhere including the UK. How do you know they got away with it, they may well have been identified and prosecuted, I doubt it would have made the UK headlines
People don't upload videos of themselves doing stuff like that in the UK because they know the police will be on to them. And on the rare occasion that someone is silly enough to do it, they don't advertise who they are. And they still get caught - remember the 201mph RS6 driver? https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...This guy is not hiding who he is, he's identifying the other rider, and he has continued to post regularly since that video which suggests that he did get away with it. Although he did post a video where he apparently wrecked his ZX10 at a track. That's one way to stop posting videos of your bike without arousing suspicion...
LunarOne said:
martinbiz said:
Happens everywhere including the UK. How do you know they got away with it, they may well have been identified and prosecuted, I doubt it would have made the UK headlines
People don't upload videos of themselves doing stuff like that in the UK because they know the police will be on to them. And on the rare occasion that someone is silly enough to do it, they don't advertise who they are. And they still get caught - remember the 201mph RS6 driver? https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...This guy is not hiding who he is, he's identifying the other rider, and he has continued to post regularly since that video which suggests that he did get away with it. Although he did post a video where he apparently wrecked his ZX10 at a track. That's one way to stop posting videos of your bike without arousing suspicion...
LunarOne said:
I happened upon this video where two Americans on sports bikes are seen riding at well over 170mph on public highways with plenty of other traffic around. The video author made no attempt to hide his speed, nor did they try to conceal their identities. If that had happened in the UK, the police would have identified the culprits and had them in court in no time with a custodial sentence likely. How do Americans get away with it? Can they not be prosecuted based on video evidence?
American police forces are often small and fractured organisations. If you have a small.lolice department that have some association with these people or simply lack the capability to investigate then it'll be forgotten about.I think the act of speeding in the US is only a civil and not a criminal offence, and to be fined for it you would need to be caught in the act. They can potentially trace the driver/rider from a video, but it would need a court to approve a warrant before they can investigate which they don't ever seem to bother doing as they have more serious crimes to deal with.
thegreenhell said:
I think the act of speeding in the US is only a civil and not a criminal offence, and to be fined for it you would need to be caught in the act. They can potentially trace the driver/rider from a video, but it would need a court to approve a warrant before they can investigate which they don't ever seem to bother doing as they have more serious crimes to deal with.
It depends on each state. In Colorado speeding up to 24mph over the limit is a traffic infraction (civil). 25mph and over is a misdemeanor and is therefore criminal. In terms of tracking down people from video footage, it does happen. Here in Colorado a biker was caught after posting footage of him doing 170mph on I25 between Denver and Colorado Springs. (https://www.9news.com/article/news/crime/youtuber-motorcyclist-warrant-colorado-springs-denver-investigation/73-dbccfbb0-9cd5-4a39-8c74-1e50e14b4f68). The State Patrol used a number of methods to identify who the driver was. The warrant was issued for the driver's arrest once there was probable cause that he was the individual who committed the violation.
In response to another poster asking about the equivalent to Section 172 of the Road Traffic Act, in Colorado there is no legal requirement to identify a driver (in part due to the protections offered by the 5th Amendment against self incrimination). For example, if you were to be caught on camera going through a red light in a vehicle owned by somebody else, they are under no obligation to name you as the driver.
Edited by BertieWooster on Monday 4th March 00:44
As already stated, their system is the reverse of ours.
The police in the US have to prove who was riding the bike or driving the car. This is clearly time consuming, potentially difficult, and will likely get challenged by a lawyers, the District Attorney (their prosecutor) or the Judge.
Over here, as you know, if the vehicle is seen doing something naughty, the owner has to prove it wasn't them otherwise they will get hit with the charges.
The police in the US have to prove who was riding the bike or driving the car. This is clearly time consuming, potentially difficult, and will likely get challenged by a lawyers, the District Attorney (their prosecutor) or the Judge.
Over here, as you know, if the vehicle is seen doing something naughty, the owner has to prove it wasn't them otherwise they will get hit with the charges.
Mont Blanc said:
As already stated, their system is the reverse of ours.
The police in the US have to prove who was riding the bike or driving the car. This is clearly time consuming, potentially difficult, and will likely get challenged by a lawyers, the District Attorney (their prosecutor) or the Judge.
Over here, as you know, if the vehicle is seen doing something naughty, the owner has to prove it wasn't them otherwise they will get hit with the charges.
No they don't, the keeper is obliged by law to name the driver. A prosecution still has to prove the offence was committed, not the other way roundThe police in the US have to prove who was riding the bike or driving the car. This is clearly time consuming, potentially difficult, and will likely get challenged by a lawyers, the District Attorney (their prosecutor) or the Judge.
Over here, as you know, if the vehicle is seen doing something naughty, the owner has to prove it wasn't them otherwise they will get hit with the charges.
liner33 said:
They dont
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13063827/...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8ijNOHoF_o&ab...
Maybe they didn't have too, if he'd all but admitted to it on his videohttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13063827/...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8ijNOHoF_o&ab...
martinbiz said:
liner33 said:
Maybe they didn't have too, if he'd all but admitted to it on his video
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