Adventures in Sportbike Riding

I thought everyone might be amused by this exchange:

To Whom It May Concern,

Thank you for considering my application. As a former Baltimore City Public School Teacher, it has been a dream of mine to teach again--and a subject matter for which I am very passionate.

I am writing to explain the context of my receiving a ticket for going 10 mph over the speed limit on I-270 towards Washington. I was merging onto the I-270 express lanes from the Sam Eig ramp when a truck going about 10 mph over was dropping debris from his load. The debris appeared to be pieces of broken drywall about the size of small envelopes. I determined that this posed a serious hazard and began the task of passing the truck on the fast lane. Almost as soon as I began accelerating to pass I was radar gunned by a police officer on the shoulder. I explained my predicament to the officer and he told me that I would have to explain it in court. When I explained it in court, the judge told me that instead of passing the truck, I should have slowed down. When I explained that this would pose a hazard as it is especially dangerous to ride slower than the pace of traffic on the highway, he seemed unimpressed. In essence, he seemed like someone who had never ridden a motorcycle. I left the court defeated, and as I recall, $180 poorer.

What I didn't know, until very recently examining my record, is that the judge slapped me with 2 points. To make matters worse, I found out this could jeopardize my becoming a Rider Coach--something I've been dreaming of doing ever since I took the Motorcycle Safety Course myself.

In the two and a half years that I have been riding motorcycles, I have clocked over 35,000 miles on my Yamaha FZR and Honda VFR. Most of these miles are commuter miles on 495 and 270--highways notoriously treacherous for motorcycles. I feel I have something to contribute in the way of real world knowledge.

Please excuse this hiccup in my driving record. I am a safe rider and my otherwise unblemished record shows this. Thank you for your consideration.

Thank You,
-Stanton Byrd

Response:

Stanton,

I received your application from Shaun Anderson at Montgomery College. Thank you for your note with an explanation for your speeding ticket. I am going to accept your application, but you need to be aware that if you get another citation and additional points on your record you will very likely be dismissed from the Instructor Prep Course.

The situation you describe that resulted in your being cited is not uncommon. My guess is that how you executed your maneuver is what attracted the attention of Officer Friendly with the speed honesty checker. Sure, getting out from behind the truck to avoid the falling debris was a good choice, but going to WARP wasn't.

The fact that you were on a sport bike probably didn't help the situation either. However, you'd think that the fact that you pulled over might have been considered in your favor.

You've taken the BRC so you know that part of it addresses a road management strategy where you need to consider consequences. As an Instructor you will be a role model. Yellow lights mean stop and the contact patches of both tires will remain in contact with the road surface.

I'll be forwarding you an email about the IP BRC2 this Saturday.

Phillip S.

Manager
Motorcycle Safety Program
Driver Instructional Services Division
Motor Vehicle Administration