Scruit

So the disclaimer about watching the install just means that if your bike is not recoevered then you won't get your install cost back, right? Will Lojack still take all recovery measures for an 'observed' install that they will for a 'secret' install? They are worried that someone may find where it is if we know about it?

Jason Highsmith was the State Trooper in this incident, and he still is a State Trooper (Was a bike cop, was kicked off the bike squad). Chris Thomas was the Gahanna officer, and he was fired (was a swat officer but was on worker's comp from a fall - no apparent action taken by BWC re: being able to ride in the stated manner but unable to work).

I do all my own work on my bike/cars/trucks unless it requires tools that cost more than my car. Nobody works on my car/bike/truck unless I am there to watch. I have been burned too many times by "professional" mechanics who don't give two hoots about the quality of the job they do.

Time to pick at this old scab again... http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2009/09/24/story_trooper.html?sid=102

Dunno about nowadays, but back when I worked for Chase there were monthly layoffs and moral was in the toilet.

I'll take a rear-ended over a t-bone any day. (That's what SHE said...)

http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2009/08/24/story_speeding.html?sid=102 The Gahanna (149mph) officer was fired yesterday. The Trooper (147mph) was recommended for termination but the OSHP and Union came to an agreement on a 5 days suspension and reassignment (not sure if this is the reassignment announced a few weeks ago from "motorbike cop" to "traffic duty", or a further reassignment.) Termination Letter: http://www.10tv.com/live/export-content/sites/10tv/local/stories/2009/08/25/ThomasLetter.pdf

She's been charged with Vehicular Manslaughter. OK, here's what I got... She's been dinged for ORC2903.06A4 (M2/Vehicular Manslaughter) and ORC4511.42 (MM/Failure to Yield). Next hearing is a pretrial conference before Judge Mark R Bogen on October 5th at 1pm at Lebanon Municipal Court. And she's not blond. EDIT: Duh me. There's a news story on it. http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/crime/woman-charged-in-fatal-crash-256238.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgFfKiQz2Co I hate when people pull up into my driveway for no apparent reason. One time I was woken up at 1am by headlights lighting up my bedroom window. I looked out and saw a blacked out car parking halfway down my driveway (which is 100' long). The car saw me twitching the blinds and backed out of my drive, wheelspinning all the way down the street. I'd say they were casing the bike. Now that they know what kind of security you are using, change it. They know what equipment they need to bring to actually get away with your bike now (bolt cutters etc). Make it so that equipment isn't enough. Motion activated lights work good. I'd also get a driveway monitor that alerts inside your place if someone approaches. Example http://www.rewci.com/widralsy.html (I have have good luck with this brand of monitor - Not an endorsement of the vendor)

You can shift a car without a clutch too. On upshifts you let off the gas and pull the stick into neutral, wait for the rpms to drop to match the next gear, then apply a little pressure to the shifter into the next gear. If you do it right it pops into gear with no harshness. On downshifts you have to blip the throttle to bring the RPMs up. Again, just pullit out of gear, blip the gas then apply pressure on the shifter towards the next gear. You have to know how far apart the gears are in RPM when you're first starting out, but after time you just get used to it. 1-2 is about 1500rpm, 4-5 is only 500. Do I do this all the time? Heck no. It's a cute little party trick, but for regular driving I just use the clutch instead. I *DO* blip the throttle on downshifts while using the clutch, though, to reduce the rpm diff between the flywheel and clutch thereby reducing clutch wear. Same with the bike. I always use the clutch, and I blip the throttle to smooth out downshifts. I ride a cruiser, though, so I'm never anywhere near the performance limits of the bike. If you're pushing the envelope around the track on a sport bike then your shifting and weight transfer/balance characteristics are different than mine need to be.

I'll stick the helmet on top of the sissy bar if I''ll be able to see the bike. Fast food/tim hortons etc. I park the bike where I know I'll be able to see it. If I'm out of sight of the bike then I take my helmet/gloves/jacket with me. I don't want to have to ride home without it. Murphy's Law: THAT is when I get in an accident. What amuses me is all the bikers I see riding down the road with a helmet attached to the side of the bike, and nothing on their head...

I was born in England and learned to drive there. Roundabouts are just a part of driving just like yield signs or traffic lights. They make for very fluent driving. Introducing them to a population that didn't learn about them in driver's ed? Troublesome to say the least. They need to get the word out better.

The court already gave him a fine and 6 month suspension as stated above. The Highway Patrol is now starting an investigation into his conduct. 10TV says he "can drive for work". I'd hate to be paying his insurance premiums...

Wait, how do you text on a bike? My gloves are too thick to even pick up one of these tiny little modern phones, never mind pressing buttons...

I tell you what though - the next person to get a reckless operation ticket from Highsmith had better have been going 200 in a school zone... Can you imagine being at the side of the freeway getting a reckless ticket from him for 90. "Wow, maybe I should have sped up to 147 then it wouldn't have been reckless driving."

I'll text at red lights, but I'll drop the phone on the passenger seat in mid-sentence when traffic starts moving again. Not while moving, that's too distracting.

+1 Someone gave me negative reputation for my earlier post #262 with the comment 'tool'. ( http://www.ohio-riders.com/showpost.php?p=281757&postcount=262 ) Seriously, when people leave negative rep they should be man enough to put their name down. Why is the rep system anonymous anyways?

Highsmith entered a guilty plea. 6 month suspension (but he gets limited driving privileges... I wonder if that lets him drive a cruiser?) and a $150 fine that wound up being $326 after court costs. http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2009/08/10/story_highsmith.html?sid=102

100%

Christopher Thomas (the Gahanna officer) entered a plea of guilty to speeding today and was fined $150 with a further $137 in costs. His license was suspended until 2010-02-01, although he has filed a motion for driving privileges. Jason Highsmith (the state trooper) has is trial set for 2009-08-10, although his attorney has been going through continuances faster than most folks can go though Pringles. Notably, Thomas faced the same judge (W. David Branstool) as Highsmith faces. This judge is reported to have threatened Highsmith with a 3 year suspension, so it would appear that the judge is easing off that now. The judge had allegedly qualified his "3 year" remark with words to the effect of; "if it turned out to have been reckless". Apparently Thomas' attorney was able to convince the judge and/or prosecutor that he didn't deserve 3 years. Not sure if "Work Driving Privileges" (apparently filed for by Thomas) would him to drive FOR work, or just to and from. Anyone know?

My boss got a ticket from Heath's cameras for 42 in a 35.

I trust a motorbike cop to know what's safe and what is not safe on the road - they spend enough time getting paid to drive at high speeds in traffic that if anyone can do it safely, they can... But 147? No, no, no. Cop or no cop, that's inexcusably ludicrous.

"defendant motion to continue 07/23/2009 - Motion granted 07/23/2009" Tha case has been continued. Trial date still says 7/24, but that's just because they haven't set a new date yet. There have been a couple of media requests, specifically WSYX/WTTE and The Advocate.

Not at all. Innocent until proven guilty, absolutely. Comparing US law to UK law is just like comparing American English to British English - obvious differences, but still the same basic language.