The Crittenden Automotive Library

Biker misses 3 tickets

Biker misses 3 tickets

Gus Philpott
Woodstock Advocate
April 16, 2010

A biker in Woodstock this morning was lucky. Because the police were a little busy, he missed out on three tickets. (Click on the image of the bike to enlarge it; then click on the Back button on your browser to return here.)

I was stopped at the red light on Raffel Road at Route 120 by Marian Central. If the light is red as you approach the intersection, traffic stops at East Greenwood Avenue. I was in the right lane, when a motorcyclist pulled up and stopped on my left. After a short pause, the biker crossed Greenwood on the red light, slowed a little at the red light at McHenry Avenue (Route 120), and turned right.

I waited (and waited and waited) for a green light and then drove west on McHenry Avenue. As I turned left on Irving, I could see a motorcycle in the left turn lane at Route 47. I went on my way to Wendy's and was in the drive-thru lane when the same biker rode into the Wendy's parking lot. Same bike, same license plate (BD 1429), same rider, whose face and red jacket I recognized from the scene of the red light violations. The rider went into Wendy's.

I placed a call to Woodstock PD and asked if an officer could meet me regarding the red light violations, and the telecommunicator explained that the beat car was tied up on a call. I said I'd wait for a while. Within a minute a Woodstock police car crossed Route 47 from Judd to Irving and went on east. About 2-3 minutes later, Car 20 came west on Irving and stopped at the red at Route 47. I could see the officer looking toward the Wendy's parking lot, where he could easily see my car and the black motorcycle.

I thought that officer might turn into Wendy's, but he went on south on 47. I'll give him the benefit of a doubt and presume he was enroute to a call of higher priority.

A few minutes later the biker came out of Wendy's and rode to the exit onto Irving. There he made a left by driving in the oncoming traffic lane before moving over into the left-turn lane.

I called WPD to cancel the call for the officer, but he was just arriving. By that time the biker was out of sight. Had the officer arrived before the biker left, I would have had the biker cited for the two red-light violations.

The biker is obviously a guy who thinks traffic laws are made for someone else. That was one clear case where fines and court costs would have been warranted. Would a judge have convicted on my testimony? I'll never know.