New Aussie Owner Saying G'Day

[VirginiaJim]

I want to thank our Australian contingent for their country's service with our warriors in past wars.  My dad served on the same base with 2 Squadron (Canberras) in Vietnam.  While we sometimes have 'fun' with each other based on past history, the bonds that hold us together will never be broken.

[Conrad]

No, not at all,same as  we call the whinging Pommies "Soap Dodgers" and they call us "Convict Scum".
Its all meant to be friendly, that's how Aussies are.
I love going to the U.S, I've been to heaps of places there, made a ton of friends and had some of the best rides ever,

Well done sir! You've been to more of our states than I have and I’ve lived here my entire life. I see that you're well acquainted with some of our fine law enforcement officers. 

[Freddy]

An interesting anniversary was remembered this month in Darwin. Pres  Obama visited there last November.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17073472

http://www.enjoy-darwin.com/darwin-bombing-memorial.html

Many US servicemen helped build the road from the railhead at Alice Springs to Darwin during WWII and the many airfields in the norther parts

[Klavdy]

I work mining construction (It's how I get time off for bike trips) and was in Darwin on break from the uranium mine in Kakadu  when the POTUS landed.
He was treated as the biggest rockstar in the world.
The roads were blocked, serious looking secret dudes were everywhere,no doubt there was a nuke sub lurking off the coast.
We don't mind, you're our mates and brothers.
We've backed each other up in every war and skirmish, we've still got troops in Afghanistan with yours and have great big bases in the Northern Territory that you come wargame at all the time.

[capt chaos]

Bugger that, I'm just going to call you Seppo's.
It's a term of endearment we Aussies like to bestow on our friends from the United States of America.

I think that's a London term originally  http://www.cockneyrhymingslang.co.uk/slang/sceptic_tank

They say Australian rhyming slang comes from cockney and was brought to Australia by the convicts who first settled the country.

They used rhyming slang if they didn’t want others, particularly the authorities, to understand what they were talking about.

Basically, rhyming slang is the use of usually two or more words, the last of which rhymes with the intended word. But there are variations.

http://goaustralia.about.com/cs/language/a/rhymingslang.htm It's on the internet so it must be true 

[maxtog]

Blue Ridge Parkway,

Blue Ridge Parkway being pulled over by a Virginia State Trooper???!!?!?!

Honking the horn?  I've ordered a Stebel.

You will love it (I love mine, and it has "saved" me at least once so far).

[VirginiaJim]

Blue Ridge Parkway being pulled over by a Virginia State Trooper???!!?!?!

You will love it (I love mine, and it has "saved" me at least once so far).

BRP would have been the Feds I would think.  Looks like a ranger to me....not that I would know, of course.

[maxtog]

BRP would have been the Feds I would think.  Looks like a ranger to me....not that I would know, of course.

You are probably right, the VA Trooper is usually brown.

[Klavdy]

Yep, they were Federal Ranger types, jeez it's confusing in the U.S.A, you have so many Coppers, even the A.S.P.C.A have police cars and guns 'n stuff.
Imagine getting this Sheila all cranky on your ass, she'd shoot you.




Like, I'd freak a bit if this ASPCA cop car got behind me coz I don't know which cop can do what.


Any way, the Federal Ranger dudes, wow, they did a screaming U-Turn and pulled me over, reckoned I was doing 75 mph in a 35 zone.
Complete nonsense, I reckon I was only doing 72.
So, they did not have a clue what to do with me, it was a big ticket, but they had never met an Aussie let alone had to deal with an International Drivers licence.
We talked for a bit, I broke the ice by giving them a toy koala and kangaroo each (for their kids) and they let me off after radioing H.Q with a written warning that I have kept in the garage here in Aus.
Mind you, they did follow me, roar ahead out of sight, chuck another U-Turn, come back past me giving me the hairy eyeball (I waved), chucked another U-Ey, roared past out of sight again, blah blah.
I pulled off at the next town exit, went got some vittles, cocked about for an hour.
Got back to the camp and my U.S mates reckon if it had of been them, they would have got a $1500 fine,gone to Jail and had their bikes impounded.
I dunno, do they do that or were my mates just winding me up?

[VirginiaJim]

Well, I can say that a ranger on the BRP in NC told me at one of their rest areas that the roofs on the buildings there were paid for by speeders riding bikes....oh my.

As far as uniforms go, the county deputies typically wear brown and the Troopers wear blue/grey.  The local constabularies wear all kinds of different colors.

[Klavdy]

I think I was staying at Boone, North Carolina.
I also love the Cherohala Skyway, man o man, what a terrific ride that is!
I'll stay at Robinsville or Tellico Plains when I go there, real nice country with real good people.
I met some terrific blokes there, went possum hunting with shotguns and all.
I didn't shoot any possums but it was excellent fun.
What's not to like about a state that has 24 hour a day, 365 day a year Fireworks Supermarkets?

[Conrad]

Any way, the Federal Ranger dudes, wow, they did a screaming U-Turn and pulled me over, reckoned I was doing 75 mph in a 35 zone.
Complete nonsense, I reckon I was only doing 72.
So, they did not have a clue what to do with me, it was a big ticket, but they had never met an Aussie let alone had to deal with an International Drivers licence.
We talked for a bit, I broke the ice by giving them a toy koala and kangaroo each (for their kids) and they let me off after radioing H.Q with a written warning that I have kept in the garage here in Aus.
Mind you, they did follow me, roar ahead out of sight, chuck another U-Turn, come back past me giving me the hairy eyeball (I waved), chucked another U-Ey, roared past out of sight again, blah blah.
I pulled off at the next town exit, went got some vittles, cocked about for an hour.
Got back to the camp and my U.S mates reckon if it had of been them, they would have got a $1500 fine,gone to Jail and had their bikes impounded.
I dunno, do they do that or were my mates just winding me up?

Bribery of a federal official eh?    Well done!     What did you do, bring a bag full of toy koalas and 'roos 'just in case'? Smart man.

And no, your friends weren't just winding you up. Double the speed limit is, at a minimum, reckless driving and that'll get you in a heap-o-trouble.

[VirginiaJim]

Except in certain locations, like tourist areas, the speed limit is 45.  The Skyline drive, which continues northward from the terminus of the BRP in VA, is 35 for the most part.  And you have to pay to get on that road.  It's way too slow for me.  More rangers as well.

[maxtog]

Except in certain locations, like tourist areas, the speed limit is 45.  The Skyline drive, which continues northward from the terminus of the BRP in VA, is 35 for the most part.  And you have to pay to get on that road.  It's way too slow for me.  More rangers as well.

Most speed limits are way too low, if you ask me.  And the various police are *way* too obsessed with speed limits.  I wish they would channel some of that energy into noise pollution, tailgating, lane changes with no looking and/or signals, distracted driving, improper or improperly aimed headlights, etc.

Klavdy, you are right, it can be a bit confusing as to which law enforcement is responsible for what.  Generally, I think it goes like this- if you are on an Interstate, only the State Police have jurisdiction (local police cannot ticket you).  If you are on Federal land (like a park), only Federal Rangers have jurisdiction.  On other highways and local roads, both the county/city police and state police have jurisdiction; but the State Police usually stick to US highways and Interstates, leaving local roads to the county/city.  I am sure there are some exceptions and variations (and I am speaking as a Virginian).

[gPink]

In Ill-inois the local cops (revenuers) patrol the interstates through their districts for the sole and stated reason of generating money for their departments. This is both county and town cops. The small towns have moved their city limit borders to include the interstate highways to do this. 

[VirginiaJim]

Well, I can tell you for a fact that in my home town, South Hill, their limits include part of I85.  So you can have three jurisdictions (VA, Mecklenburg county, and South Hill) ticketing on the interstate at various times.  I've seen all of them doing it. 

The moral of this story is that if you speed anywhere in VA, or most states for that matter) and exceed the constabulary internal clip limits, you may be ticketed.  We all run that risk when we exceed posted limits.  If we get a ticket it's our fault, although there was that one time where it wasn't and I got a ticket anyway.......in the Prius.

[Conrad]

Well, I can tell you for a fact that in my home town, South Hill, their limits include part of I85.  So you can have three jurisdictions (VA, Mecklenburg county, and South Hill) ticketing on the interstate at various times.  I've seen all of them doing it. 

The moral of this story is that if you speed anywhere in VA, or most states for that matter) and exceed the constabulary internal clip limits, you may be ticketed.  We all run that risk when we exceed posted limits.  If we get a ticket it's our fault, although there was that one time where it wasn't and I got a ticket anyway.......in the Prius.

Parking ticket Jim?

[VirginiaJim]

No, it was speeding...and I wasn't.

[maxtog]

No, it was speeding...and I wasn't.

Unfortunately that can happen.  Usually due to the improper use of a radar gun where it picks up reflections or other vehicles, or if it was defective or went out of calibration.

[Klavdy]

Or the Cops are being bastards and just pinging people by not clearing the speed from their devices.
It happens a lot here, only comes to light when , say, 10 people all contest their tickets and every one of them has the exact same speed recorded against them.
It's upside down here, YOU have to prove your innocence, the Cops don't have to prove your guilt.
The ticket/radar combo is taken as prima facie evidential proof.
Billions of dollars a year in so called speeding fines are syphoned from a total population of some 22.5 million people.
The Govt includes that revenue in their budget forecasts and have the nerve to claim it's for "Safety"