Porsche Pack Pinched, Is One Press?

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

Ten Porsche drivers with leaden feet were stopped for doubling the speed limit in Gilpin County, Colorado, and one may have been a press-fleet car.

Or at least, had manufacturer tags.

According to a police officer quoted in The Denver Post, one of the vehicles stopped was being used as a pace car.

The last vehicle in line appears to be shod with the license plates usually used by Porsche to denote that the car belongs to the manufacturer.

Just because the car has manufacturer tags it doesn’t mean a journalist was driving. Could’ve been a Porsche employee, of course, too. And neither “journalist gets a ticket” nor “OEM employee gets a citation” is much of a story. More like an occupational hazard. This, I know from experience.

Just this weekend a Chicago speed camera flashed me.

Even the 80 in a 40, while eye-popping, isn’t necessarily that big a deal – depending on the context. In a residential zone, yes, on a rural two-lane, not so much.

Pro tip-if you and your 9 buddies get caught at 80+ in a 40 zone, all of you get tickets. And because it takes a LONG time to write 10 tickets, your dinner plans get messed up. Better, we think, than injuring or killing someone because of your selfish behavior. Please slow down. pic.twitter.com/h1rN7bTtGN

— CSP Gaming (@CSP_Gaming) September 25, 2020

Really, this is only worth a story because the picture is kinda funny. I’m not downplaying the potential seriousness of the violations – again, context matters – but when was the last time you saw a trooper writing up 10 tickets at once? All for vehicles of the same make?

To be clear, if one looks only at the speed above the limit, the citations are no laughing matter, as Colorado law says that 25 mph or more over the limit is a Class B misdemeanor traffic offense. Fines can be as low as $15 or as high as $100.

Furthermore: “Misdemeanor traffic offenses in Colorado are separated into Class 1 misdemeanor traffic offenses and Class 2 misdemeanor traffic offenses. Persons convicted of a Class 1 misdemeanor traffic offense are subject to a minimum sentence of 10 days in jail or a $300 fine, or both, and a maximum sentence of one year in jail or a $1,000 fine, or both. Persons convicted of a Class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense are subject to a minimum sentence of 10 days in jail or a $150 fine, or both, and a maximum sentence of 90 days in jail or a $300 fine, or both.”

As repeatedly noted, though, context matters. The Twitter picture shows that the plethora of Porsches was stopped on a two-lane road with nothing around but grassland and rocky hills. While we’d never encourage driving recklessly or routinely driving at excessive speeds, common sense suggests that doing double the limit in this kind of area doesn’t carry the same risk as doubling it up near residences and business.

On the other hand, it’s possible the picture might not show residences and the like that are just out of frame, and the tweet does say “80+” in terms of mph. It could very well be that our scofflaws weren’t driving safely but in a spirited manner that just happens to be well above the limit, the way auto journalists sometimes do (and presumably, test drivers for the OEMs do, too). It could also be that while those speeds look low-risk on that road, they really aren’t.

Let’s hope our Porsche drivers drive more smartly and the cops showed leniency if appropriate. I’ll save my rant for how all speed limits aren’t created equal for another time.

H/t to reader Rudy!

[Image: bluefish_ds/Shutterstock.com]

Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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  • 87 Morgan 87 Morgan on Sep 29, 2020

    This was a nothing burger event here in CO. The state patrol are nice folks, but their #1 job is to write traffic violations. It really has to be the most boring job in law enforcement in all reality, but they are good men and women doing their job. I am sure the officer got a few beers paid for by his brethren for nabbing 9 at once; Porsche owners to boot. I am fairly certain the section of road they were on was in the foothills and not a largely populated area so the likelihood of them taking out a mass people was low, but they were speeding and got caught. I would be shocked if among the Porsche drivers a group photo with the ticketing officer does not exist.

  • AlfaRomasochist AlfaRomasochist on Sep 29, 2020

    I've driven that stretch of road probably 1000 times - no joke. It's a winding canyon road with tons of traffic and has more than its fair share of hazards. I've had to slow down with little warning due to deer, elk, bighorn sheep, giant rocks, unexpected traffic (it can be used as an alternate to I70), and the occasional unlucky soul who managed to park in the middle of Clear Creek. ' F these guys.

  • 1995 SC At least you can still get one. There isn't much for Ford folks to be happy about nowadays, but the existence of the Mustang and the fact that the lessons from back in the 90s when Ford tried to kill it and replace it with the then flavor of the day seem to have been learned (the only lessons they seem to remember) are a win not only for Ford folks but for car people in general. One day my Super Coupe will pop its headgaskets (I know it will...I read it on the Internet). I hope I will still be physically up to dropping the supercharged Terminator Cobra motor into it. in all seriousness, The Mustang is a.win for car guys.
  • Lorenzo Heh. The major powers, military or economic, set up these regulators for the smaller countries - the big guys do what they want, and always have. Are the Chinese that unaware?
  • Lorenzo The original 4-Runner, by its very name, promised something different in the future. What happened?
  • Lorenzo At my age, excitement is dangerous. one thing to note: the older models being displayed are more stylish than their current versions, and the old Subaru Forester looks more utilitarian than the current version. I thought the annual model change was dead.
  • Lorenzo Well, it was never an off-roader, much less a military vehicle, so let the people with too much money play make believe.
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