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A teenager ticketed by a deputy for riding a motorcycle 100 mph through a canyon on Highway 82 got a stern lecture Tuesday from a judge who advised him to put the brakes on his attitude, as well as his bike.
Pitkin County Judge Ashley Andrews ordered the 17-year-old male, an Aspen resident, to perform 16 hours of community service; take a high-level course in driving safely; and pay a $300 fine for his guilty plea to a misdemeanor traffic violation of careless driving and a traffic offense of driving 5 to 9 mph over the speed limit.
A written apology to the sheriff’s deputy who cited him also is in order.
“And that will be a heartfelt apology,” Andrews told the youth at a hearing in court. “I would really like to see some reflection about why you made that choice to make that comment to him. He was trying to help you.”
It was approximately 8:42 p.m. on Oct. 11 when Pitkin County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremy Johnson’s radar flagged a Kawasaki Ninja traveling twice as fast as the posted 50 mph limit, according to a traffic citation.
Aspen Daily News is not identifying the teenager due to his age.
Johnson pulled over the rider in the proximity of mile-marker 28 in Snowmass Canyon in the upvalley direction of Highway 82, the citation said.
Road conditions in the twisty canyon were dry, traffic was light and the rider’s attitude was “fair,” the citation said.
“Rider began hitting his helmet in frustration when I stopped him,” Johnson reported in the citation. “After given a ticket the rider stated, ‘I could have dropped a gear and left you in the dust. This is what I get for stopping.’”
Those comments didn’t sit well with Judge Andrews, who was asked by the boy and his father to reduce the main charge of reckless driving — going at 40 least mph over the posted limit. That is a misdemeanor traffic offense punishable by 10 to 90 days of jail time and up to $300 in fines with a first-time conviction.
“I think it’s incredibly disrespectful,” Andrews noted about the teen’s comments to the deputy. “I think it was frustration with yourself, certainly. Frustration with the officer because he tried to prevent you from killing yourself is unwarranted.”
A reckless-driving conviction would have hung 12 points on the teen’s driving record, triggering a suspension of his driving privileges. Under Colorado law, driver’s licenses are suspended for minors 17 years old and younger who are penalized six points within any 12 months or seven points within any timeframe. Licensed drivers start with zero points.
“And why do you think you should be given a break when you’re going 100 miles an hour?” the judge asked him.
The teen replied, “Of course, it’s idiotic. I should not have done it. But I had a little bit of hope in my soul because I’m a first-time offender.”
First-time offender status for a driver licensed for roughly one year was not an achievement worthy of leniency, Andrews said.
“It’s one thing when I have people in their 70s who say ‘I’ve never had a traffic ticket,’ and I’ll say ‘Wow, impressive, you’ve gone 52 years without a traffic ticket, that’s impressive to the court,” she said. “Somebody who has had their driver’s license for barely a year saying ‘I didn’t have a record, so maybe I should have gotten a break.’ Do you see what I’m talking about with the entitlement? You feel like you deserve something, because why?”
The teen said, “I didn’t feel that I deserved it. I just had a little bit of hope.”
The father and son walked away with the deal they desired. The father urged the judge for some flexibility, vowing to keep his son on the right track. The father added that he had taken the motorcycle away from his son.
“Perhaps against my better judgment, I’m going to accept your plea,” Andrews said.
The teen’s conviction for a lesser charge of careless driving is a misdemeanor traffic offense carrying the same jail time and fines as a reckless driving conviction.
“Realize that this is careless driving, but you’re not going to jail today,” Andrews told the teen. “But if you listen to your father, you will understand that this is not the right thing to do and hopefully not do this again.”
A careless driving conviction, however, triggers a penalty of four points rather than 12 under a reckless driving conviction. The conviction for driving 5-9 mph over the posted speed limit will add one point to his driver’s license. That leaves him with five points and a slim margin for error to keep his license active.
“This cannot happen again,” the judge told the defendant. “You’re putting other people at risk, but you’re also putting yourself at risk. You have a bright future and it would be a terrible tragedy if you got in an accident and killed yourself because you thought it was cool to go 100 miles per hour on 82.”
Under state law, the teen was allowed to ride a motorcycle because he held a motorcycle instruction permit. Riders must be at least 18 years old before they can add a state-required motorcycle endorsement to their license.