Myself I fall into the middle category, it has been a long time since I have been pulled over for speeding, I did get pulled over for a seatbelt violation back when they first got serious about enforcing the new law, but this little tale is about speeding.
I was sixteen when I got my first and last speeding ticket, I was cruising down Poinsett Highway in Greenville, SC, driving along in my First Car minding my own business, not doing anything wrong, when for no reason I see blue lights in my rear view mirror.
I think half of the kids I went to school with passed by at that moment and waved at me, some gave me a thumbs up, others hung their heads in shame, and a couple of them mooned the State Trooper which did nothing to divert him from descending upon my drivers window.
To tell the truth only one person I knew passed by, our neighbor Hazel who I told you about in Spreading It Around, and I don’t think she even saw me, or else the news would have spread across town quicker than the speed I was traveling before I was stopped, at any rate it was embarrassing, and the last paragraph just helps explain the red face.
He walked up to the car and asked, “Didn’t you see me behind you Boy”,
Me: Yes Sir I saw you.
Trooper: Well then why didn’t you stop?
Me: I didn’t know you were chasing me.
Trooper: Why in the hell do you think I was behind you then?
Me: I thought you were chasing someone else and was waiting for me to turn.
He snatched my license from my hand and walked back to his car, mumbling, “Some kind’a smartass this one is”
When he came back to the car he handed me back my license, and asked the famous question no one ever really has the correct answer for, “Do you know how fast you were going?” I answered honestly I told him No.
How can you not know how fast you were going? I told him that I was not watching the speedometer since they taught me in drivers ed to watch the road, and then he diverted my attention by flashing those blue lights so I was just trying to get out of the way, which caused me to speed up.
Now for that other famous question, “Do you know what the speed limit is?” I answered truthfully, Yes Sir I do it’s 65mph, to which he said “I’m gonna have to write you a ticket Boy”
He shoved his clipboard through the window and told me to sign on the dotted line, I signed and said looks like you already had it written up, he walked back to his car mumbling “Some kind’a smartass this one is”
I drove away while glancing down at my first ticket, 62mph in a 45 zone; I guess I got that last question wrong.
When did you get your first speeding ticket?
Only 1 speeding ticket...once I didn't stop for a stop sign...we lived in a small town...police followed me for 1 mile with his light on and I didn't even know he was behind me.... haha...when I got to the grocery store...there he was right behind me...otherwise I am ticket free.....
ReplyDeleteHi Bev, Isn't it funny how we can go along with the lights flashing right behind us and never register that we should be pulling over Ha Ha
Delete"“Some kind’a smartass this one is”
ReplyDeleteA smartass??? OMG...you were NOT a smartass in the least. I think your were very polite. Don't ya just love the attitude of some cops?
If you can believe this, I've never gotten a speeding ticket in my life but was pulled over FOR speeding about three times. All three times, the cops let me go with just a warning to slow down. And I am sooo lucky because one of those times I had no drivers licenses with me or any kind of identification. Whew!
Hey Ron, Yes Sir you were lucky getting a warning especially the time you had no ID whatsoever with you, yep you dodged a bullet so to say :^0
DeleteMost of the cops I have ever been around are good people, but I remember this one in particular calling me a smart ass, kind of caught me off guard, but yet then Boy was a typical reference when you talked to them.
Okay, I'm probably going to jinx myself when I say this, but I've never been pulled over or have gotten a ticket and I'll be 55 in a few months, driving since I was 16. However, in saying that, my now 23 y/o son has made up for my shortcomings and has gotten two seatbelt violations (after the second one when he saw the fine he started wearing his seatbelt) but he's probably been pulled over at least 20-30 times for little to no apparent reason. Can we say profiling, but of course the police would never profile. He drives an older Cadillac and they at times had suspected possible drugs (not) so would stop him at random to do searches, etc (always clear) and always a less than stellar reason to pull him over. Its been awhile since he got pulled over but he got used to watching the police behind him, running his plates, etc. For awhile, he was on "first name basis" with a lot of cops where we used to live.
ReplyDeletebetty
Hi Betty, Congrats on your great record of no tickets, I don't think you will jinx yourself.
DeleteYes our kids have quite the collection of tickets, the daughter has picked up two in the last couple of months which got me to thinking on this post Ha Ha
We also had one officer who pulled our son over on average of a couple times a week, I had to laugh when the officer walked up to his car, our son placed his hands on the dashboard and said Hi Officer, long time no see.
Nope, never a speeding ticket, even though I tend to have a heavy foot.
ReplyDeleteThe only encounter I ever had with police was when I went into work on a Saturday morning and the building's alarm was blaring. Nobody was there, so I went in the building, shut off the alarm, went to my cubicle, turned on my computer. When I went to the kitchen to make coffee, I noticed the police car in the parking lot next to my car. The cop walked around my car...oh-oh...I better talk to him. I opened the door, "Can I help you?" He mentioned the alarm that had gone off. I explained what had happened. Then he noticed the German flag "license plate" in the front of my car. Hah - turns out he had been stationed in Germany when he was in the military and really liked it there. The ice was broken, he no longer looked at me as a potential "breaker and enterer." Well, and the fact that I was making coffee - what thief would stop to make coffee?
He then walked around the entire building with me (to make sure there wasn't someone hiding somewhere) and we had a pleasant conversation.
That German flag "license plate" has made for frequent conversation starters.
Good thing you were not a coffee thief :)
DeleteThe German flag plate I imagine is a great conversation starter, and this officer taking time to check out the building while treating you this way at the same time, is the type of officer we need more of.
I've had about half a dozen in my 45 years of driving. The first? I can't remember. The most recent? About 2 months ago....55 in a 40. Here's what I can't figure out: If you're moving with the flow of traffic, in other words EVERYONE is doing 55 in a 40, why can/did he pick out just one...me? If I'd gone the speed limit I would have wound up a little greasy spot on the pavement. I can't win!
ReplyDeleteS
Good point, I have actually wondered this myself, how do they determine which car to pull over when the whole group is moving at the same speed?
DeleteI was 21 and it was for speeding. Riding like a bat out of that hot place just for the sheer stupidity of it. The policeman took off 5 miles of my 20 miles over the speed limit ticket. I never drove that fast again.
ReplyDeleteHey Rachael, I imagine the difference in the fine by dropping you to below 20 miles over was huge.
DeleteI remember being unemployed and on my way to the baby sitter's to drop off our three year old. I was going about fifteen miles over the speed limit when pulled over. The cop came up to the window and told me I was speeding. I told him I'd been out of work for months and was late to a job interview. Our son smiled his beautiful Hummel smile at the cop and said, "I luuuuve you officer." The cop started laughing and tore up the ticket. "Slow down," he ordered, getting back into his squad car. Sometimes it helps to have cute children.
ReplyDeleteHi Stephen, Yes I am with you, your explanation did nothing to get you off but your sons interaction did, cute kids do melt hearts :^)
DeleteKnock on wood, I've never had one. I did run a changing light in the rain because I was afraid to try to stop. I had recently seen a car in the deep ditch where I ran the light and was afraid that's where I'd end up. Since there was ALWAYS a cop there, I just pulled off the road and sure enough, he pulled right in behind me.
ReplyDeleteHey Ms. A, I can see why you ran the changing light, it's not like you blew through a full on red, did he write you a ticket or did he understand the reason.
DeleteThat's what I thought.
DeleteYou were some kind of kid Jimmy!
ReplyDeleteI have yet to get a speeding ticket - yay me! I've been pulled over twice. Once because my temporary tag fell off of the back window, and then recently because we hadn't put the current registration sticker in place. Yep, the patroopers actually check! Now that I work in traffic (pffft), I'm careful!
Very Nice Abby, Congrats to you also.
DeleteI imagine with your job you have quite a few experiences with bad drivers, yes this one would make you more aware and careful.
No, Sir, not me. Never had a pull-over or a ticket. That's not to say I don't speed. Guess I'm just lucky, huh? Police attitude is something else, thankfully I've never had to encounter it. Have a great weekend, Jimmy.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to you also Valerie for never having a ticket, I think we all speed although the older I get the slower I go Ha Ha
DeleteA Great weekend to you too.
My first speeding ticket, and the first time I was ever pulled over, was in my 30's with 3 screaming kids in the backseat of my station wagon. We were coming home from the pediatrician, they were all sick, and I was just trying to get home asap. Cop had no sympathy for me. I was going 52 in a 25 mph zone. In my defense, it was a main road that is hilly, and is an infamous speed trap around here.
ReplyDeleteSounds like one of those cops who would write their own Mom a ticket.
DeleteI got my first ticket in 25 years last Jan....going 90..oouch! in a 45..double pouch! and by the time I noticed he was following me he was considering calling for backup because he was following me for so long and I was not stopping or slowing down...I think i wrote 2 blog posts about that ordeal...
ReplyDeleteHey Annmarie, I can just imaging that ticket, 90 in a 45 would not make him a happy camper :^0 I suppose waiting 25 years between tickets is impressive, and if you are going to do something...get their attention Ha Ha
DeleteI'll have to look up those posts on your blog.
I got caught by a speed camera several years ago (doing 38 mph in a 30 zone). Luckily, there was an administrative error on their part (claiming the camera had caught me speeding in a town 200 miles away from where the camera had flashed). I was therefore let off.
ReplyDeleteHi Bryan, I can see why they let you off on this one, speeding in a town 200 miles away by the time the camera flashed would have been a hefty ticket Ha Ha
DeleteI had so many tickets it wasn't even funny. Between 16-19 yrs old, I had probably been pulled over 18-20 times and got tickets half of them. I've gotten a couple of driving while suspended, a couple of driving on expired plates and a seatbelt violation. I also drove with no insurance for another 10 or 12 years only got caught on that once.
ReplyDeleteAs horrible as all of those sound, I actually haven't had a ticket in probably close to 15 years. I haven't necessarily learned to drive better, just smarter. But I am insured and everything else legal for years now. I have been pulled over once or twice during that 15 year stretch. But come to find out, when you have a clean record, they don't generally give you more tickets.
Hey Jeff, We do get a little smarter as we get older, Congrats on the clean run the last 15 years.
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