Breakin' the Law
We got home from Vegas late last night (Carly & Daniel to Connecticut, Ramya to DC, me to SoMD), where we had an excellent vacation. That's a story for another night, because I have a much shorter, and much more annoying tale to share with you now.
Our flight landed at BWI at 10:15 last night, so by the time we got our bags, got to the car, dropped Ramya off in DC, and drove another 90 minutes it was right about 1:15 am as I entered greater Lexington Park. On the highway I had the cruise set to 65 (as I always do) and I passed a few drivers, and was passed a few times, but by and large I was the only car on the road for most of the trip. As the RT 235 changed from highway to main street, I cancelled the cruise control and and slowed up, even though there was not another car in sight and all the lights were green.
Then, I passed a car sitting in a turn lane with it's lights off. Figuring it was a cop, I looked at my speedometer, saw I was going right about 60, and figured "Oh good, if it was a cop I'm fine." The speed limit at the time was 45, but that's a total joke. I think we all know where this is going.
When the cop pulled me over he informed me that I was going 64 in a 45, collected my license and registration, and promptly wrote me a my very first ticket without exchanging more than about 20 words. He wrote me up for doing 54 in a 45, earning me an $80 traffic citation. Here are my thoughts:
I was not going 64. As soon as I saw the cop, I looked at my speedometer, and I was going 60. Possibly my gauges are off, possibly the radar gun is off (you hear about how inaccurate they are all the time) but to my knowledge, I was speeding, but not that much.
I can't contest the ticket. He wrote me up for going 54, which I was doing. I'm still going to go to court and see about doing one of those donations or community service things to avoid getting the points. Since I've been driving 13 years with a moving violation, it probably wouldn't be a problem, but this is more of a pride thing.
That's how fast people drive. I drove through that intersection twice today in the middle of rush hour. I was in a massive pack of bumper to bumper cars, and we were going a little over 60, both times. Yes it's speeding- but why will you get a ticket at night all alone for doing something that everyone does in broad daylight surrounded by other cars? It doesn't seem consistent.
I never understood why people hated cops for getting pulled over. I always thought "Just don't speed, moron." Now I'm like "Oh come on! That cop was a jerk!" Argh. More details as they develop!
Update: I have a few unfinished thoughts here- last night I just finished this a quick as possible so I could go back to laying on the couch because I felt terrible. Someone in our Vegas troop picked up some sort of head/chest cold and sharing a hotel room ensured that we all got it. Luckily, it didn't get bad until we were on our way home. Anyway, I forgot to mention a few things:
I know the cop did me a favor by writing the ticket for 54 instead of 64 (even though I was going 60). It's less fine and less points, and for his benefit it increases the odds that I'll just pay it. So, I guess I should thank my lucky stars for that.
But also, the speed of the whole thing surprised me. On TV the cop is always like "Do you know how fast you were going?" or "Where are you off to tonight in such a hurry?" In real life there was no small talk. It was like boom! Ticket. Not that I had a story prepared, but still. I thought maybe a few seconds of chit-chat would convince him that I was an upstanding citizen who just needed a warning.
Although, I have been pulled over before. In high school I went to see Jurassic Park 2 with friends, then afterward we went to Steak and Shake (as we so frequently did). On the road they had set up one of those random pull over things, in which they waved most cars right through but signaled for a handful to pull over for some screening. The lady with the airport light-up batons started to wave me through, but caught herself. She narrowed her eyes, and waved me over to the checkpoint with a fairly accusatory gesture. When I got there, another cop asked me a series of questions that it's going to sound like I'm making up, but this is how it went:
Cop: "How are you doing tonight?"
Me: "Good thank you, how are you?"
Cop: "Good. Been doing any drinking tonight?"
Me: "No sir."
Cop: "Where are you headed?"
Me: "To Steak and Shake."
Cop: "And where are you coming from?"
Me: "We just saw a movie at Linway."
Cop: "What movie?"
Me: "Jurassic Park 2."
Cop: "Okay. Been doing any drinking tonight?"
Me: "[slight pause] No sir."
Cop: "So where are you off to now?"
Me: "Um, Steak and Shake."
Cop: "And where are you coming from?
Me: "The movie theatre. We saw Jurassic Park 2."
Cop: "Oh, how was that?"
Me: "Not as good as the first one, but it had some decent action scenes."
Cop: "And where are you going now?"
Me: "...Steak and Shake."
Cop: "And have you been doing any drinking tonight?"
Me: "No."
Cop: "Okay. You're free to go."
There must be something in the random pull-over handbook that says you have to ask every question three times, otherwise he really wasn't paying attention. Ironically, he's the one who sounded drunk during the exchange. It was annoying, but overall much better than actually getting pulled over and getting a ticket.
Labels: annoying
4 Comments:
Two non-standard items that my drivers ed teacher told us - 1.There is safety in numbers and 2. Don't ever be the first or last car in a speeding "pack". It also looks like the cop knew what he was doing, writing the ticket for a speed that you couldn't deny you were going. Good luck on the community service thing.
a couple of nights ago, I turned out of my office really late at night and set off for home. As I was turning off that street, a cop saw me, and since I was the only one on the road FOLLOWED me on Duke Street for many many blocks, just waiting for me to mess up. I was going at 30 in a 35, stopped completely at every stop sign, and basically did nothing that would warrant his suspicion. He totally had nothing better to do, and in order to make his quota, was hoping that I would do something that would allow him to pull me over.
I think that's what this guy did, had nothing better to do and needed to meet his stupid quota. Why did he do this? Well.. it's obvious... he probably failed his detectives exam and feels really bad about his life. With that being said, I hope he doesn't show up to court!
-Ramya
Being an expert at this speeding thing, I think MD cops are trained to be dickwads. In other states you do get the chance the obligatory "Do you know how fast you were going?" but not here. On the bright side you don't have to go to court to do the community service. And if you're a first time offender you can pay double the fine and no community service. You just go to the courthouse (before 4) and get your penance.
PS - Did you like the use of "Dickwad"? I figured since you were already a moral offender what the hell ;-)
To bad your great vacation had to end on a sour note! }: The obvious lesson is not to speed but there was no public safety hazard at that time of night. Ticketing is a source of $$$$$ and one must prove they were not sleeping on the job.
I need to readjust to living in this urban area where speeds seem to change from 35 to 55 in a 1/4 mile stretch. Have yet to even find signs posted on a few back streets I have come to favor.
I was stopped with my adult offspring in the car, as you well remember, but let go with a warning. Young man probably realized I was embarassed enough for punishment. Do not speed on highways (hate to waste the gas!)but those 25 and 35 spots are a challenge to me. I also tend to have a short attention span and drive by "ear". My impatient foot pushes down on the gas petal which begs the question, "Why don't cruise controls work at 25 MPH? Fix this all you engineers! If there are 25 MPH spots I see a need.
Please let us know how the story ends.
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