Speeding Ticket

Friday around noon I was driving down the Beltline when suddenly a state trooper pulled up behind me with flashing lights. When I pulled over, he asked me why he had pulled me over, and I said I wasn’t sure. After all, if it were for speeding, there were plenty of people going a lot faster than I was. He asked to see my license and my proof of insurance, and then he gave me my first-ever speeding ticket. Apparently he thought I wouldn’t be insured, because he noted with great disappointment that if I hadn’t had insurance, he could have written me another big ticket. That made me wonder if he had profiled me, since Erin Caitlyn O’Honda is getting pretty old and beat up. Maybe this state trooper thinks that anyone driving a hooptie must be uninsured.

I was very bummed about my first moving violation ever, but Travalon and his nephew (who wants me to refer to him as the 42nd Doctor) said it’s no big deal – you just go to traffic court and they will knock a few points off and reduce your fine just for showing up. They said you usually get fined three points for speeding, but I got fined four points, meaning I’m a third of the way to losing my license. Tiffy said she had tried going to traffic court with less success. Of course the date they scheduled me for traffic court is right in the middle of my honeymoon, so I called to see if they could reschedule it. They told me it’s too early to reschedule it, my ticket isn’t even in the system yet, but I could email them to reschedule it. So I emailed them and got an email acknowledging receipt of my email. Whether I can get a court date while I’m in the country is still an open question.

I tried to look on the bright side: after almost twenty years of driving, only getting one ticket isn’t so bad. Then several friends told me they have never gotten tickets, including one who actually got a letter from the Department of Transportation that people were complaining about her driving. If she has thus far eluded a moving violation, how did I succumb? From now on, you will easily be able to spot me on the Beltline – I’ll be the only one actually going 55 miles per hour.

Famous Hat