I drive the same 12-mile stretch of highway every day, going home at lunch to let the dog out, then back to work. I know every bump on that highway and every likely hiding spot for troopers. I know that around the 15th and 30th of each month, they set up harvest zones and pulling over speeders is like shooting fish in a barrel for them. More often than not, my Spidey sense tingles when approaching a speed trap, but it does fail me on occasion.
Like earlier this year, when I was pulled over in TFrog. The officer made a point of complimenting me on TFrog's appearance, then said that he'd clocked me at 74 in a 55 zone. That was a lie, because I was doing 80, easy, but what are you going to do? In the end, he ran my license (came up clean, of course), then wrote me up for doing 64 (about $100, but no points, no trail). After all, I was just an old fart in a nice Mustang... harmless.
Last week, I have to admit that I was "just asking for it."
I came upon a clump of cars in both lanes doing about 60. Sure enough, there was a plainly marked police car in the right lane doing the speed limit (55), and the drivers in the left lane were crawling past him at about 60 to
62mph. Naturally, everyone was bunched up like a NASCAR event.I hate tailgating. It's the one thing about driving that makes me crazy. Call me old school, but I like a good bit of separation between me and other cars, especially at speed. There was no separation in either lane here.
So we crawled past the officer, and when things cleared up a bit, I nudged the convertible up to 65, 66, 67, then 68. Ah, separation. I was in the clear. 69mph, 70... Not another car around, nothing except that clump in my rearview.
Okay, I was enjoying it a bit too much. The officer, too, worked his way to the front of the line, settled in behind me at a discreet distance, and then threw on his lights. Damn.
When he walked up to my car, he was laughing. Swear to god, laughing. He asked me why I was doing 70, and I just said, "I hate crowds." He understood that, then came right out and said that he pulled me over because he had to - he couldn't let me get away with 70mph with everyone watching. In other words, he pulled me over for the benefit of everyone else and to send a message. Then he complimented me on CFrog, and we talked a little bit about Mustangs (he had owned an '88, it seems). He also pointed out that when younger drivers see me speeding in a Mustang, it excites them into doing similar stupid things (like I don't know THAT - these little Foxes still seem to be the benchmark for every pre-shaving yahoo with a learner's permit).
Again, he ran my license, came back and pretty much just said, "Have a nice day."
If I were 30 years younger, I have no doubt that I would have been severely ticketed in both instances. Being an old fart in a cool car, and always very polite and respectful, has its rewards, it seems. Still, yes, in this last incident, I was obviously asking for it.
It also makes me question my firm belief that police will not pull over a driver for doing 72 or less on that highway. Perhaps it was just the officer trying to save face (he had no intention of writing me up, after all). Maybe I forced the issue.
Ah, well, it was stupid. "I'll never do THAT again."
When the officer asked me why I was speeding, my first reaction was to say, "I didn't buy no Mustang to be doin' no stinkin' speed limit." I thought better of that.
dwight