I Fought the Law!

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Now - how I fought the law!

I’ve got some advice. A disclaimer first – I’m not an attorney and have no training in legal matters. I only have my first-hand experience at getting my recent speeding ticket dismissed – all with out ever stepping foot in the courtroom! This is a delicate subject with me – I mentioned on an earlier blog that I had a run in with the police while riding my bike recently. It was not a pretty situation but after I put the sarcasm away – he let me off with a warning. Although I should just be grateful that I did not get a ticket – I’ve got a bit of a chip on my shoulder about how he treated me. He treated me like I was a common criminal!

First of all – let me say that I have a clean driving record. The last ticket that I got was about 8 years ago and its no longer on my record. My clean driving record however should not be confused with not being pulled over by the police. There was another incident several years ago when Kent and I were headed to eastern Washington. I was pulled over by the State Patrol – I knew I was in trouble when he asked – "do you know why I pulled you over"? First advice - admit nothing! Following my own advice – "No officer what seems to be the problem"? "Well there are actually three reasons" Right then and there I thought it was a lost cause and that I was going to get a big fat ticket. Second advise – Never give up hope! Must have been the smile, charm, whatever – but after doing whatever it is they do with your licence (a background check I suppose), he walked back and said – "I’m going to let you off with a warning today but "slow down, do not follow to close and do not swerve over the line to see what’s going on in front of the car you are following"! To this day Kent tells the story a bit different and lets just say in his version tears were involved – but you heard the truth directly from me – not a tear was shed!

On the highway, I tend to drive about 5-10 miles above the posted speed limit, as a matter of choice and for the record as a matter of safety. When you drive the posted limit on the freeway to become a traffic hazard! Everybody knows this! I’ve actually done experiments to see how many people pass me on the freeway when I drive the posted speed limit. At least on I-5 if you are going the speed limit it’s like you are driving in slow motion. Cars pass – and if you are Lucky the only thing exchanged is looks as people give the stink eye to you for clogging up traffic and then wheeze by.

This gets me to my most recent run in with the law and to my final piece of advice. This took place just this last June and when we got home from Madison I had a letter in the mail with the final disposition.

Picture this – leisurely Sunday morning drive – Kent and our friend Mike (along with our dog Toby) were headed to Olympia to the pride parade. Long story short – I’m pulled over for going 10 miles over the speed limit! I could not believe it – because cars are still passing me - one young women in particular. When the cop pulled out like he was after someone – I was sure he was going after her. But no - he let’s her go and stops me! Now I could have said, "I was only going xx miles over the limit", "I was just keeping up with traffic" , "I have ice cream in the trunk and I did not want it to melt", or the worst one ever – "I’m running late to get to the airport and might miss my flight". This is an actual excuse that I used 10 years ago in Missouri and ended up with a ticket. See all these things get written down and can be used against you! I said nothing and took the ticket.

This get’s me to my third and final piece of advice – if you have followed my advice so far and have not given some sob story and you still have hope – contest the ticket! Let me remind you - I’m not a lawyer, I’m not sure what legally constitutes perjuring oneself. Technically I was guilty of driving above the speed limit so in my correspondence with the court I never addressed the issue of my speeding. Instead, I focused on the officer and what he was doing. Basically he was on the far right shoulder of the freeway and I was in the far left lane (five lanes between us) – my argument - he may have mistakenly identified me as the speeder as one of the cars was going around me (remember the young girl). Who knows if this is all a bunch of hooey and they basically did not want to screw with it but all I know is that I still have my $164 dollars, my driving record is still clean and my insurance will not be going up! All this without ever having to step foot in court!

So that’s my advice – my Grandfather used to say – "never admit to anything – even if she catches you in the act, deny everything"! Well I’m not sure if these are the best rules to live by but in this case it sure worked out!

Later - Jim