Not my car. Not Chicago.I got a ticket yesterday, and I'm not happy about it.
Mind you, it was only my second ticket and my first since I was 16. Which means I've had 12 years to convince myself that I'm invincible. In fact, every time I do something vaguely illegal (usually every 2.5 seconds), I come up with an elaborate explanation I will give a cop, should one dare to question my driving decisions. They are pretty impressive, from, "But I'm actually helping the flow of traffic, Officer," to, "But don't you think a traffic light should act as a 4-way stop before 7 a.m.?"
So imagine my surprise when I got pulled over yesterday and said nothing. Nothing. Even though I had just told Mr. Dub my great explanation for why I illegally turn left into the Target parking lot several times a week: "Officer, I feel this is a safer entry into this lot. And shouldn't my family's safety be my top priority?"
Part of it was my state of mind: I'd suddenly encountered a blizzard as I attempted to visit my SIL, who is in town, and decided to seek refuge. As a result, I didn't have my cop radar on. I was also talking on a cell phone to me mum. (Yes, I was being that driver.)
To my credit, the officer acted like he was going to let me off, so I didn't think I needed an explanation, and lying is never an option for me. But then he asked for my license - which I lost while traveling over the holidays - and then he asked why I have Arizona plates - because I just got the title from my parents and haven't yet registered my car in Illinois - and his sympathy went down a notch.
Anyway, he claimed to be letting me off, but I still have a $75 fee to pay and the sad reality that I will now have to sit through two additional lights rather than turn left into my local Target lot. But mostly I have to suffer from lowered driving self-esteem because I'm wondering if I really have the ability to allude law enforcement.
What do you think?
How many ticket notches do you have on your dashboard?
And have you ever talked your way out of one?
(If so, details, please!)
32 comments:
I've had 3 tickets for speeding (2 of those happened only 2 weeks apart only a couple of years ago) and 1 for an accident when I was 16...I've talked myself out of 2 or 3 tickets...I think it was less about my ability to talk myself out of it and more about the generous heart of the coppers who stopped me.
Sometimes I wish I could pull other drivers over and give a ticket when I see their cars swerving in and out of traffic or when someone is tailing me on the freeway.
ugh. so not fair. so i only have one speeding ticket from 6 years ago. somehow... i was pulled over for going 80 on a 55! whoops! who knew a freeway's speed limit is 55? isn't that illegal or something? i thought they were all 65-75ish? apparently im wrong. but it was at like 10pm, so i totally wasn't gonna stop on the side of the road... im a single girl driving at night. that doesn't sound too safe to me! so i put my hazards on and get off on the next exit and go to the first gas station i see, lol. as mean as the officer was, he must've thought i was being safe or something and let me go!!! thankfully. but he did have to mention that he totally could've taken me to jail! eeek. so no ticket on that one, yay!
When you said, I am invincible, it reminded me of Alan Cummings in GoldenEye, guess you have to like James Bond. Anyway, I haven't gotten any yet. Now I am sure I will be cursing myself, especially here in Texas. People speed as a matter of fact.
For speeding, I have a friend who really did this and got off:
She was speeding down a two lane road WAY over the speed limit and a cop got her. When she stopped, she quickly looked around her car, found an almost empty sprite can, and poured it on her zipper and that general region. When the cop came and asked her why she was speeding, she embarrassingly told him she was trying to hurry home to the BATHROOM!!! He got all uncomfortable and semi-quickly ended the conversation. Pretty crazy story but it's true!
I've only gotten pulled over for my back lights being out at night and I was told to drive straight home and slow with my hazards on...SO not cool when you're 16!
At the ripe old age of 32, I have still never gotten a ticket. Been pulled over twice, both during the college years, both for speeding, both not fun. During one of them I was rounding the curve at point-of-the-mountain in the winter and apparently ice-covered roads meant I wasn't supposed to stick with my normal rule of 12mph over the speed limit. The not-so-kindly officer actually made me get out of my car and feel the icy road, yelling at me all the while, claiming he should be giving me a $1000 ticket for reckless endangerment or something. Meanie. But for some reason he didn't ticket me. Maybe it was my deer-in-the-headlights face that garnered the sympathy, because as a native Arizonan I honestly had no idea that a) the road was icy or that b) that meant I should drive slower.
Sorry you got a ticket :(
Whenever I get pulled over - which is NOT often - I instantly burst into tears and that usually gets me off. Trust me, I cannot cry "on demand". But, funny story - we got in a not-so-nice neighborly dispute last
December over SNOW (of all things! My neighbor is seriously a psychopath). The next day, a cop showed up at my door and my heart absolutely dropped. I thought, "He's going to give me a ticket for putting snow on her property" but he was, in fact, just asking for references for a (different) neighbor who wanted to be a cop. There is something about them that just scares the wits out of me.
No tickets on record but 2 trips to traffic school. The last time I got pulled over (2 weeks ago) my husband told me to tell him that my water broke and I was hurrying home. I couldnt pull that one but I did stick the rounding belly out and rub it a lot - and no ticket. So, I am not sure if the pregnancy card worked or not.
1 ticket, something like 18 pull-overs over the years (I lost track). I won't admit to being an erratic driver; rather, I believe my propensity for driving with out-of-state plates makes me a cop magnet (seriously, I've hardly ever gotten pulled over with in-state plates). I used to think I should write a book on how to talk one's way out of a ticket, but then I actually got one and my ego deflated.
The last time I got pulled over was by a cop who was ON FOOT, which was pretty embarrassing, not to mention the fact that I was driving in Virginia in a rental with Florida plates and insufficient documentation (thanks for nothing, Hertz!), was talking on my cell phone, and was acting like I didn't know what the cop meant by "California stop" only to have to fork over my California driver's license two seconds later. Still, I got off with a warning!
Michelle's story about the sprite was hi-larious, but I would not advise anyone to pull that trick in LA or another big city. Reaching for something in the back seat after getting pulled over will get you shot. I don't even open the glove box without first explaining to the cop that it's where I keep my registration.
all three of my tickets were traps! i was going highway speed limits, came across a small town when the speed limit significantly dropped and boom! sirens!
once, a Heber cop actually told me he was letting me off with a warning, and then proceeded to hand me a ticket. how is that letting me off? since when is a ticket a warning?
at the ripe old age of 18, i got a speeding ticket for racing. so, not to mention the $100 ticket, i was also passed by both of my friends pointing and laughing at me as they sped off to my house and got to wait there for me with my parents in the livingroom. nothing like coming home to your parents, who already know you've got a ticket, and two friends who are making fun of you the whole time.
and the other two times i got speeding tickets, i was driving other people's cars (long story). and i was taking a "short cut" both times. p.s. don't get a ticket in orem, ut... traffic school there is half a day on a saturday. lame. (though, i've heard it's worse other places).
never gotten out of a ticket either, that i can recall. BUT, i have talked my way out of a "boot" on my car. clearly, i'm very proud of that fact. :)
sorry about your ticket. :(
I've never been pulled over. I'm a somewhat aggressive driver, but not much of a speeder. I tend to stay within 10 mph of the limit. I think I've just been lucky so far.
Ok so I am a lurker and know I have something to say.......
I made a RIGHT turn on a red light
no cars were coming
I did not see the DO NOT TURN RIGHT ON RED sign...
I got pulled over and I did not have a OK state drivers license (I have lived here for 4 1/2 years) only the previous states license.
I did not get a ticket because I told him that I had just heard that ANNA NICHOLE SMITH just died and was shocked! he laughed and sent me on my way..... left me with my good record of 1 ticket in 20 years of driving..... watch me get a ticket today for saying that!
Love your blog BTW
First of all ... are ye thinkin' it's yer mum's fault?
Secondly ... I thought Ginny would tell the story of how they mistakenly thought she was a felon from another state and pinned her car in ... but then maybe she didn't want that story out?
I should not put this in writing because the universe will then choose to teach me a lesson. BUT.
I used to get pulled over every year sometime between December 25 and January 1. Who knows, maybe there are more cops out looking for drunks. Luckily the past few years have been quiet.
And no, I have never gotten a ticket. Though I definitely deserve one pretty much everytime I leave my driveway.
How many speeding tickets does it take to get your license suspended? I have that many. Not to mention the hundreds of dollars in parking tickets from ASU over my 4 1/2 yrs there (towed twice for not paying them). But I think I actually spent less just paying for the tickets rather than buying the $500 per semester parking pass!
i've never been able to talk myself out of a ticket but i've never tried, either. my most recent was 2 years ago and i was speeding in cali on my way back to az and had to pee bad.
after the cop gave me the ticket, i asked him the closest rest stop. he still gave me the ticket.
az is really layin down the law with tickets and robby's new habit is to cover his face with his clipboard when he see's the camera's. i always ask 'why don't you just slow down when you know they are coming?' he never has a good answer.
i have too many tickets and accidents to count. but they were all in utah which is where the worst driver's of the world collide. driving there makes me want to take my own life.
Just to clarify Mary...
The "there's a warrant for the arrest of a Ginny Ess in Georgia" incident occurred during one of the many times I got pulled over in Provo, and it was the ONE time I actually got a ticket. So I talked my way out of imprisonment but took the ticket as a consolation prize. I should still get points for talking my way out of something. (We are tallying points, right?)
BTW, even if you do traffic school in UT, the ticket still goes on your record. Of course, they don't tell you that until you've already pled no contest.
I've heard crying works, but I've always been to embarrassed to try it. Also, I can't cry on cue.
Only had 1 ticket (making an illegal left turn in fact). I was 17, so I had to go to juvenile court with my mom. The judge (it was just the judge in a office, not a court room) asked me what happened. I explained that the sign was brand new (put up two months earlier when they repaved the street). I was on my way home from a funeral. It's they way we took home from church for 12 years. The sign on the left hand side was hidden by a tree, and I never looked at the one on the right side because I was turning LEFT! I got stopped by a cop who was waiting for people to turn left, he just was standing in the middle of the street. There was also a cop on a motor cycle in case a driver bypassed the cop in the street.
The judge told me a story about how he turned the wrong way onto a one way street because he was unfamiliar with the neighborhood. "People make mistakes. If you don't get another moving violation before your 18th birthday (4 months later) you won't have to pay the fine, and it won't go on your record." I was very relieved. And have never been pulled over since.
Although a cop pulled us over in a a quiet neighborhood while my husband was driving, to let us know our tail light was out. Wow that was longer than I expected, sorry.
So funny, I got pulled over today for expired tags. I had NO idea that they were expired since the car I drive is technically my bro-in-law's (too much dumb details to explain). He never told us about the expiring tags (yeah, we could have checked the sticker but really, who does?). Anyway, I also realized that we don't have the registration for the vehicle in the car either. In addition to these two strikes, my driver's license is from Oregon and we moved to Washington eight months ago. Luckily I did have the insurance card.
So, I was terrified of the number of tickets he would give us. However, the stars aligned and the heaven's smiled and he let me go with a warning!!! I almost cried with joy.
Unlike my old Eugene, Oregon police who gave me a ticket for not using a turn signal (!)-- he smugly wrote up that ticket while I was seven months pregnant and had a two-year-old in the car. Mean, mean Eugene police.
Wow, that was long. You asked for it though.
I have cried (like for real on the way to a University final), been sweet, argued (going 65 in a 55 at 1am on the Phoenix loop which is now 65!), and tried to blame it on a boyfriend (long story). None "worked" - I have had 4 tickets in 3 states, and have been able to attend driving traffic school in each of the 3 states (and one court attendance, a tail-light issue - t.m.i.). But it's been like 8 years and now I drive like my husband, who drives the speed limit.
Early in my 20's, I followed my co worker's cars.. from there, they all drove illegal double line to make an U-Turn, I was not lucky because the cop chose me and gave me a ticket instead of giving all of my other co workers' a ticket. Thought it was not fair!
He suggested me to go to a traffic school to take my moving violation off from the driving record. Before I went to the traffic school, I phoned and told them that I would need a sign language interpreter for the school. Well, guess what? There was no sign language interpreter. They instead gave me tons of the pictures (newspaper articles) to look it through for the next 8 years, that included my homework while I was attending night classes.
Later the teacher asked me what I have learned from the book in a front of the class ( I could lip read and speak well for few people.) I simply told the teacher, " I was amazed to see my father, who was a cop, in the newspaper." He gulped while the students, who were in 20's, laughed. (we were young back then.)
Since then, I have knocked my wood
After going, like, 10 years with no tickets I suddenly got a ticket last Feb. and then this past Wed.
Personally? I think the the cops have some kind of "ticket drive" around here in Feb. The cop had the ticket pre-filled out.
I've talked my way out of tickets. I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that I was in High School and in my cheerleading uniform at the time and sobbing at the time. Since gaining weight and growing older I find cops take less and less pity on me.
I have had only one real ticket. I was going 40 in a 35 --on Canyon Rd. in Provo. Grr. Five over. FIVE over.
It's been fourteen years and I'm still a little angry.
Now, BYU traffic tickets? Are you kidding? I was banned from driving on campus.
p.s. Sometimes, as in the case of your local Target, breaking the law is an act of civil disobedience. I hate when poor city planning causes you driving headaches, I mean come on let's think it through just a little. Just let you turn there. Argh.
Civil disobedience. I'm sticking with it.
Only one speeding ticket, and it was in Provo. It was a speed trap by Cafe Rio. A cop walked out in the middle of the road right in front of me (I thought, "Are you crazy? I could have run you over!") and waved me into a parking lot. I was really upset and cried, but that got me no where. They were passing 'em out like pretzels that day. I think they were issuing four other cars citations at the same time I was there.
So, I had to go to traffic school on a Friday night, and I was really mad about it. But, I showed up, waited around with the room full of people for 15 minutes, and a clerk came in and said that they didn't know where the instructor was and that we were all free to go! So I just signed a piece of paper saying that I showed up, and I was free and clear.
$75 for that!! Holy cow. The insanity.
I got pulled over by one of Utah's Finest just a few weeks ago. I had no proof of insurance, no seatbelt on and I was going well over the speed limit. Somehow, he didn't give me a ticket. (It was highway patrol and the only thing I could think of was making some joke about getting Tased and I didn't think it was a good idea so I said nothing.)
in 7 years of driving I recieved my first ticket 3 months ago... and my 2nd last week.... SO not happy... But I am SO happy someone else does the whole thinking out what you're going to say stuff... I do it also... WITH EVERYTHING!! If I want to skip class I think up some of the most elaborate slightly truthful "lies" to email my teachers.. LOL... last week my dog was sick so I e-mailed that I was taking her to the vet... which I really was... just not until the next day.... psuedo lies are my specialty.
-Lee
Oh my gosh, this is a popular subject lately, which makes me think the universe is trying to tell me something.
I've never been ticketed, or even pulled over for that matter. Not that I haven't deserved it, mind you. Just last week I was driving in a school zone doing the regularly posted 40 (okay, 42) when my hubby pointed out a motorcycle cop w/a radar gun. Shoot. He pulled out behind the line of cars, of course I was first, and put his lights on. We all pulled over and he waved me and another car on and kept the third car in line, which was a minivan. Luckily for me it was President's Day & NOT a school day.
I'm hopeful that when I do finally get pulled over I can use the "never even been pulled over before!" thing to my advantage.
I also JUST got a ticket on Saturday for speeding on the freeway...I was on the phone with my husband who was not so happy when I said some non-repeatable expletive, claimed I was being pulled over and threw the phone so the officer would not know I was on it. GUILTY GUILTY GUILTY! And I too just COULD NOT recall any of the clever excuses that I have for my speedy driving. I just bowed my head, handed over my driver's license and took the beating. Dang it! I think this is my 3rd speeding ticket since moving to Utah 3 plus years ago --- I don't think I EVER got one in California. What is that??? And yes! My hubby says I must slow down or get a bike that seats 5.
Not me, but my husband once got out of a ticket for speeding shortly after we got married. We were picking up his son and former wife and were on the way home from the airport. When the police officer asked him to step out of the vehicle, he said, "I know what you're going to say, I was driving too fast. Would it make a difference to know that inside the car I have my son, my new wife and my ex wife?" The cop said "good luck" and left him with a warning.
I got a few tickets in high school, one at 6 a.m. as I was speeding on my way to seminary of all places!! The cop wasn't sympathetic and still gave me a ticket and said harshly, "You're going to kill someone going this fast." This was totally traumatic for me because I'd had two close friends die in a car accident just a month prior to that day. I showed up to seminary in tears and couldn't stop crying at school - I ended up going home early that day because I was such a wreck.
Needless to say - I did drive slower to seminary after that. And now I am inconsistent... sometimes I go five over the speed limit and other times I just set my cruise control (if on the highway) so I won't be tempted to go higher. My dad likes say that I drive like I'm "going somewhere" - because I am a very assertive driver :)
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