It's a racket.
It was my first Mother's Day without my mother. She died in March. The previous day, my car decided to die on me - and it cost me $75 to tow it to my workplace (it would have cost more than twice that to tow it home). The morning of Mother's Day, a friend found the problem and fixed it. I then drove to the city where Mom is buried, and get pulled over by a cop, who claimed I was doing 55 in a 35 zone. In truth I was slowing down as I approached downtown, but the cop was all business and would hear none of it. He did offer to test his radar gun. Angry as I was, I held my tongue as he wrote the ticket - my first speeding ticket in over 25 years.
Yesterday was my court date for the ticket. I had to be there at 10 am, a time when I am normally sound asleep. I didn't sleep till a quarter to 6 am, woke around 8:15 and left at about 8:40. It is 70 miles or so from the town in which I live to the other town. I arrived at the city hall and had to go through a metal detector (a cop confiscated my pocket knife). I entered the courtroom and we were handed out waivers to sign, stating that we knew our rights yet waived any right to an attorney. We (there were about 20 people there overall) were told that the judge would meet each defendant in chambers and the wait may be all day. I didn't have to work till 5 pm, but the news was still disheartening. Luckily, mine was the second name called.
The clerk asked me what my plea was. I explained the circumstances of the incident but she was not in the mood for stories either. She told me that if I wanted to make my case known, I would have to go to trial, on another date, and the cop would have to procure evidence, etc. Or I could plead guilty and pay the $100 fine. Wanting to get this over with, I opted for the latter, but I only had $20 in cash, and no checks. The clerk allowed me to leave and get the money.
A branch of my bank was a few blocks away. The teller was more sympathetic than anyone in city hall. Fortunately, I had enough money to cover the fine. I returned to city hall and paid, then retrieved my pocket knife and left. After a brief visit with my cousins (who took care of Mom in her last years), I had lunch.
What a sweet racket that city has.
Yesterday was my court date for the ticket. I had to be there at 10 am, a time when I am normally sound asleep. I didn't sleep till a quarter to 6 am, woke around 8:15 and left at about 8:40. It is 70 miles or so from the town in which I live to the other town. I arrived at the city hall and had to go through a metal detector (a cop confiscated my pocket knife). I entered the courtroom and we were handed out waivers to sign, stating that we knew our rights yet waived any right to an attorney. We (there were about 20 people there overall) were told that the judge would meet each defendant in chambers and the wait may be all day. I didn't have to work till 5 pm, but the news was still disheartening. Luckily, mine was the second name called.
The clerk asked me what my plea was. I explained the circumstances of the incident but she was not in the mood for stories either. She told me that if I wanted to make my case known, I would have to go to trial, on another date, and the cop would have to procure evidence, etc. Or I could plead guilty and pay the $100 fine. Wanting to get this over with, I opted for the latter, but I only had $20 in cash, and no checks. The clerk allowed me to leave and get the money.
A branch of my bank was a few blocks away. The teller was more sympathetic than anyone in city hall. Fortunately, I had enough money to cover the fine. I returned to city hall and paid, then retrieved my pocket knife and left. After a brief visit with my cousins (who took care of Mom in her last years), I had lunch.
What a sweet racket that city has.
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