Creative Psychosis

I’m often stating how I prefer riding the train to driving, since I can sleep, read, write, and still get to my destination with minimal problems. A recent incident made my opinion even stronger. After twelve years of nearly flawless driving (meaning no accidents and no traffic violations), I received my first speeding ticket on a questionable infraction this past month. While I cannot get too detailed for security reasons, let me explain the utter bullshit of the situation.

I was driving on a two lane highway with a speed limit of 65 mph. Traffic was moderately heavy, and I was in the right lane behind a tractor trailer. We were approaching a large hill and the truck was doing 65. On road trips like this, I usually cruise between 70 and 75. Yes, I know that’s already speeding, but let’s be honest— that is the speed at which traffic usually flows on a major 65 mph highway. Anyone who drives more than once a year knows that.

So I check my rearview and see a group of cars and SUV’s gaining in the passing lane. Before those cars pass me, I decide to pass the truck and accelerate. As I just get around the truck coming down the hill, there was a state trooper waiting at the bottom. He throws his sirens on and pulls me over.

Never in my life have I been victim of a speed trap as ridiculous as this. Pulled over for speeding while passing another vehicle! When I saw the cop at the bottom of the hill, I looked at my speedometer and was doing 7-8 miles less than what the officer told me I was doing. I told him I was passing the tractor trailer and he claimed the truck was going faster than 65 as well. I knew there was no way.

It’s days like this that I wish I understood the mechanics of how a radar gun could clock me and the truck at the speeds the officer indicated. Was it because we were coming downhill at the time? I don’t know. All I know is I was making sure I wasn’t creating a traffic buildup. Had I stayed behind the truck, the mass of traffic would have passed me, and I would have had to wait to get around. Had I passed at only a small increase, all of the traffic in the passing lane would have been up my ass, creating road rage in others because I was halting the flow of traffic.

I’ve never been in an accident, partially because I’m lucky in terms of statistics, but more because of the fact that I watch what other cars do and how they react. I feel I handled the situation in the best way possible for all parties concerned that were on the road. Was I planning on maintaining the passing speed? No, I wanted to get in front of the truck and cruise the rest of the way to my destination. Would I plead guilty if I was caught doing that same cruising speed in the open without any vehicles around me? Yes.

So I plead not guilty to the ticket and sent it in. I received a court notice for a trial. I then sent that letter back stating that I could not make the trial, since the little town court was four hours away from where I live (and they were open a total of 8 hours the whole week on Tuesdays and Thursdays only!). Knowing I could not beat the officer’s testimony if I did not show up, I requested a plea bargain. To my chagrin, I was granted one, on the basis of my good record, and after some more paperwork exchanges, the traffic violation was dropped by several points.

The catch, of course, was that the fine stayed the same. It ended up costing me a little more than $200. Ouch. For a middle-class artist, that’s a nice chunk of change. But I realize that this all was an experience that shows me that most tickets are driven as much by public safety as they are by the need to make quotas to pay for bloated state police salaries.

So tell me, is accelerating to pass a crime? Let me know what you think.