I got a speeding ticket today.
In a school zone, right after I dropped Tucker off at speech therapy.
(And this happens to be the third time in my life I have been scolded for such behavior... always in a school zone. Once was in the school zone of my very own place of employment... that's a great way to start the morning, waving to my students as they drive by in the carpool lane.)
That's right. I'm a mother and teacher who was driving too fast through a school zone. You might as well say that I hate children and I like to trip them and laugh.
I was doing 29 in a 20. May I just say that 29 MPH does not feel like speeding? It feels like crawling. It feels like 'slow enough.' It's not like I was blitzing through at top speed.
The officer was very kind; he commended me for my honesty, thanked me for not arguing, reminded me that we need to keep the neighborhoods safe, and then graciously dropped it from a four-point to a one-point ticket. His tone was so generous you may have thought he was jotting down the info on my license so he could send me a Christmas card.
And then he handed me a ticket for $162.00. Ouch.
I am thinking of taping that ticket to the screen of my laptop, so I will be thankful for the income as I work late into the night on January's editing assignments.
Or perhaps I should secure it to my steering wheel. Slow it down, Tricia.
I'll drive more slowly tomorrow. I promise.
3 comments:
I feel your pain.
My neighbor is a cop and he said the #1 offenders in school zones are moms in a hurry.
(If "hurry" is what's occurring at 29 mph).
Again, sorry:(
I feel your pain too.
I once got a speeding ticket in a school zone with a carpool full of four children whom I was taking to a different school.
And you were one of them. I know you remember.
So, perhaps this is proof that we really don't learn much from the mistakes of our parents?
I guess at least you come by it honest. :-)
My ticket was for blowing through a stop sign that I totally didn't even see until 2 seconds after I'd gone through it. (This despite having driven that same route countless times before. It couldn't have had anything to do with a much-needed sip from my hot latte, could it?)
The sign was, of course, just opposite an elementary school and the cop (not quite as congenial as yours) conveniently parked just out of sight around the corner. It was in the middle of the day, not a child in sight, but still... I should have stopped. I'm not sure the $100 fine made me a perfect driver, but I've never missed that particular stop sign again!
This won't be especially comforting, but you will again become acutely aware of your driving when your boys begin learning themselves and every move you make is under a microscope. Just thought I'd share that =)
I _do_ feel your pain.
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