I just left home and was listening to my  favorite satellite radio show (Howard Stern, hey now!) while driving on my way to work last Wednesday night when I noticed the siren lights of a cop's vehicle behind me. I kept driving hoping that he was on pursuit of somebody else or just wanted to get me out of the way for an emergency. No such luck! Still incredulous, I finally pulled over  to the side of the road and waited nervously as the cop approached my car. I checked to make sure I have my seat belt on and mentally crossed my fingers that whoever it was would show some mercy and let me off the hook this time. Dang! How fast was I driving?  I braced myself for the worst.

A few minutes later, I drove off as an unhappy recipient of a speeding ticket. Apparently, he clocked me driving at 57 mph at a 45 mph zone . Needless to say, I shamefully attempted to sway his decision by clearly displaying my scrub nurse uniform (it worked before) but my flimsy power of persuasion was no match to his determination. Whether a fact or not, I heared that the police have a target "quota" on how many tickets they issue and the end of the month is the most time that people gets slapped with these tickets. Believe me, I have nothing personal against cops. They're just doing their job just like anybody else and there are bad apples among them too just like in any other work force. The cop who pulled me over remained calm and polite but I still couldn't help feeling annoyed. Aside from paying him $75.00 as a cash bond (so he wouldn't take my driver's license), I'm facing these three choices to resolve my citation:

1. Plead Guilty, pay $75.00. Conviction is reported to the Secretary of State. I am not proud to admit this but I used to be quite notorious in getting traffic violation citations when I first started driving. I just kept getting ticket after ticket and had spent so much money paying up. As a consequence, my driver's insurance rate went up. I also managed to get citations from three different states (Illinois, Michigan, Indiana). Yeah, I lived a life of crime and danger . I was just so sick and tired of seeing those siren lights pursuing me like an outlaw and it made me feel like the police force had a personal vendetta against me. I seriously considered taking a cab to work if things didn't improve. Finally, my luck turned. The last time I got a ticket was on December 1999. It's been seven years since and now I am anxious that I'll have to start all over again. Since Wednesday night, I can't help feeling paranoid that the cops are after me now. I'm sure they can smell my fear and have their radar specifically turned on to detect my presence on the road.  Oh, my poor unfortunate soul!
2. Avoid a conviction on my driving record, plead guilty, register for the Driver Safety Program. Also pay $115.00. This option doesn't make me any happier either. I had been to three classes before and they were not the most interesting and enjoyable experience at all. The seats were so hard it felt like my butt sustained a callus at the end of the day. I also probably didn't learn much since I kept drifting off to sleep at the back of the room. Interestingly enough, Kenny is supposed to attend such a class today. You might think we're a couple of daredevils on the road, huh? We're not reckless drivers, mind you. Just a little bit lead-footed.  We gotta ease off on the accelerator, that's all.
3. Plead guilty and request a hearing before a judge. I've had my days in the court before. The first time was when I got into a vehicular accident more than a month after I bought my first car (wrecked the driver's side) in 1995, roughly three months after I first got my driver's licence (after three attempts). I erroneously turned left on a green light, not being mindful of the incoming traffic on the opposite side. Wham!  The jarring impact of the other car shook me like nothing I ever experienced before. I sustained a "whiplash" injury but nobody was seriously hurt. During my court appearance, I was quaking in my shoes. I didn't know what to expect and I feared I might get thrown into a prison cell the moment I utter the words, "Guilty, your honor". Waiting for my turn was excruciating as I watched other people pleaded "not guilty" with their lawyers beside them. Maybe I should have gotten one myself? Fortunately, it was less dramatic when my turn came. I just showed my insurance card and the judge gave me supervision as it was my first offense. Needless to say, it was the beginning of my frequent visits to the courthouse and it was nerve wracking everytime. I just hope that if I choose this option this time, the judge will consider my good behavior for the past few years. Maybe I'll wear a tee shirt that has "Free Rosemarie" emblazoned across it. 

I hope I'm not giving an impression that I'm proud of violating any laws or traffic regulations and touting my disregard on the importance of being a safe driver. I've taken cared of a handful of MVA (motor vehicular accident) patients enough to understand the gravity of what the consequences might be as a result of a careless action and serious lack of judgment. That is why I've learned to be a defensive driver and had been more mindful with the speed limitation for a long time now. There's no good excuse for any violation at all but I just wished I could turn back the time for another chance. I would have paid more attention to my speedometer and drove without any distraction. Ah, 20/20 hindsight really comes in retrospect. So, learn from my mistake and take it easy on the gas pedal, folks! It's not worth the aggravation when you find yourself on "COPS". Crime doesn't pay .