Headed out on Monday morning, a couple weeks ago, driving through South Central Kansas. May have been 3 or 4 mph over the posted speed limit but that doesn't usually catch the eye of State Troopers. Making the transition from Hwy 77 to Hwy 50, passed by a convenience store. Saw a Deputy Sheriff pull out from the store and begin riding my rear bumper. When I saw him pull out after me, I slowed and drove exactly the posted limit of 65 mph. This went on for about two miles with him so close to my bumper that I could barely see his patrol car in my rear view mirror. All kinds of thoughts were going through my mind. What had I done wrong? Did I have tail lights or brake lights out. All of a sudden a rooster pheasant came out of a field on the right side of the road. Big ol' pheasant hit in the middle of the front of my hood/bumper. Flipped it up over the cab of my truck and SPLAT!!! right in the middle of the Deputy's windshield. In my mirror I saw the bird had smashed the patrol car windshield. The red lights came on. Of course, having to stop for a patrol car I pulled to the side of the road and turned on my flashers. The Deputy walked up to my side window and asked for my license and registration. I handed them to him while asking, "Officer, did I do something wrong?" The Deputy replied, "Sir, I'm going to take your license and registration back to my car and write you a ticket!" Surprised, I asked "A ticket? What for?" The officer immediately replied...."I'm writing you a ticket for flipping me the bird!"
Oh WOW what an ironic turn of events. What did you do...did you explain about the suddenness of what the bird did and not you? Well I too got a ticket for walking in the crosswalk when the halt sign was on. I went back to the curb to go to the middle and did not notice the motorcycle police standing ahead of me next to Ross Dept. Store where the crosswalk is. "Mam may I speak to you." This young & tall motorcycle policeman said to me may I see your identification. I looked surprised when I opened my bag to get my identification and asked what I did wrong. As I handed my id to the officer he said I was walking in the crosswalk with the halt sign and that's against the law. I said it is and how much is the ticket. As the officer next to him caught a young mom with her two daughters 5 seconds after me was beginning to talk with them he said $150.00. My eyes opened wide and I repeated $150.00 he was writing the ticket by now as the other officer was writing the ticket for the young mother too. We went shopping and came home with a $150.00 fine that I paid online. I know how you feel...
I bet you are more careful to watch the little stop and go signs when you cross the street, @Krissttina Isobe ! ! Even though this thread is for Tall Tales, and most of them are not true; I am guessing that you are posting a real-life experience this time. (I am just as sure that Will's story was NOT a real encounter with a patrolman, and was indeed a tall-tale) That being said, I was shocked at how much they fine you for walking after the light starts blinking for you to stop, and the police must not have a lot to do if they are actually just standing around watching for people who accidentally (or intentionally) do this. We have those same kinds of warning lights here; but never in my life have I heard of someone actually being stopped by police for walking after the warning sign changes. And to give out a $150 fine seems outrageous to me. You could buy yourself that new Kindle tablet for much less than that and not have to go to the library to use the computer.
Great story Will !! However, on the true side some years ago in Nebraska, I believe, a certain gentleman was in front of a judge for doing just that. He had raised his one finger salute to a police officer. With the officer as the only witness, the judge said that if the defendant had not proclaimed what his salute meant that it was just a finger standing in the air all by itself. Apparently there is no absolute definition for the "bird" according to the judge. It could mean one thing to the officer and something totally different to the defendant. Case dismissed was the verdict handed down by the judge. The beaten patrolman, while leaving the courtroom turned around at the door, faced the judge, stood at attention and flipped off the judge.
That story is soooo funny. I remember one time when my Mom, Nanie and I were going to the market and someone cut off my Mom (Mom's an aggressive driver) I told my Nanie to flip the guy the bird and she started flapping her arms like a chicken. It was so funny that she had no idea how to flip the bird, I almost peed myself laughing. Next time you see a little Italian lady flapping her arms all around you can smile but she might be flipping you the bird.
When I lived in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, I knew pretty much everyone working in law enforcement there, because the police were paid extra if they carried EMT certification, so many of them had been my students at one time or another. Plus, I worked in several places within Cameron and Delta counties, and would come in contact with many of them at accident or violence scenes. This didn't mean that I was immune to traffic tickets, but I was less inclined to receive them. I tried not to break any traffic laws, but sometimes managed to do so anyhow. Once I was driving through Rio Hondo, a small town in Cameron County. I had taught a couple of EMT classes there, weekends for four months each, so I knew most of the people working police, fire or EMS in Rio Hondo. The all-volunteer Rio Hondo EMS was in danger of losing its certification because they didn't have a lot of volunteers, and most of those they had were going to expire. Another nearby paid service had already announced that it was going to be taking over the area. I contacted the EMS director in Rio Hondo and volunteered to teach a class there, on weekends, to re-certify their current volunteers and to train any new people they had in mind, and to do it for free, which kept them in business. Anyhow, that day I was passing through Rio Hondo, and didn't notice that they had extended their city limits. Where the 30 mph in-town speed limit used to end, resuming the 55 mph limit at the beginning of the bridge leaving town, it has been moved to the other end of the bridge. I started speeding up where the 55 mph sign used to be, and was pulled over by someone who was probably the only Rio Hondo police officer who didn't know me. He ticketed me for doing 50 in a 30 mph zone, and I went on my way. A couple of days later, I received a call from the police chief in Rio Hondo, who was also a paramedic. "I see that you visited Rio Hondo the other day," he said. I told him yes, that I hadn't noticed that the speed limit sign had been moved. "He's new," he told me. "Don't worry about the ticket. I made it go away." A few years later, I was traveling to an EMS conference in Austin, which was quite a ways north of where I lived. While driving alone, I like to take the back roads, so I was outside of Austin, still in a rural area, with very little traffic, when I was pulled over by Texas DPS. Texas state troopers have to account for every traffic stop, so they seldom let people off with a warning. Still, it never hurts to have hope. I was in my city car from Los Fresnos, which was equipped with lights and siren, since I used it to respond to emergencies. "Are you responding to an emergency?" he asked. "I wish I was, but no, I'm not." "You wish you were? Why?" "Because then maybe I wouldn't get a ticket," I answered. "Oh, I'd still write you a ticket because you aren't using lights and siren," he said. "But I might write it a little faster if you were needed somewhere." I didn't get off of that one.
Hills and driving. It's easy to increase your speed going upward but the risk of driving downhill can present a problem. That got me an $80 ticket. It was a gorgeous sunny day and I was on my way to the mall. I thought I was being mindful of the speed limit so I let my car coast downhill. I was about to go uphill again until I saw the flashing lights of a patrol car. What did I do? I pulled over. A female officer approached and asked for my id and proceeded to say how nice a day it was and how one can get lost in the music (my radio was playing) and forget how fast they may be going. She said I was going 80 miles in a 35 mph zone. No I wasn't I was coasting downhill but that didn't matter to the officer. So now I'm more attentive to driving downhill and don't coast downhill anymore.
Coasting downhill got really expensive for me, too. Long before unleaded gas, catalytic converters, and electronic ignitions, you could turn off the ignition switch as the vehicle coasted downhill. Unburned gas fumes would build up inside the muffler. Near the bottom of the hill, turn the ignition back on and you would get a loud BOOM!!/backfire. We had this extremely big hill just outside of town. Wasn't odd at all to have any of us kids come coasting into town, hit the ignition switch and wake up half the community. Well, coming down the hill in my '56 Chevy one day, the BOOM! blew a huge hole in the muffler. Was a poor college student and didn't have money to buy a new muffler. Had to admit to my folks what I'd done so they could lend me money to fix the car. Yes, I paid it back!!!!!
To be a tad off topic, but I truly love teaching moments. Both @Von Jones and @ Will Lawrence have given a couple of shining examples of our journey in life. The trip uphill can be slow and full of trials but we will get there with enough power. The trip downhill is much faster and wrought with people with a smile on their face and a sword in their hand, but whatever we do we should never, ever turn off the switch for coasting could lead to ones muffled resolve to be badly damaged.
My last ticket was about 8 years ago for speeding. It cost me $385 and a Saturday in traffic school to get it off my record. I was going 83 in a 65 zone. It's a long boring stretch of highway coming back from my daughter's, it's flat , nobody else on the road and I was bring home my puppy for the first time. I wasn't paying attention to the speed. I wanted to get home as fast as possible and get Pickles all set up in his new home. I didn't even know there was a police car behind me with his lights flashing for quite awhile, pulled over when I did see him. He saw Pickles and said he has dachshunds and we talked about that and I though for sure he wouldn't write me a ticket but he did. Think that was my only ticket ever....but a big one!
Wow that was expensive for 8 years ago as well, I only had one about 40 years ago for 34 in a 30 zone that had been changed from a 40 one the week before which I hadn't noticed. It was a $30 fine I think. They fines are from about $150 now, though I assume it rises with the speed over the limit. Mind you it's difficult to go over the limit in most places due to congestion.
I first realized that I was getting old when I was pulled over by a cop who looked like he should still be in high school.