I spoke with my Mother last night and she was somewhat upset because she had been driving down the road and didn't realize it but she was doing 43 mph in a 35. What she didn't realize was that the speed limit had lowered to 35 mph and she was pulled over for speeding.
Mom pretty much knows, that's not a big deal to me as I set the family record in speeding tickets. I love cars, I enjoy what they can and can't do and with all honesty I have a lead foot, period.
Granted, I have slowed way down over the past couple of years and I don't have the interest I used to have with going fast and or what a vehicle is capable of. However, Mom, well, Mom just does the speed limit, always has, always will.
Ultimately, Mom walked away from this violation with a warning and to this day has a perfect driving record after 45 years of being on the road. How about you? What's your driving record like?
I should add, is it me or are your children getting a lot of tickets? Every kid I know right now is getting drilled with tickets and the Police don't ever seem to lighten up on these young kids on provisional licenses?
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I had one infraction on my drivers record for speeding, and that was 3 years ago. I think Police officers should be harder on the younger / newer drivers. If they get away with violations, how will they ever learn to respect the road?
ReplyDeleteTHE RECENT ACCIDENT THAT TOOK THE LIVES OF 2 DELMAR TEENS SHOULD BE REASON ENOUGH TO JUSTIFY "GETTING DRILLED".SPEED,INEXPERIENCE,AND UNSAFE ROAD CONDITIONS.WHAT MORE CAN THE POLICE DO TO KEEP THEM SAFE?
ReplyDelete"Police don't ever seem to lighten up on these young kids on provisional licenses?"
ReplyDeleteIt makes the cops with pimples and a GED feel tough pulling over 16 year old high school kid that are smarter than them.
I took the approach that for the first 6 months of having their lisence that the kids were not allowed to transport anyone else besides another family member.
ReplyDeleteI had a friend in high school that got in an accident with a carload of buddy's and everyone in the vehicle died except for the driver.
This is experience forever changed his life, and it is far to high of a price to pay for being a testosterone raging, newly lisenced teenage boy.
I couldn't bare the thought of my kids having to take on that responsibility, so we just set that as a family standard.
It worked out really well.
However, the day after the 6 months was up with my son, he of course had a carfull of kids, and slid off the road taking a turn too fast.
No one was hurt, he ended up in a bean field, but at that point he thanked me for my rule, because he said he had run off the road before, and had gotten better at it.
Go figure.
Back in Sept. My 19yr old son was pulled over (by a the SPD along Beaglin Pk Dr. for a selt belt violation. He deserved it , lord knows I've preached to him about wearing one for years (I'm in safety field), he also was given a warning to have his license plate affixed to the front bumper of the car. (He had it in the window of his truck)due to a 'vender bender' he had months ago and the bolt part of the license plate was knocked off. and on his part time salary not fixed yet. He was upset and so was I that he had this ticket , but life goes on.....within 1 week he and his girlfriend were stopped again along the same stretch of road by Deputy Sheriff and someone he I guess was training. This time he did have his seat belt on.....The officer noticed the license plate issue (that was yet to be fixed). My son, was upset he was again pulled over and was visibly shaken by the time the Sheriff came up to talk to him. The sheriff along with telling him it needed to be affixed to the bumper asked what was wrong with him. My son told him what had happened earlier in the week to him and he was upset, the sheriff then wanted to know why he had money (he could see,,,$40.00 )in his console area. He told him that was all the money he had, he kept it there to get gas with.By this time his girlfriend started crying , they wanted to know why she was crying and she told him , she had never been stopped and this whole thing was upsetting.The sheriff said he thought he smelled something in his car and told him to get out and they had him lean against his car and they searched him !!!. By this time his girlfriend was mortified. They found nothing , and nothing in this 19 years olds messy car but sweaty socks and college books. So before the deputy let him go he gave him not a warning but a ticket for not having the license plate affixed to the front of the truck. I thought this to be extreme. He was not speeding,he had his seat belt on,the officer was told he was just stopped recently for the same thing, he hadn't had the money or the time to get it fixed yet. He said It should have been put on the front of his truck. I personally think this was excessive. I even called the Sheriffs Dept.about this and was almost not talked to about this stop being the fact my son is 19years old (not a juvenile)but finally did. I just wanted him to know my son and his girlfriend don't smoke anything and I thought the whole stop was over the top. I said what about a repair warning for the license plate issue, he said the SPD did that and it should have been fixed. He had the time and he could have affixed it with anything.... I was just very displeased... this hard studying low income,drug and alcohol free college student was hit in a couple of weeks with 2 tickets and a warning,totaling $90.00 needless to say he couldn't wait to leave this town and go back to college. And Yes....
ReplyDeletewe affixed the tag with wire within minutes of the last stop. knowing his luck he would have been stopped again that night.
If you would like to post your e-mail and have your son stop by my house. I'd be glad to use my tools and skills to fix this problem for him.
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous 10:41,
ReplyDeleteWhile I have empathy for your son's situation, he had been told about this problem one week earlier.
Why didn't he just take the wire himself and fix this problem? When does your son become a man and stand up for himself? It's not like they were going to take him to jail for this. But he had been asked to fix this and chose not to.
When he got his driver's license from the State of Maryland, he signed a sheet acknowledging and accepting the requirements of the State; one of which is to have a car properly tagged while on public roads. Period.
Now, as far as the search, the Cop had the probable cause for the search after the stop. I'm also sure that the Cop asked if he could search the car whereas your son said "yes."
Frightening? You bet. Fair? You bet.
So long as he was polite (which I'm sure he was) and respectful (which again, I'm sure he was), it only takes a few minutes to get things back on track and away. Cops have a job to do too. We just hate it when they target "us." Which is a fair statement.... albeit we wish they were on someone else's case.
As far as the $90.... well, lesson learned. Although expensive at that. I know you think they were picking on him... but remember, they had asked him to fix this just a week earlier.
He should have taken care of it.
When given a "Warning" to repair a problem isn't there a certain amount of time that is given. If anyone knows that time, please share it.
ReplyDeleteI thought he would have had more then a week to take care of it.
Heck I see people every day with their tag number on PAPER (if it is the actual tag number) in the car window. At least he had the actual PLATE.
anon 4:37
ReplyDeleteI am quite proud of my son. He did not want me to call the Sheriffs office. I made the call as a COMPLAINT, not to try and help him out of a situation.Don't give me that BS about Fair and Probable cause crap ...you're either a cop or a cops wife and have NEVER been put through such an ordeal and have been shaken up as he was for a damn license plate. He was plain and simple trying to impress his "Trainee" he had with him.
And the law (throught the DMV's eyes) is that SERO orders have 10 days to complete the work needed.We thought when he had to fix it (the first time) he had make sure the bumper with plate was affixed the way it should be the City Police ,never said place it on the front of the vehicle and use just anything to do it. We are law abiding, honest,drug,smoke and alcohol free people just trying to 'keep our heads above water'.
I hope this happens to you sometime maybe then, you might feel it was slightly over the top.Dont' get me wrong I have met Sheriff Lewis and I will tell you I have never met a person with more charisma I wish he had stopped my son. I BET YA ,It would not have been the same outcome.
Thank you "Old Fisherman" for the offer it has properly been taken care of .
poor baby...he was shaken up. he should have taken care of it.
ReplyDeleteDear Anony 12:45 PM,
ReplyDeleteI hear you loud and clear then through "both" your posts.
"...do unto others.... just don't do unto me!"
Seriously.... Those are the rules. Follow them or don't have a car on the public road way. Geeze!
Ps... Nope, I'm not a cop or a cop's wife. None in the family for that matter. But I do know how life works and understand the fact that you want to play, you gotta pay. Good luck with your "law abiding, honest,drug,smoke and alcohol free" family dear.
im 20, ive lost my licance once due to demerits on my rechord, allmost lost it a second time all befor the age of 18. now im 20 in a profession and cant get a job because in my profession many companies require you to drive a work vehical. i guess its time to start looking for a new profession......
ReplyDeleteThank you society