My 1st Speeding Ticket

I guess I should be happy that I was able to hold off getting my first (and hopefully last) speeding ticket until I was 39. I really can't say that I am happy though. I am guilty, I was speeding. It was not on purpose, I was headed down a rather steep hill and was simply not pay attention. As I almost reached the bottom I looked down quickly as I saw the police cruiser a couple of cars back in traffic coming from the opposite direction. To late. He already had me. 12 miles over. It doesn't seem to sound as bad when you are talking 42 miles per hour versus say doing it on the highway and going 82 miles per hour, but either way it is 12 miles over. Or should I say $81 over. Yep, that is what it cost in a non school zone. Ouch!

The officer said that he doesn't like giving tickets, but they have been told to crack down since they got some new federal grant. He said he could tell that I was a good driver from my record and he noticed that I realized that I was speeding. Oh well, I guess I hope they don't get anymore grants.

This was actually my 2nd ticket (1st speeding). I got a ticket around 1985, when headed to Rolla (my hometown) over a Holiday weekend. A State Trooper pulled me over. He asked if I saw him as I passed him on the side of the road. Yes, I did. There was a bit of a hill that I popped over. He was on the shoulder at the bottom. I pulled to the other lane and proceeded onward. He pulled me over and stated that I was doing 57 in a 55. He let me off with a warning, but my wife and I got tickets for not wearing our seatbelt. That was back in the day when we didn't think much about it. We wear our seatbelts religiously (and make our kids as well).
The seatbelt tickets were $10 bucks each.

Anyway if you are cruising through Jefferson City, Missouri, you may want to keep an eye on you speed and buckle up. Happy motoring!