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Jess from VA
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« Reply #7 on: April 08, 2020, 11:27:10 AM » |
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During my youth, after the obligatory careful first year of license, I emulated the Richard Petty style of driving in my cars and bikes as much as possible. And it was a lot of fun. But I got a pile of tickets, and got within one ticket of losing my license, several times. I managed to make it through without ever losing it, but it was a close thing.
What I eventually did, was to sell my hot rod and buy a van. And each time I did, I didn't get any more tickets. Now I also drove my vans with spirit, but how much fun can you have in a slant-6 truck vs a 396 Chevelle? When my points went down, I traded the van for another hot rod, and predictably my points went up again. My dad noticed this, and suggested I just stick with vans.
In the mean time, I spent so much time in courts, watching judges and lawyers work, that I decided that that just might be a decent profession. And I could represent myself, and save money over the long term.
There came a time I realized the foolishness of my behavior. So I compromised and stopped hot rodding around town where all the cops were, and took it out in the sticks where they aren't (mostly). It was a good compromise, and I still do it. No points in 6-7 years now. And, I sold my hot rod car and got a van the size of the USS Yorktown. So things are looking good.
I now get breaks on my insurance for being ancient, no points, no accidents (for 40 years), extremely low annual mileage, a touring bike, MSF graduation, and big deductibles. It still costs too much for my liking, but I have to live with it.
My last violation was a doozy speeding ticket (in the car). The cop was angry and said he thought my car was stolen, and that I was trying to run away. I said, no way, I had a little hot rod VW running up behind me so fast I thought he would ram me, so I punched it to get ahead and over and let him by (it was a deep cover unmarked VW that could never be seen as a cop car). Once you get them laughing, you still get a ticket, but only half as bad as the one you deserved. It didn't hurt that my record was clean either.
My dear old mother has never had a moving violation in her life (and still driving all over at 90, though not lately). She speepishly tells the story of getting pulled over for 10 over (long ago). She told the cop she was sorry and just not paying attention. She also told him she had been driving for 50 years without ever getting a ticket, and she didn't know how she would tell her husband she got her first ticket. So he let her go with a warning. Dad laughed his AO on that one. He only got 2 in his life.
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