I was 16, ( the license is not official until you get the first ?), speeding, 58 Ford, city cop, $16 fine.

Any care to tell about the first offense?

Speeding , 17 yrs. old -never paid it ..

Minor in possession way before I got a drivers licence. I think I was 12.

It got worse once I got a licence.

30 something in a 25 on my way to work, caught a lot of people that day. Speed trap instigated by some [bleep] city official that lived near by. Crowded courtroom with a slightly pissed judge, $10 for everybody.

16 yo for me, too. Tiny town speed trap where the cop sat at the leaving end of town. If you went through town dutifully at the 30 limit, but sped up before you actually passed the 40 limit sign, he lit you up. Had to appear before the town mayor/justice of the peace. That was 1963, and so far it has been my only traffic ticket.

At 17 me and a buddy of mine went to see an away football game.
Coming home I was hitting those "singing strips" that they put on the berms of a ramp.
I was driving at the speed limit, and someone was tailgating me pretty closely. I had a big block Monte Carlo, so when we got to an open road, I dropped the hammer.
'Bout then the bubble gum lights come on. 65 in a 55 zone. Fine was 72.50, which I paid with a money order, and made sure I got the receipt and notice of points on my license out of the mail so Dad wouldn't find out!
7mm

First ticket back in '74 was for "speeding and eluding" in a residential zone, Judge threw it out because I Quote "had he eluded like the officer claimed, he would not be standing here in court" Judge then told the officer in front of court to next time fine for "attempted" to elude. I drove real quite like for the next several months in our little one horse hick town, you tend to draw alot of attention when you drove a Meyers Manx.

rolled through a stop sign at a highway off-ramp - $35 back in 1984. It was a State Police town nearby and the bastids needed something to do in between trips to the bakery.

minor in possession 15 years old


we wouldn't tell the cops who bought us the beer, other guys in car were 17, 16,16


one of the 16 year old's dads came to the station, dad took him outside, heard some muffled blows and he told dad who told the cops who had bought the beer for us.

Speeding ticket, 27 years old..... bought a corvette

Red?

I've gotten two speeding tickets, both 36 in a 25 here in the town I live in..... last one in '84.

I've gotten away with a lot since..

17 years old, 41 in a 25 zone.

That one hurt.

I don't remember my first one.

I remember my last one.

I hired a lawyer, went to court and beat it.

As I was walkin' out a pretty women sitting in the audience smiled and winked at me.

I winked back.

It was fun.

Side track. At 93 we talked to my dad about giving up his drivers licence.....

Why he asked....

No tickets or accidents in The 80 years I been Driving....

I couldn't say the same.....

First of many beginning at 18, 72 in a 55, HWY 213 bypass in Oregon City when it was all new, in my dad's 76 Chevy 3/4 ton. I thought he'd be pissed but he didn't give a chit. Had a girlfriend with me and she had all my attention. Lady deputy said she had the lights on for about a mile before I noticed. Always a lover.

My momma has never gotten one, bless her heart.

Had a Honda Trail 90 back in the 70's. Got a ticket when I was 14 because a cop caught me driving it in an ally in town... How else was I supposed to get it home?


Got my last ticket in 1980 on IH10 outside San Antonio. Going 65mph in a 55 mph zone. DPS had a plain car parked on the side of the road, and when you crossed over the hill, there was about 10 DPS there waving people over, giving them tickets.

1964. 18 yr. old. 37 in a 30 zone. $25.00 fine.

I got pulled over the day I got my licence for running a red light.

One of the two grumpy cops looking at my temporary licence yelled at me, "How long have you had a licence, A MONTH!!??"

I could have said, "One day, can't you read?"

But I said something else and they let me go.

That was the beginning of 50 years of talking my way out of tickets.

I think I was 17, driving to high school and came around a corner to see a cop with a radar gun pointed at me. 42 in a 25.

Got the first one in nearly 25 years this summer. Pulled into the left lane to get around a string of slow traffic and didn't notice the slow line was due to a cop. 80 in a 65.

State cops got me on the interstate. Wrote it up as 100+. Said he knew it was faster. Don't remember the fine but it was big I never paid it and should have lost my license but there was a huge flood at the state capital that year that destroyed all the records.

Sometimes you get lucky.

Cited for open container in a motor vehicle-illegal in Ohio. If I remember right, it cost me $35.00. We were sitting in the parking lot waiting to go into a nightclub.

Speeding about a week after I got my license.

My licence was suspended at least half of my first few years of driving.

I bought a sweet Chevy Nova SS my senior year but my girlfriend had to drive me to school in it most of the year.
For some reason the court let me drive to work and back but not to school...priorities were different back in those days.

I've turned over a new leaf though.....haven't had a ticket or accident in over 35 years now..........knock on wood.

69 and never had a ticket. That does not mean I haven't deserved 100 or more. It just means I have never been caught.

Can’t remember the details, but I was 16,speeding.
Have gotten probably 15 since then, in th past 50 years.

Reckless driving, 16. Haven't had a ticket since 1990.

1st was "careless driving" -I don't even remember what I did in that '63 Scout 1/2 cab Age 15.
Last time that was even close - in '92 or 3 - I'm cruising to work, pass oncoming state cop at somewhat over the speed limit. Hit the brakes and pull over - knowing I'm being cited. Cop does the high-speed U-Turn through the median, and almost passes me (parked on the shoulder). He comes up to the window, asks for paper - then I ask if it would have been proper for me to chase him down for the ticket I earned - he said you saw that, huh?" 78 in a 65 - and a written warning No points! (I honestly had NO idea how fast I was moving, but I'll take his word for it.)

Mark
Those old scouts wouldn't go fast enough to get a speeding ticket. Must of swerving or something

1967, 16 years and one week old, 33 mph in a 30 mph zone in Chicago. I went to court and the judge blew his top on the officer for wasting his time. Told the prosecutor to explain to the cop what a "null pros" was (spelling? unprecedented prosecution). Prosecutor told the judge it was up to the defendant to mount a defense - the judge chewed his ass out along with the cop's. Apparently, in Illinois at that time, you had to be ten over to be prosecuted except for school zones and the like. I believe that part of Nixon's 55 mph national speed limit regime included challenging such limits in many states to allow prosecution at five over?

That one was a pass but I spent most of my teen years with my license on statutory suspension or some such thing for too many convictions but no serious ones so it was like high stakes supervision. Chicago cops always wanted to pull over teen drivers to see what was up and they would write you up to make quota no matter how cocked-up the charges were, but if it was such a BS stop they usually wouldn't write that fourth ticket that would cost you your license.

Eventually I noticed that virtually everyone in traffic court that had a lawyer got dismissed, so I have hired a lawyer and fought virtually every ticket ever since. In those days the lawyers couldn't solicit in traffic court but they were allowed to hang out in one little closet-like space where you could go to hire them. It was usually about $35 and worked like a charm.

16 speeding, had my license suspended for 6 months when i was 19 for racking up 19 speeding tickets in between.

Speeding, age 15, driving to pick up my girlfriend to take us to school. After the cop stopped me, both of the school buses rolled by, and I knew most everyone on both of them.

-
While my poor, old 4 cyl couldn't, - those V-8's could scoot!

1976 late for a date when I went sailing past the radar gun on the outskirts of town. I told him how fast I thought I was going and he told me EXACTLY how fast I was going. Wasn't going to talk this auxiliary cop out of anything.
Funny thing was, a couple years later, he had been hired on by the force when he caught me on my motorcycle without an endorsement. He seemed to believe everything I told him and let me off.

Driving without a license. 15 on a moped. $50-60?

Drove 35 miles to grandparents house, went to court with grandpa, and then drove back home in dads Toyota Celica.

Muffler ticket at age 17 with a 1960 Ford convertible in 1967............ Don't recall what the fine would have been but they let me slide when I showed the court my receipt for a new muffler that I hadn't even put on yet but I didn't mention that fact.

Oh hell why not......first....and still my only....ticket was a good one. I was a 22 year old kid fresh out of a 4 year stint in the Army as an Infantryman. I knew it all and had seen even more and came home with a pretty big chip on my shoulder. I was on my way home from a girls house and got pulled over by a county deputy for not using a turn signal. Went from bad to worse from there. I blew a .12 and was arrested for drunk driving. We live in a very rural community and its a long way to town, about a 40 minute ride. I gave that poor deputy hell the entire ride. Looking back, I would have pulled over and worked me over. But, he didn't do that. I give him some credit because I sure would have. The rest of the story after that only involves money. Been working for a lot of years since as a Paramedic in both ER's and out on the road and have ran into versions of my old self quite a few times and now I have sympathy for combat vets. I'm not condoning drunk driving at all, I don't mean that, but when it comes to my job I've hauled quite few vets to the hospital for everything from suicide attempts to car accidents and I have a soft spot for them. So there you go, there's my story on my first and only ticket. .

Getting busted while driving for 'minor in posession' at age 12!!! wow, I was socially retarded, you are my new hero.



mike r

Age 14 for shooting my pellet gun inside the city limits, that ticket got dropped as the officer was mistaken about where the city limit lines were actually located. At the time I had no idea there were laws against it or where the city lines were. We lived on the very edge of town and we could walk a half a block and be in miles of farm fields chasing sparrows, that was a fun summer.

I don't call him, Sir Big Jim, for nothing.

Been so many, I don't remember which was first.......

My senior year after a football game for "indecent exposure". I and three other teammates were looking for someplace to eat after an away game. Walking down the main drag, a car load of girls passed by catcalling at us. We Hollander back and the girls drove around the block and past us again. They did this again and when they went around the block to repeat driving by, we mooned them.

Unfortunately, a cop was down the block and saw what we did. He stopped us and gave us tickets. I was 18 so I was allowed to take charge of my buddies so we didn't have to contact our coach or parents. We had to appear in court to pay the fine which fortunately was after the season ended and gave us a reason to skip school. All told, fine and court costs ran something like $60 dollars each.

wabigoon;
Good evening to you sir, I trust all is well with you folks tonight and your fire is as cheery and warm as our's is on a snowy night in December.

I can very clearly recall the first ticket I got wabigoon - they called it "spinning tires" back then and then I was 16 and dating the mayor's daughter..... therein lies the twist in the tail or tale....

We were unique in that town in that they had a town or provincial police constable and not an RCMP patrol. The constable, one Cst. Mike Dyck, knew I dated the mayor's daughter as my jacked up, bright red and very loud '71 T37 was outside Gil's house every weekend. Now Gil didn't really appreciate me much - maybe any actually - but to both of their credits neither he or Cst Dyck gave me anymore grief than I deserved because of it.

So it came to pass one night that after I'd dropped the mayor's daughter off for the night that I met a couple cousins and we took turns burning donuts on the pavement between the hockey and curling rink. About the third doughnut the red light came on - remember when there was only a single red light anyone?

Cst. Dyck said to me, "I woulda let you go with one honestly Dwayne, but the second one sealed the deal and when you came around the third time I figured I had to write you up." And he did.

Sadly, when I had to go to traffic court to pay the fine, Cst. Dyck had been hospitalized because of an on duty motor vehicle accident so the judge, a stand in RCMP Constable and I had to hash out Cst. Dyck's notes. As I recall the conversation, the RCMP Constable figured the fine should be $200 and I suggested $100. The judge looked up at both of us and said he'd split it in the middle and so he did.

I had to run the tractor a long time at $5 an hour to pay it off too wabigoon.

Unlike other esteemed and quicker learning members here, it was not my last motor vehicle infraction - by a long, long stretch........

Thanks for the trip once again down memory lane tonight sir and for letting me spin a tale from a rural Saskatchewan world that no longer exists.

All the best to you and yours this Christmas Season.

Dwayne

Remember the FIRST one ??? The group I ran with collected enough moving traffic citations that we could have wall papered a small room. Several of them were "memorable". But have no recollection of the FIRST one... 40 years later... Still drive 'em like I stole 'em...

1986 speeding 37 in a 25 Paid the 34.00 fine with 19 1 dollar bills and the rest in change. Even though I made my own money my parents kept track of what I spent it on so I had to save it a little at a time. Thought my folks wouldnt find out because they never bought the local paper that ran the court report. Just so happens that my dad bought the paper that week. Someone ratted me out. I quit counting my tickets at over 40. I once got the privilege of getting a speeding ticket in 3 states in 1 day. Indiana. Ohio and Penn. For every ticket I have gotten I have earned 100 more as I tend to look at speed limits as suggestions and not limits. Im not dangerous but if it is safe to run 80 mph Im gonna run 80 mph. Time is money.

40 in a 30. My older brother just said: "You weren't watching were you?"

Had to learn about speed traps the hard way driving to school. Just once.

Once went around a curve I knew well at around 70 or 75 in a 45 and met a patrolman. Him: "I didn't get a clock on you, how fast were you going?" Me: "Don't know, come this way a lot". Had a nice conversation, and warning. Since, I have figured that if I had admitted to the speed, he would have written me.

One that PO'd me was cutting across a solid white line about 5 feet before it ended on a motorcycle. $100 "gore violation". That guy kept me for half an hour trying to figure if the plates were right. Finally asked me what brand MC. It was in big letters on the harmonica TRIUMPH. I think he was figuring wrong plates or some such, and didn't know Triumph was even still around.

16. Doing 52 in a 40. Mom went with me to court, fine was $12. Had my license all of about 6 weeks. Back then for a kid the first 6 months the license was probationary and any moving violation resulted in a 2 month suspension. Then it was off to traffic school to get it back. Sat in class and the instructor had everyone state why they were there. Multiple tickets and drunk driving was the norm till it got to me. All I said was speeding, so he asked how fast and I told him 52 in a 40. When he got to the part about the probationary license he had it figured our. The suspension cost me dearly over the next few years in insurance premiums.

First ticket? No idea. However. If you were to ask for most memorable.....well it involved threatening to sue a JUDGE for dereliction of duty, and I won that one. In fact, I received a written apology from the court, and contact info for his superiors, should I decide to pursue it further.
What I was accused of was not illegal, they had the wrong vehicle, and the judge already declared me guilty without all the facts.....and I proved it in open court.
At the time, I did it at full volume as I was being dragged from the court by the bailiff. At that point I lost all restraint on my tounge and let the judge have both barrels.

The last ticket I got was for talking on the cell phone while driving down the freeway.

I was on my way to the pawn shop to buy guns.

That was a year ago when cell phone talking did not count as points against the driver's license in this state.

I was 16 and my girlfriend and I were on our way to church when I got pulled over for 41 in a 35. The pig was the father of a classmate and was the biggest POS in that department at that time. Sgt. Norman was a violent and out of control drunk. He beat his wife and my classmate unmercifully and regularly but since he was a cop it was acceptable to his brothers in blue. His house was trashed, teepeed and dog [bleep] covered his patrol car many times throughout the years from what I was told. 😉 He’s dead now (thankfully) and so are a couple of his brothers in blue....they met an early demise at the hands of a better person than they were. We had a killer party to celebrate hell’s new arrivals.

About 19, I think. The first one was a good one, 169 kmh in a 60 zone. Passing a car on my Suzuki 1100. That one hurt my wallet for a while. Only had three tickets since. Been lucky, I guess.

"Throwing missiles at a school bus" $100. Missiles is a fancy word for snowballs. That was pretty much an after school sport that nearly everybody I knew when I was 12 played. I'm just the lucky marksman that got one right through a small open window and hit the busdriver herself. A dozen or so buddies were cheering and applauding my aim as the bus came to a stop. I didn't realize yet that bus was full of rats at the time, or that they were going to take all my life savings and several months future income, or how hard it was going to be sitting down the next few days after my dad heard about it, when I was living the high life of champion school bus hunter -- but I would soon find out, like the first class the next morning when my parents and the police showed up.

B&E, lewdness, scavenging without a permit.

Ugh

mid 20's. speeding while passing. $5 fine suspended. The judge thought the law was BS.

71 lemans sport
I was 19 and had to see if the Pontiac would do the 140 on the speedo....it was late at night no one on the road , there was a 3 mile stretch of good flat highway ..I did see tail lights way up ahead but who cares. I stomped it and Pegged it.when I came closer to the tail lights I saw it was not moving so I backed it down to around 100...when I went by the car it was a state patrol....I shut it down and just pulled off the road...I was about a mile ahead of him when I pulled off....and just waited.....he waked up and asked if I had it wide open..I said yes sir...he took my license and wrote me a ticket for 10 over...then gave me a lecture and said he could take my license and impound my car...he was pretty cool and said he gave me a break because I pulled over..
Now that I know he actually had nothing on me really....he was probably doing a report on a previous stop and I probably scared the crap out of him when that Pontiac blasted by...non the less I sure deserved a ticket for that one ....I have had a few 8-10 over that I never should have Been ticketed for..

I "coasted" past a CHP with someone else pulled over on HWY99. Came around a lazy bend and there he was. Threw my Camaro in neutral and idled past at 100.

1975 in a gorgeous 69 Mustang Mach I. I got pulled over and offered a choice of exhibition of speed (burning rubber) or racing. I took the rubber. One of the girls I was with who owned the car tried to talk the cop out of the ticket. He and her older brother were friends in HS. She probably would have gotten out of it but I didn't.

I'd just finished building a new front bumper with brush guard and winch mount, last thing I wanted to do was ugly it up with a license plate. Don't think I lasted all of 2 weeks before the red and blues lit me up. First, last and only ticket. Got the ticket cut in half by sending a picture with the license plate mounted. Been stopped a few other times but always got off with a verbal warning. More than once I was grateful someone else was already pulled over or I would have been on the receiving end of a ticket.

1967 Newport News Va. “Excessive noise with a vehicle”
Burnin’ Rubber, 19 years old.

I was 16, Little Elm, TX, 1974 Ford F-100, cant remember the speeds, but I do know I was 10 over.

Was coming back from duck hunting with a buddy, cop confiscated our guns, said we were not old enough to have them without an adult.

We both had to have a parent retrieve said shotguns. My dad was not happy, with the ticket or the shotguns being confiscated.

Guess who caught the brunt of it?

I havent gotten a speeding ticket since Aug '90(knock on wood).

This year at the age of 51. 54 in a 45. I was/am still pissed about it.

Don't remember how old I was or the cost of the fine,but it was for speeding.

Bein' ' young was great, whiie it lasted.

The nearest I've come lately, the kindly Hubbard County sherrif's deputy had some friendly advise as to how fast I should drive in Lake George, Minnesota.

I don't remember my first one but I do remember getting five in one day.

Back in the 80's the Feds mandated that the speed limit would be 55 mph in order to save fuel. Montana refused to go along with the mandate, in order to make Montana comply the Feds threatened to take away all Federal highway funding. Instead of lowering the speed limit they put in place a fine for "energy conservation abuse", the fine was $5.00 and you paid the Highway patrolman and he gave you a receipt, the fine did not go on record or to insurance companies.

I was going from Great Falls, Montana to Forsythe, Montana, a distance of 300 miles, I got a late start so I was laying generally miles running between 80 and 90 when the roads allowed it. I was stopped five times in the 300 miles at a total cost of $25.00. The last time I was stopped the patrolman told me that I may want to slow down for just a bit because there was another patrolman just a few miles down the road. Sure enough about 5 miles later there he was, I held it to 55 until I was past him then let out the horses again, even with the five stops I still got to Forsythe at the time I needed to be there.

drover

Been driving for 51 years, never had a ticket. Guess I've been lucky. About 35 years ago, went through a roadblock, and the trooper said our car license had expired. Was driving wife's car, and she said, oops.......forgot to renew. Trooper said judge might not tear ticket up if we got new tags right away. He did.

I've had three and a warning.

Warning was when I was going 81 in a 55 and was minor in possession. Call to my dad or ticket was the option. Called dad.

First ticket was 51 in a 25 coming into town while delivering Chinese food for beer money in college. Cop knew the Chinese couple that owned the restaurant, found I was sober and just completed the last delivery of the night and wanted to get back, cash out and get un-sober. It was 11pm or so on a weekend. He dropped it to 49 in a 25 for me so OH didn't revoke my license. Paid that one.

Got 2 in Seattle. One for about 10 over on Hwy 99 and I don't remember the other one.

Last time I got pulled over was a couple years ago. Some asshat was pulling a trailer doing 15 in a 30, I was following and honking for a mile or so, not able to pass. He takes a right turn at about 3mph so I check my driver's side mirror and go around- straight through the left turn lane. Apparently I should have also checked the rear-view because there was a cop behind me. Lights on and I would up pulling over in my front yard. Window down with the keys on the dash and hands on the wheel when the officer showed up at my window. Wanted to let me know I didn't signal when I went straight through the left turn lane. He wanted to know if I was the one honking at the guy with the trailer. Told him I was, and I was driving like an [bleep] which is normal for me. Didn't even ask for any documents, just told me to signal next time. He must have laughed when I started the car, pulled into the driveway in front of me parked and got out.

Excessive noise in my hot rod '56 Chevy. The first of six before I sold it. The last 2 tickets were with stock mufflers. One was from a State Trooper who caught me drag racing late at night in the middle of nowhere. Should have been a court case but he gave me an excessive noise ticket because he said I probably woke up some farmers/ranchers. I pulled over as soon as I saw him and the other guy kept going.

Never got a ticket. I got a warning about 40 years ago driving to Montrose in the snow.

1972 Got pulled over on my TT Special by a city cop for not having a headlight. I told him you didn't need a headlight on a motorcycle as long as you didn't ride 1/2 hour before sunrise or 1/2 hour after sunset. Then he wrote me up for not having a speedometer. I told him you didn't need a speedometer on a motorcycle. He said, "Would I lie to you?".
Went down to the local CHP office and checked the vehicle code. I was right on both counts so I went down to the city police station and showed the desk sergeant. He said "Don't worry I'll take care of this."
A month later I got a call from my roommate that two deputies had showed up at 3am to arrest me for not showing up in court. I called the judge and he took care of it.

About 20 years ago I was on the way to hunt some public land, got pulled over for 11 over. The trooper said he was new to the area and asked me for suggestions on where to hunt. I asked him if he was going to give me a ticket or a warning. He said a ticket so I said I wasn't going to tell him anything. He laughed and handed me the ticket. My only speeding ticket in over 30 years of driving.

65 years driving not one ticket, of course the active F.O.P. medallion might have helped.

I say, anyone driving for a year or more without a ticket, just aint having fun while they are driving.

Drag racing(side by side).

That was the loophole i used to get out of it,because i never was at the other cars side.

1964, on the way to school, noisy muffler, fine--$5.00

Negligent Collision, Bellaire, Texas in summer of 1974.

I totalled my parents car 6 weeks after I received my license at 16 years. I was making a u-turn under the Loop 610 / Evergreen overpass after a midday summer thundershower returning to Meyerland Plaza and instead of braking to yield I mistakenly had my foot on the accelerator. The car wasn't slowing so I just pushed harder, ran up into a yard and hit a frame-bending tree. It was an inexperienced driver mistake.

The Bellaire cop said " What happened boy? Tree jump in front of you?" I didn't find that very funny but I suppose he did.

LOL, yep that helps

I was 18, I think, had gotten my Chauffeur's license and was driving a "transit bus", a Dodge van actually. It had a 360 in it, I was headed to the other side of the county to pick someone up and running late. Was on the "Appalachian Highway", (S.R.32), a rural 4 lane with little to no traffic, and decided to open it up and see how fast it would bury the speedometer needle, which went to 90 mph or so. Didn't take long, but as I was coasting back down and starting into a long, gentle turn.. what should appear coming the other way but the OSHP? I just coasted over the hilltop and pulled over at the bottom. When I passed him, it looked like I was doing just about 90, but his first words were, "I clocked you going 76 mph..". Boy was I relieved! It cost me $75.

ape hanger handlebars that were ,gasp, 2 inches over my shoulders. also a halogen head light. also no front brake . then there were the straight pipes. cost me 65 dollars to the state of commiefornia. those were 1966 dollars too. then i had to get all the parts fixed to get back on the road. that cost me another 200 bucks. add the fact i couldn't venture on the road without one of chp's finest dogging me and i ended up selling the bike. 1940 Crocker. wish i had it today.

1971. Speeding 42 in a 35. I don't remember how much it cost me. I have had 5 speeding tickets in my entire life. I would have a heck of a time recalling each one it's been so long.

kwg

67 Dodge R/T 440 contest of speed.

F.O.P. one might think that if you were giving other people tickets for speeding, it would be terribly hypocritical to be given a free pass simply because you were in the good ol' boys club. What do they call that? "Above the law" ? We had a judge here in my hometown who made it on Paul Harvey for giving himself a contempt of court fine for being 15 mins late to his own courtroom. He said that he could not conceive anything right about not living by rules himself that he penalized others for breaking -- that is something I can respect.

77 in a 55, I was slowing down.
Didn't lose my license, but there was not one thing on the point schedule I could do and not lose them.
$100 in 1987.


Worst, 70 something, in a 45 construction zone.
Ticket for failure to heed traffic signs.
He didn't want me to lose cdl/job.

This has been an interesting read and like lots of you, the bikes got me in trouble. First one was going to work at 4:30 a.m. at the packing house and running late. Nothing but blinking yellow lights for like 2 miles ahead, straight and no traffic on the road. 35 mph zone was ridiculous which was typical bike brain thinking in those days. 305 Honda and what the heck, probably double the posted speed limit. I was half way into the plant from the parking lot when the cop rolled up with his lights flashing. "Young man, I don't know how fast you were going, but it was too damned fast!"

Funniest one was when I had a two stroke dirt bike and you know how those things load up and don't run well. It wasn't street legal, so I took it down the sidewalk instead for a carbon run. The cop pulled in behind me going into my driveway and got out shaking his head. "I had you doing 45 in a 25 on the sidewalk and I don't even know how to write this one up!" "Is your father home?' And thankfully he was. I don't know what dad told that guy, but I didn't get a ticket.

When I got a car it was a turbocharged Saab that was real comfortable cruising at three numbers. Nice spring day, sun roof open, light traffic... one of those good days to be out on the road. Okay going a little rapidly and this motorcycle comes off the on ramp and starts following me. I had bikes and I knew that they weren't comfortable going real fast out on the highway, so I sped up some. Okay a lot. About a mile down the road that Harley lit up like a Christmas tree. !@#$$. I should have realized that nobody normal would have been wearing a white helmet. "Was there any particular reason that you were going at that rate of speed?" I suppose I could have said that some scary guy on a motorcycle was chasing me, but it didn't occur to me at the time. That one cost me mega bucks.