Speeding Ticket for the First Time

Still not sure whether to say “Got my speeding ticket for the first time”  or “Got my first speeding ticket”. The latter one kind of sounds that I might get more J. Hmm.. It was on Nov 26^th 2012 Monday and I left my office around 5 PM to pick up Satvika. I usually pick her up around 4:30 PM and it was already late. Also, it is becoming dark around 5 PM these days (winter time). The speed limit was 35 miles/hour on that road. I was waiting on red on a signal and once it is green, I wanted to be ahead from everybody else on the signal. I always do that on the signals even from the time I was riding my cute Blue Sunny during school days and my favorite Kinetic Honda during college days. I feel so good and happy when I do that J. I just think of the time when my best friend Annam and I met with an accident near Anna Nagar Rountana in Chennai when we tried to skip a orange signal. We both fell from her Kinetic Honda and got bruises. I know what we did was not right, but I still remember that incident. It just stuck on my mind.

Ok, back to where I left off. I did the same here on the signal and just passed it fast once it turned green. I went ahead of everybody, but did not realize that the cops car was coming on the opposite side since it was dark. But once I passed him, I realized that cops saw me. I slowed down, but he took a U turn and switched on his flashy “red & blue” lights. I stopped immediately. He came to me and said “Maam, you went too fast. Can I see your license, title and insurance cards?”. I gave him everything and asked him whether he could give me warning as this was the first time that I had been stopped. But he did not say anything, took my ids, wrote a ticket for $114 and came back. I asked him again for the warning instead of the ticket. But he gave the ticket to me and a pouch with all my cards and said “I reduced your fine from $160 to $114. Drive carefully”.  Not sure whether that was a Thanksgiving discount else his “Maasakadasi” problem that he needs to get more fine J.

In my 8.5 years of US driving experience, that was the first time I was stopped by an Cop. I am usually a careful & a sensible driver. But maybe, that day was not my day. After that I went to pick Satvika and I told her about this. She was very upset on hearing this as she still thinks that “Amma would not have done a mistake” J.