10 years later . . . a hell of a deal!

A little over ten years ago in July 1996, I was at my job loading and unloading grain trucks in Acequia, Idaho, when I got a call from my dad at home in Declo.

"Chris, I am just calling you to let you know that your mission call came in the mail this afternoon and will be waiting for you to open when you get home."

This was at about 2 in the afternoon and I had to work until 8pm that night. What torture to be working that long wondering where I was going to be asked to serve as a missionary, when I would leave, and what else was contained in that envelope. I called the girl I was dating at the time and told her to call all of our friends and have them meet at my house for the big opening of the mission call (I do not recommend that course of action, by the way). When I got of work, I began the long half-hour drive home. With my mind racing, I raced home eagerly . . . apparently a little too eagerly. About three miles from my house I was pulled over and given a ticket for speeding.

At that time in my life, getting a ticket wasn't a novelty. I had been pulled over for speeding before. In addition, I had been issued tickets for a number of other violations: inattentive driving, left of center, driving on a closed road, etc. And that doesn't even take in to account all the times I got off with just a warning. In fact, a month or so later, I received a letter in mail basically saying that if I got one more traffic violation, my license would be revoked. And since you are required to send a copy of your driving record to the church before reporting for your mission, I was pretty sure that I was going to be walking and riding a bike for most of my mission. But that was not the case. I spent a total of 2 months on foot, 2 months on a bike, and 20 months in a car. Of those 20 months, I was the driver for 18 months.

But since that fateful day in July, 1996, I have had a clean driving record. I may have been pulled over a time or two, but I have not received another ticket during that long time period . . . until yesterday. On my way home from work (having left work a little earlier than usual), I turned east from 200 East onto 400 North and proceeded normally. A little while later, I look in my rear-view mirror to see the flashing lights of a police motorcycle behind me. A looked at my speed, which wasn't excessive, and pulled over a little confused. The conversation proceeded as follows:

Officer: Good afternoon. Do you have any idea why I pulled you over?

Me: No, not really.

Officer: Do you know what the speed limit is?

Me: 40?

Officer: Well . . . do you know how fast you were going?

Me: Um . . . 40?

Officer: I clocked you at 38. The problem is that you just came out of a school zone during the posted school zone time. The speed limit in the school zone is 20.

Having left work a little early, I neglected to remember that I would be driving home during the approximate time that school would be letting out at the nearby elementary school. I apologized and explained my situation. He nodded understandably and asked for my license, insurance, and registration. After handing him the requested items, he returned to his motorcycle and I was left to ponder the fact that my fate was completely in his hands. Did he believe me when I told him my story? And if so, does he even care? He's just going to issue a warning, isn't he?

The longer he stayed at his motorcycle, the less hope I had of getting off with a warning. In my former days, I had learned that the time an officer spends back at their vehicle is directly proportionate to the likelihood of getting a ticket. Then I started thinking the worst. Is it more of a fine for speeding in a school zone? I was going 18 miles over the school zone limit. That probably has quite the hefty cost attached to it.

Then I see him approaching the car. He hands back my license and registration and then proceeded: Mr. Hartwell, I am giving you a hell of a deal today. First of all, I am giving you a ticket for speeding. But I am just issuing the citation for 9 miles over the speed limit, and I am just issuing it as a normal speeding ticket. Speeding in a school zone, especially 18 miles over the speed limit, can really do some damage to your insurance. So I am going easy on you because I really believe that it was unintentional. In addition, I have checked the box for wearing your seatbelt, which will give you a $10 discount on your ticket.

I have no idea how much the ticket is. I have to contact the court in "no less than 5 and no more than 14 days" to find out. I would rather just pay it and forget about it.

I guess I should be happy that I got off easy, but I was a little disappointed. I used to go back and forth with Deidra about our driving skills. She heard about my previous driving record, so she would give me a hard time about being a bad driver, saying that she has never received a ticket. In response, I would counter by saying that, even though I received a number of tickets when I was younger, I had not received a ticket since long before she even started driving. Well, so much for that argument! I guess she wins.

Yeah, it's really a hell of a deal.