I was mortified. This is the first ticket I have ever had in my whole entire life, and I'm no youngster. So much for being proud of that particular statistic. Sigh.
Why did I get pulled over, you ask? Big sigh.
I was in Portland. On a twisty road that was splitting into two in front of me. For the first time. At rush hour.
Portland, with lots of bushy growing things in the way, so you can't read the street signs. I couldn't tell whether to veer left or right. I was in the left lane, but the road to the right seemed to be the main road, so I went that way.
Actually, let me rephrase that. I was in the left-turn-only lane. And I didn't turn left. And one of Portland's finest was right behind me on his motorcycle, ready to keep the world safe from non-left-turners like me.
At least I managed to produce driver's license, proof of insurance, and registration upon request. At least I didn't cry, at least not much, and that wasn't until the very end, when he was chiding me for doing something dangerous. I had been doing my yoga breathing up until that point, but when I stopped breathing and opened my mouth to explain to him that I was lost and didn't know how to get to the intersection I needed, I began to get a little moist around the edges.
At least the story has a fairly happy ending. The price of the ticket made me wince ($287.00!!!), but I can go to a 2-hour naughty drivers class, and then show up in traffic court in Portland, and have the ticket waived. And then, when the officer found out that I was lost in a confusing part of Portland, he said, "Follow me," pulled out into traffic ahead of me, and very gallantly delivered me to my destination.
Safe and sound. See you in traffic school.
Stay tuned...the Bubble & Splash Giveaway is coming soon!
6 comments:
Oh Kathy, NO!!!! I'm sorry this happened to you. Sounds like you are taking it in stride, but I'd be bummed just like you.
One of the things that bugs me the most is getting in trouble for something unjust--When my motivations are questioned for something and I appear to have acted in a way that was not true to my intentions at all. Sounds like this is the case for you.
Oh well--maybe you'll learn some new "how to drive in Portland traffic" tricks at the naughty driving school.
Sending you warm friend hugs tonight!
Sad day! I'm glad you can have the fee waived though. :)
I too have a similar experience and I went to the naughty driving class. It's a bummer of a way to spend a Saturday but I really did something out of it and I am grateful to not have the ticket on my record!
ugh...don't you hate that! I spoiled my perfect record with a u-turn...at 4am....on a deserted road...the day before my birthday. The cop was 4 blocks away and had nothing else to do. It was too close to a traffic light i guess. i hope you can get out of the fine. yikes!
So sorry to hear about it, Mom! I've heard that crying about it in front of the cop makes them more likely to let you off. It sounds like the cop felt sorry for you too. Hope today is going better.
Oooh, so sorry! I think I probably would have been in tears. I hope it turns out well in court!
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