Larry,
don't get me wrong here I had no beef with the cite for 20 over. I was
wrong. No way did I think it was right for me and not for other people. I
made a mistake based on what I had observed. Because I was surrounded by
farms I thought I was out of town on a rural hiway, which would have had a
speed limit of 55mph. In fact I was in city limits and subject to the prima
facia limit of 35 mph. Bottom line, I screwed up. I did not try to lie or
rationalize my behavior to the officer.
I had no complaint about get popped for 20 over. My beef was the thought of
going to jail for 20 over. You have to admit from a civilian point of view
getting hauled to jail is a mite severe for 20 mph over the limit considering
all the factors (rural area, no cross streets, no children present, etc.)
Also the thought of going to jail because some yahoo in Sacramento did not
sign a piece of paper is, well, let's just say it doesn't give me the warm
fuzzies when I consider my state government. Because of all the stress I had
been through the prior week my response was something I have never done
before or since, I lost it and got sarcastic with the officer. It turned out
that the officer was if fact one hell of a nice guy and he cited me for the
failure to obey a posted sign instead of hauling me in. As I said in my post
this was the best late Christmas present I had gotten in a long time. He did
not have to do this and I did appreciate it. When we parted way I did in
fact thank the officer and shook his hand. Police have a very difficult job,
and as a group I admire the heck out of them. If I gave a different
impression from my post I apologize for being able to express myself clearly.
Rick Ewald
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