I consider myself a pretty safe driver and don’t speed excessively or engage in typical dangerous driving practices, but I spend a great deal of time on the road and tend to stay a bit above the posted limits on the interstates. And I have had quite a few tickets in my (distant) past, but only one in the past 3-4 years.
So, I contributed $10 a couple months ago to the State Troopers Association and received my window sticker in the mail a week or two later. Then just a few days ago, I was stopped while driving down the interstate.
“What’s the problem, officer?”
“License and registration, please.”
“Yes, sir, I’ve got them right here. My name is pablito. How are you doing?” I stick out my hand, we shake, I pass over the docs.
“What’s going on, officer?”
“You were going 80MPH and I saw you swerve out of your lane two times.”
“80! Oh, goodness. I just never drive that fast. I’m so sorry. I did just spill a half cup of coffee on my dash.” (true story: I had the puddles of coffee to prove it.)
He glances at the dash, looks at my papers for a minute, and then says, “Mr. pablito, I’m going to let you off with a warning this time. Please slow down and drive safely.”
This was only the second time I’ve ever been stopped and NOT also received a ticket. Yea!! And I thought that attractive females (for a male officer) were pretty much the only people who ever received just a warning.
I’m thinking that $10 gave me a great return on investment. I’ll be making that an annual part of my charitable giving.