take my license, all that jive, or didn't even see a berry flashin' those high beams. your choice
the fact of the matter is that i like to drive faster than the speed limit (generally) allows. it has almost always been this way. school zones, congested urban areas, and mountain passes are the noted exceptions to the rule.
i do not mean to imply that i am a reckless driver. i never tail-gait. i do not weave in and out of traffic. i like to use blinkers when others are around, and i accelerate and decelerate in graduation. i am always assuming someone else is going to drive lackadaisically, so i am quite defensive and anticipatory while on the road. i have not been in a collision of my own doing since i was 16 years old. i have avoided many impending collisions due to my road-awareness; and the few collisions i have been in (myself remaining blameless) came in places wherein i had no way of avoiding a driver who was not paying attention.
now that i have attempted my lame excuses, may i repeat that, "i like to drive fast."
for this reason, i have usually owned a car that is close to the ground. the lower one's car, the greater the illusion of speed. even the 'rolla does quite nicely.
owing to my propensity for unlawful speed, i have had the good fortunate to take defensive driving courses on many occasions. currently the verbiage is "driver's safety course." regardless of the wording, the end result is a money grab for the municipal authority and 6 hours of my day wasted. it infuriates me when i am compelled to attend these vacuous attempts at rehabilitation. the general idea behind these courses is to scare and guilt me into driving ONLY when sober, and attempt to change my attitudes toward road rage (so-called) and speeding. of course the end to all drunk driving would be a glorious result; but, my attitudes toward speeding are not going to change. having to attend these courses is one of the risks i take by refusing to obey the speed limit. oh, well.
recently i completed an online dsc. it was wonderful. yes, it still took six hours of my life; but, i was able to watch football while taking the class. it was also the least expensive course available. the law requires a minimum cost of 25 dollars and a minimum time frame of 6 hours. the 6 hours i can understand;but, a LAW stating the minimum required cost of a course. explain to me how that has any effect on my behavior.
i have no idea how many speeding tickets i have received over the 21 years since i have been a registered driver. that may sound as if it is an incalculable number, but this is not true. i have never received enough tickets to jeopardize my license. it merely has been enough to not be able to remember them all as other people are able to do. here are a few i can remember:
the first citation i ever received occurred a few months prior to my 16th birthday. i had driven neil and myself to san marcos and i was - wait for it- speeding. that this happened when i was in the possession of a permit only did not help the situation. the dps officer was an acquaintance of my dad, so i got a little help there; but, i still got the ticket, and it was still a problem.
i got a ticket once in buda. i was in high school, and since i didn't have any money for the ticket i ignored it. this is not a good method for resolving problems. eventually a hays county deputy pulled me out of mrs. moeller's english class and told me that if i didn't initiate resolution before the following week, he would be back in order to arrest me. i made the necessary arrangements.
last christmas, charlotte, jackson, david and i drove to orlando. on the way out of town, i got a speeding ticket in martindale. this is just ridiculous. everyone knows that martindale is a notorious "speed trap." i expect that people who have never been to texas have heard of martindale and selma, texas as places to watch the speedometer. we spent the night in hammond, louisiana, and continued on the next morning. just before entering gainesville, florida, i got pulled over. charlotte was not pleased. while i didn't receive two tickets in one day, this is as close as i've ever come.
when i was about 23, i got pulled over for speeding through shady hollow. the speed limit on brodie is something like 30 miles an hour, which is absolutely ridiculous. the officer that wrote the citation was an idiot. he took my license back to his car to check my driving record. when he finally returned, he gave me a lecture about my driving history, as i had then received 7 tickets for speeding since being awarded a license. he asked, "don't you think 7 tickets for speeding is a little reckless for someone who has only had a license for 7 years?" what i said was, "yes sir, i don't know what i have been thinking." what i really was thinking though, was, "one a year? for as much as i speed? that is awesome!"
sadly enough, my recent experience with a driver's safety course still hasn't changed my point of view.
i do not mean to imply that i am a reckless driver. i never tail-gait. i do not weave in and out of traffic. i like to use blinkers when others are around, and i accelerate and decelerate in graduation. i am always assuming someone else is going to drive lackadaisically, so i am quite defensive and anticipatory while on the road. i have not been in a collision of my own doing since i was 16 years old. i have avoided many impending collisions due to my road-awareness; and the few collisions i have been in (myself remaining blameless) came in places wherein i had no way of avoiding a driver who was not paying attention.
now that i have attempted my lame excuses, may i repeat that, "i like to drive fast."
for this reason, i have usually owned a car that is close to the ground. the lower one's car, the greater the illusion of speed. even the 'rolla does quite nicely.
owing to my propensity for unlawful speed, i have had the good fortunate to take defensive driving courses on many occasions. currently the verbiage is "driver's safety course." regardless of the wording, the end result is a money grab for the municipal authority and 6 hours of my day wasted. it infuriates me when i am compelled to attend these vacuous attempts at rehabilitation. the general idea behind these courses is to scare and guilt me into driving ONLY when sober, and attempt to change my attitudes toward road rage (so-called) and speeding. of course the end to all drunk driving would be a glorious result; but, my attitudes toward speeding are not going to change. having to attend these courses is one of the risks i take by refusing to obey the speed limit. oh, well.
recently i completed an online dsc. it was wonderful. yes, it still took six hours of my life; but, i was able to watch football while taking the class. it was also the least expensive course available. the law requires a minimum cost of 25 dollars and a minimum time frame of 6 hours. the 6 hours i can understand;but, a LAW stating the minimum required cost of a course. explain to me how that has any effect on my behavior.
i have no idea how many speeding tickets i have received over the 21 years since i have been a registered driver. that may sound as if it is an incalculable number, but this is not true. i have never received enough tickets to jeopardize my license. it merely has been enough to not be able to remember them all as other people are able to do. here are a few i can remember:
the first citation i ever received occurred a few months prior to my 16th birthday. i had driven neil and myself to san marcos and i was - wait for it- speeding. that this happened when i was in the possession of a permit only did not help the situation. the dps officer was an acquaintance of my dad, so i got a little help there; but, i still got the ticket, and it was still a problem.
i got a ticket once in buda. i was in high school, and since i didn't have any money for the ticket i ignored it. this is not a good method for resolving problems. eventually a hays county deputy pulled me out of mrs. moeller's english class and told me that if i didn't initiate resolution before the following week, he would be back in order to arrest me. i made the necessary arrangements.
last christmas, charlotte, jackson, david and i drove to orlando. on the way out of town, i got a speeding ticket in martindale. this is just ridiculous. everyone knows that martindale is a notorious "speed trap." i expect that people who have never been to texas have heard of martindale and selma, texas as places to watch the speedometer. we spent the night in hammond, louisiana, and continued on the next morning. just before entering gainesville, florida, i got pulled over. charlotte was not pleased. while i didn't receive two tickets in one day, this is as close as i've ever come.
when i was about 23, i got pulled over for speeding through shady hollow. the speed limit on brodie is something like 30 miles an hour, which is absolutely ridiculous. the officer that wrote the citation was an idiot. he took my license back to his car to check my driving record. when he finally returned, he gave me a lecture about my driving history, as i had then received 7 tickets for speeding since being awarded a license. he asked, "don't you think 7 tickets for speeding is a little reckless for someone who has only had a license for 7 years?" what i said was, "yes sir, i don't know what i have been thinking." what i really was thinking though, was, "one a year? for as much as i speed? that is awesome!"
sadly enough, my recent experience with a driver's safety course still hasn't changed my point of view.
posted by cm at 1/17/2007
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