What Was The Point Of That?

I’m a woman in my early thirties and have been driving for over seventeen years. I have a pretty good driving record, only getting pulled over four times.

The third time I was pulled over was when I was twenty-four. People in Michigan like to speed. Most people go over by at least five miles an hour, and it’s so common that the police won’t pull you over unless you’re going ten miles over. Usually.

One day, I was driving in an area I was not familiar with in southeast Michigan, close to the Ohio border. I was on the highway in the right lane, going about seventy-three in a seventy. The person in front of me was going slower, so I went into the left lane to pass them. I sped up, as a courtesy to other drivers in the left lane, though there was no one super close to me.

I saw that I had driven right by a police officer while I was passing the other car. His light flicked on, and I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. I pulled over.

Officer: “I pulled you over because you were going seventy-nine in a seventy.”

Me: “Okay.”

Officer: “Do you have any speeding tickets on your record?”

Me: “No, officer.”

He gave me a clearly disbelieving look.

Officer: “License and registration.”

I handed them over and he went back to his car to run my information. He was there for a few minutes before he came back.

Officer: “Since you don’t have any speeding tickets or points on your license, I’m going to give you a ticket for impeding traffic. That won’t give you any points on your license.” 

Me: “Okay, thank you, Officer.”

I found out later that the speeding ticket would have only been something like a point and a $150 fee. The impeding traffic ticket was about $300. I should not have been speeding, but holy cow, paying that $300 was not fun.

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