Busted ... but still beligerent

Well I stumbled into a revenue trap yesterday.

I was driving near my home and came upon one of those silly three-way stop signs. It’s not a four way because the side street dead ends at the main thoroughfare. And from long experience of driving down this particular road, I know that the side street in question produces extremely low amounts of traffic.

So why then does it have a stop sign all its own? I am absolutely convinced that it is for the sole purpose of revenue generation.

I pull up behind another car who has stopped pretty far out into the intersection. I’m almost at the crosswalk line painted on the roadway when I come to a complete stop. The car in front of me goes, and I pull out right behind him.

That’s when I first spot PoPo who has parked back up the street a block or more. At the precise moment I spotted him, his lights come on and I know I am about to be robbed by the state!

I drove a good distance before pulling over. The street has high curbs and I’m NOT stupid enough to come to a stop in a lane of travel!

When I pull over I’ve already got my DL in hand for inspection by Herr Officer. He approaches me real gingerly, never really squaring off in front of my passenger window. Instead he chooses to remain well behind me at an extreme angle as we have our little exchange.

“Sir… I am pulling you over because you ran that stop sign back there” says the Gooberment agent.

“Well I strongly disagree with that Officer! I came to a complete halt and was in a good position to ascertain that the intersection was clear before proceeding” I sharply opined.

“Sir, you allowed no interval of time to pass before following the other car in front of you through the intersection” says the armed and badged thief.

“And I suppose that interval of time is more important to you than whether I could see my way was clear or not?” I retorted.

“Sir…it’s the law” he intoned with much gravity in his voice and demeanor.

“Fine! Go write your fookin ticket and get it over with” says I.

After an inordinate length of time, that I suspect was partly consumed by him running every check possible on me, he returned with my ticket.

When he explained the part about driving school and the possibility of avoiding the three points being added to my license I pointed out that it wasn’t the points I found so galling: “It’s the tribute to Caesar that I hate to pay!”

No reaction from the highwayman to that comment.

As he finished his scripted lie about how I could go to court and fight the charge, he handed me my ticket and my license, and without another word he turned and walked back to his GOOBER-mobile. I leaned out the truck window and with as much vitriol and spite in my voice as I could muster I said: “You are doing SUCH a fine job keeping us all safe officer!”

Oh how I despise the badge and gun toting, revenue collecting, head shaved agents of the state!