A very disturbing event happened to me yesterday that profoundly affected the way I live my life. As I was driving to work down the 101, I came down the hill in a 65 MPH zone and noticed a rider on a motorbike pulled off the highway on the side. As I drew closer, I realized that it was not a normal motorcycle, it was a police motorcycle, and the rider wasn't just idling on the side trying to fix something, he was a police officer, and he was pointing a gun at me. NOT a real gun, though, a radar gun, which kind of looks like a microphone but does much more damage to one's wellbeing, apparently clocking every car that goes by to ensure compliance with the posted speed limit. I quickly pressed the brake and simultaneously glanced down at the speedometer to check how fast I was going (due to having just come downhill I couldn't tell as the needle was also moving down from 75, somewhere in the 70 range) but I also realized very quickly that it was too late, if the police officer got me going too fast, it was already too late to do anything about it.
We've all been there before: the sudden realization of the presence of a police officer and quick mental check to make sure I wasn't doing anything wrong......2 hands on the wheel, only one earbud in my ear listening, have registratino all in order, not texting while driving, not holding my hand to my ear while driving (phased that out a long time ago), no emergency vehicle having gone by without me yielding..... I think 70 to around 73 is OK in a 65 zone, right? People usually get a 10MPH grace zone.....although it is at the end of the month here and they might be filling their quota......uh oh, the cop is getting on his bike. What's he doing?
For some weird reason, I get a pretty big adrenaline rush once i see a cop coming up behind me......"Are they coming to pull me over!" seems like a pretty big possibility, and one knows how bad and financially destructive a speeding ticket is. At that moment thoughts like "please not me, please not me!" go through one's head as well as possible excuses, possible ways to wriggle out and "get off with a warning," going through worst case scenarios......and the cop pulls up behind the car right behind me and pulls him over. That poor driver hadn't been going much faster than I was, by my recollection......in fact, it might have been a situation where the cop could have pulled over any of a number of people including me, I just got really lucky. The difference betwen $0 and going on my merry way or hundreds of dollars, a police stop, and utter humiliation and a scarring experience. I think, though, that at least for me, that's why the cops are there sometimes: to deter other peple, not just the ones they catch, from breaking the law.......getting that feeling of almost getting caught and "that could have been me" is enough for me to slow down, scondense that 10mph grace period to 5 mph grace period, and be more vigilant, especially from now until the end of the month, at least.
Coincidentally, my gf and I just recently watched a movie about cops! Full of checking out suspects, car chases, talking to possible informants about getting a lead, encounters with heads of organized crime, and cracking a government conspiracy......it was called "Zootopia," the animated Disney movie that just came out this year. Really well written, cute animals, workable plot, and lots of laughs throughout......what's not to love? And a strong message especially in these times: don't discriminate against a certain type of people just because they seem scary, or otherwise unfriendly..... maybe we should take that attitude towards cops and try to get to know them better, but for now I'd just like to avoid them as much as possible.
Fantasize on,
Rober t Yan
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