We’ve all had those “oh crap” moments when you’re cruising past the slow-pokes on the highway and you catch a sudden glance of a Ford Explorer in your mirrors. Whether you knew good and well that you were exceeding the posted speed limit or you were in a hurry and didn’t notice how high the numbers on your speedometer were getting, you were speeding, and speeding is illegal. Sometimes, though, you see red and blue lights switch on behind you and you’re left guessing why; you weren’t on your phone, your registration is up to date, and you didn’t run a stop, so what gives? What dumb infraction did you unknowingly commit this time?
I’ve only been pulled over once before, knock on wood, and it rapidly devolved into a series of asinine accusations. I suddenly saw red and blue lights switch on behind me when I was stopped at a red light, so I went straight through the intersection and pulled over as soon as I could. The cop came to my window and asked if I knew what I did and I said no. He claimed to have seen me roll through a stop, he said he was pretty sure that I was on my phone but he’d overlook it, and he said I almost caused a crash when drove straight through a turn-only intersection.
I argued because I didn’t remember rolling through the stop, and I was switching from my regular glasses to my sunglasses, not using my phone. I couldn’t argue against driving straight through the turn-only intersection, so I admitted that I panicked when I saw the lights in my mirror and pulled over as fast as possible. It was my first time getting pulled over and it was my first ticket. This guy had zero sympathy. I was cited for rolling through a stop that I didn’t roll through, all because I panicked when I realized I was being pulled over and promptly broke another law. Give me a break. The funniest part? I had just started college, and I got the ticket on the corner of Logan Ave. (my name) and College Ave. in Costa Mesa, California. Look it up on Google Earth and you’ll see it’s a turn-only intersection, unbeknownst to me.
That’s my embarrassing anecdote about receiving a ridiculous ticket, but what’s the dumbest reason you got a ticket? Not that anyone in the Jalopnik audience would ever break the law, but maybe you encountered a quota-hungry cop who picked nits and clocked you for something you didn’t realize was a law. Or maybe you panicked when you saw lights in your mirror and nearly caused a crash by going straight through a turn-only intersection like me. It’s therapeutic to vent, so vent to us in the comments.