Many years ago, I was caught in a highway patrol sting. They had parked a school bus on the sidewalk in the industrial section of town. There was clearly no one in the bus and the school bus was from a town many miles away. I drove past it and as I got even with it, all the lights on the bus began to flash and the little stop sign popped out. Then a highway patrol office ran into the road, on foot and stood in front of my car. He wrote me a ticket for passing a school bus that had flashing lights. The ticket turned out to be $695.00.
I fought the ticket and even went to traffic court. The officer who wrote the ticket did not show up so I won. Eight months after the event, after I paid the ticket, I received the $695 back from the court.
This event has stayed with me and brought to my thinking a distrust for police officers and highway patrol. What was done was illegal. My behavior has also changed. Whenever I see a parked school bus, I will turn so I do not have to pass it. I have become paranoid of parked school buses. This may be an irrational response, but a response that was built with a $695.00 ticket and three trips to the court house over eight months.
Today, I arrived at church and there was a school bus parked in the church’s parking lot. I immediately stiffened when I saw it and began looking around for hidden police. I drove up beside the school bus to see if there was anyone in it, and I saw a driver. I asked the driver if I could help. I explained that this parking lot was private property and she explained that she was leaving in 2 minutes. Indeed she did and the school bus left without incident.
The driver of this school bus has no idea what a rogue highway patrolman did those many years ago. She does not know that I was scarred against school buses.
The point of this is that when government authorities break the law in order to grab easy money, they effect people’s lives. I doubt that highway patrol looses any sleep, but whenever I see a school bus I go the other way. I go the other way because I don’t have an extra $695.00 to give to the government. This is the effect of a totalitarian government. We are not completely totalitarian yet, but that Highway Patrol was totalitarian. He made a situation where I had to break the law. The result is that I will do my best to not drive past a school bus for as long as I live.
I fought the ticket and even went to traffic court. The officer who wrote the ticket did not show up so I won. Eight months after the event, after I paid the ticket, I received the $695 back from the court.
This event has stayed with me and brought to my thinking a distrust for police officers and highway patrol. What was done was illegal. My behavior has also changed. Whenever I see a parked school bus, I will turn so I do not have to pass it. I have become paranoid of parked school buses. This may be an irrational response, but a response that was built with a $695.00 ticket and three trips to the court house over eight months.Today, I arrived at church and there was a school bus parked in the church’s parking lot. I immediately stiffened when I saw it and began looking around for hidden police. I drove up beside the school bus to see if there was anyone in it, and I saw a driver. I asked the driver if I could help. I explained that this parking lot was private property and she explained that she was leaving in 2 minutes. Indeed she did and the school bus left without incident.
The driver of this school bus has no idea what a rogue highway patrolman did those many years ago. She does not know that I was scarred against school buses.
The point of this is that when government authorities break the law in order to grab easy money, they effect people’s lives. I doubt that highway patrol looses any sleep, but whenever I see a school bus I go the other way. I go the other way because I don’t have an extra $695.00 to give to the government. This is the effect of a totalitarian government. We are not completely totalitarian yet, but that Highway Patrol was totalitarian. He made a situation where I had to break the law. The result is that I will do my best to not drive past a school bus for as long as I live.
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