Worse Comes to Worst

Autumn came down on us in a big way the moment Labor Day arrived. Cold. Rain. What a bummer. I didn't even drive my bike to work all this week.

But what was kind of cool was that when I went to get gasoline and pulled out the log in which I faithfully record my mileage, I saw that a month had passed since I last filled the tank in my car.

The bad part of it was that my first day back after the long holiday weekend, I slept through my alarm. Normally I leave for work around 9:15, but when I rolled over and looked at the clock, it was 9:30. No time to exercise (ha!), no time to play with the cat (she was pissed), not even time to shower or mix up the protein smoothie I've been having in the morning ever since my doctor warned me about low blood sugar.

But all of that wasn't the worst part. That came after I left for work. I was in a big damn hurry, so naturally I was ... uh ... in a hurry. And I sped right into a speed trap.

Here's the worse part: I knew it was there. I have seen cops sitting on the side of the road I drive every day. And yet I just rolled right into trouble.

With the economy being what it is, speed traps are an easy way for cities to bring in cash. And here's the trick: Cop nails you speeding. Good guy that he is, he offers to write you up for only 5 mph over the limit even though you were going much faster. But now, in the state of Michigan, even 1 mph over the limit puts points on your license — meaning you're a risky driver, and your insurance company will sit up and take notice in the form of increased rates. So to be a nice guy, the cop puts on the ticket "impeding traffic" — ironic, when in fact that would mean I'm driving slowly. Anyway, if I admit to "impeding traffic," I will pay a fine, but I will not get those nasty points. Voila! I don't have to go to court and waste everybody's time, but I still pay my money to the city. Everybody goes home happy. But my bank account is a couple hundred bucks lighter.

The worst of all is the feeling that I would NOT have gotten an expensive traffic ticket if I had been on my motorcycle. Of course, I could be wrong, but just seems to be a rare thing — at least around here — for motorcyclists to be pulled over for speeding. And yet, I rarely see bikers hold to the speed limit.

I recall that just last weekend we did see a guy on a bike being written up by a local copper. I remarked on it because it was maybe the first time I've seen it.