Burning rubber!

The car’s lights shown directly into my eyes. In the dark I could tell the car was coming up fast on me. I knew the road well, but thanks to the dark night and windy road, I kept relatively close to the 45 mph speed limit. On nights like this one deer loved to feast in the cornfields and would often jump out in front of you at any minute.

After the next curve, the driver of the other car raced by me, passing me on the country road. He was gone from sight in no time. I was 16 and had only been driving for a few months, but I was tired and anxious to get home. The way the other driver sped up, I figured I could speed up a little too.

I was five minutes from home. What was the worst that could happen to me?

The next thing I know I looked behind me. I saw the flashing red and blue lights of the township police. I hit the seat next to me. I was angry. I had driven like a crotchety old man for most of my trip home. I had let up my due-diligence and now I was going to get in trouble. My parents had only begrudgingly given me the keys to the car. Now I was going to get a ticket and I would never hear the end of it.

My part time grocery store job paid very little. How was I going to afford to pay a speeding ticket?

Where are you going in such a hurry son!

I pulled over to the side of the dark country road. I waited for the police officer to come to my car. I rolled my window down. When he approached, he asked me where I was headed in such a hurry. And did I know that I could’ve easily hit another car or gotten into an accident. I told him I was trying to get home.

He asked me about the other car. He seemed to think we were racing each other. He caught me by surprise. I told him I didn’t know who it was. He looked at me like he didn’t believe me. You know how some people give you a look and you can just tell they think you’re lying. I told him again that I had no idea who was in the other car was. I told him I might be in the wrong, but I wasn’t stupid enough to drag race on that road.

He took my license and registration and went back to his car.

Cue up the Final Jeopardy music

Do you know the Jeopardy theme song called Think that is used to time the 30-second period during the Final Jeopardy! round? Yea, that went through my head as I waited for the police officer to come back to my car.

How much was I going to be in trouble? Was it going to cost me $50 or $500? Was the stop going to be reported to my parent’s insurance company? What was I going to have to tell my parents? Was I one day going to laugh about this or was it going to be a sour memory? It was anyone’s guess.

When the policeman came back, I tried to read his face, but it was carved out of stone. He lectured me for five more minutes on being a safe driver. I couldn’t tell If he was getting ready to throw the book at me. I had no idea.

And the answer is?

When he was done, he said he was letting me go. No ticket. No fine. Nothing. Just a warning. I was incredulous. He simply warned me to be safer on the roads. “I’m going to let you go this time, but I best never pull you over again,” he told me.

And he never had to. Oh, I’ve gotten a couple of speeding tickets on interstate highways, but I generally try to be a safe driver. When I see a police car along the side of the road, I always think of my friendly little stop. It was painful in the moment, but it made me a safer driver and kept me out of trouble.

Oh, the straight and narrow.