For most of us, red and blue lights flashing in the rear-view mirror means we are about to receive a traffic citation. But a precious few can say they have come face to face with a citation pad and come away unscathed.
The first person I met who had successfully talked herself out of a traffic citation was a college classmate named Sandy. One afternoon she had rolled by a stop sign, as she always did, barely brushing her foot in the general direction of the brake pedal. Within seconds, the red and blue lights appeared.
As the officer walked up to her car window, her body reacted immediately to the nerve-racking stimulation – she broke out in a cold sweat. The officer, observing the drops of moisture emanating profusely from the pores of her brow, asked if she was OK. And Sandy was quick. She explained to him in a frail, weakened voice that she was indeed NOT OK. In fact, she was so ill with fever that she had not even seen the stop sign. All that she had been able to think about was getting home to her antibiotics and a full jar of Mentholatum. Minutes later, Sandy drove off, encumbered only by a warning that she shouldn't be behind the wheel when she was so ill and with a heartfelt wish for her speedy recovery.
Gabe Cano of Yucaipa has not gotten around to fixing his broken taillight since he got out of the Army a few months back. Although he has been pulled over twice, when the conversation with the officer has turned to Gabe's service experience, officers have given him a break and haven't written him up.
Lisa Jones of Rancho Cucamonga says that during her college days, she was speeding in Arcadia. After she was pulled over, she ended up without a traffic ticket, but with a date for Saturday night.
Susie of Fontana was driving at night recently when she realized she had forgotten to feed her friend's dog. In her haste to get to the pooch, not only did Susie make an illegal U-turn (which caused her to drive briefly on the wrong side of the road), she managed to do it within view of a police officer, whom she then proceeded to swerve in front of and cut off.
When the officer came to Susie's window, she said, "I saw you and I didn't know how else to stop you. I am having chest pains!"
After she convinced the officer not to call an ambulance, he escorted her home and recommended that she see a physician as soon as possible.
Ami Davis of Fontana had her mind on an upcoming surgical procedure she was facing when she ran a red light. When the officer came to her window, she burst into real tears of stress and frustration. The officer let her go and advised her to try to take it easy and drive more safely.
While it is obvious that some folks used guile and perhaps even questionable ethics to avoid a citation, Rob O'Rourke of Rancho Cucamonga was another driver who benefited from the compassionate heart of a uniformed public servant.
Rob was on his way home from work when he was pulled over for speeding. He told the officer that in all his years of driving, he had never gotten a break. The officer looked at Rob and said, "Well then, I guess today is your lucky day."
Michelle Groh-Gordy is the owner of InterActive! Traffic School Online atwww.trafficinteractive.com , and writes a syndicated weekly column on driving for the publications of the Los Angeles Newspaper Group.
