a few months ago I got pulled over for speeding, and it’s been sitting in my head ever since. not because of the ticket — I’ve paid plenty of those over the years — but because of who got pulled and who didn’t.

the trap

I was cruising down the highway, already a little over the limit, when a white pickup blew past me doing what had to be 20-25 faster than me. I should mention up front: I am not a cruise-control kind of driver. no cell phone, no distractions, just me, my Subie, and the windows down. I’m locked in every time I drive, and for whatever reason my brain has decided I need to be the fastest thing on the road. so naturally, the truck flying by lit something up in me and I sped up to catch back up to the pack.

right as I closed the gap, I saw brake lights ahead lighting up like a Christmas tree. everyone was slowing down at once. and then I saw why — a cop parked in the median, pointed straight at traffic.

I didn’t do anything dumb. no brake check, no sudden lane change, just eased off the gas and let my speed bleed down naturally. the truck that started this whole thing ducked into the right lane and blended in like nothing happened. I watched the mirror the way you always do after you pass a cop, and sure enough, he pulled out of the median.

“surely he’s not coming for me…”

he was.

the stop

out of every car doing the same speed at that moment, he picked the red one. by the time he walked up, I was already a little annoyed about it.

he asked for my license, I handed it over along with my new registration sticker; He asked why it wasn’t on the plate already. I told him honestly: I hadn’t been in the state long enough to know that was expected. I also couldn’t help thinking that if they really cared about expired tags, they could run any plate from the squad car in about two seconds and know instantly. the sticker is more theater than function, so I didn’t feel bad about not treating it like a priority.

I also asked him, genuinely, if he’d even seen the truck that flew by me. he told me to just worry about myself. he asked if I knew how fast I was going. I said I didn’t care, and asked if we could just move it along.

he came back with a ticket for speeding, and a warning for the sticker.

the tax

I’ve been driving this way since I was a kid. no accidents, rarely pulled over, always watching the cars around me because I don’t trust anyone else’s driving, just my own. I don’t do it recklessly, and I’m not out here doing triple digits; my sweet spot is around 80, my car handles it well, and it feels safe to me. that combination has never given me a reason to change.

so here’s where I’ve landed: I’m completely fine paying the tax. if the state wants to fund itself by ticketing people going 80 in a 70, that’s a transaction I understand and can respect. what I can’t stand is when the enforcement of it feels personal - like getting singled out of a pack doing the exact same thing, mostly because a red car is an easy thing to notice.

it reminds me of living somewhere that banned window tint outright. I got a couple tint tickets there too, and it never once occurred to me to actually remove the tint. paying a fine for something that hurts literally no one just doesn’t move me the way it’s supposed to. laws vary wildly state to state: 55 in one, 80 in another. which tells you pretty clearly that “illegal” and “wrong” aren’t the same thing.

I don’t have any real animosity for the officer, or cops in general. we’re all just people playing our assigned roles. I just wish the role, every time, didn’t feel like it was pointed at me specifically while the actual problem drove off clean.

why I’m telling this story

I don’t need to drive — I chose a life where I don’t have to leave the house if I don’t want to. so every time I do get behind the wheel, it’s because I want to be there, and I love driving my Subie too much to baby it down the highway at 60 in a pack of traffic. if that costs me a few hundred dollars every once in a rare while, so be it. I’ll happily keep paying the tax — I’d just appreciate it if the toll booth wasn’t quite so rude about collecting it.