by Andrea Harris
Sugar and I got in trouble last week. I was zipping along to work when I saw the dreaded flashing lights. I checked my speedometer. I wasn’t speeding. Certain I’d dodged a bullet and that the flashing lights must be for someone else, I pulled over to let the officer pass. He didn’t.
Let it be known that I’ve never gotten a speeding ticket, or any other kind of ticket in my life. (Well, ok, there was that one time in college when a Jetta met my Buick during an ill-timed U-turn, but otherwise, I swear I’m clean!)
When the officer pulled up behind me, I started running down a mental list of what on earth was going on. I also panicked a little bit because I’m not the best with paperwork and there was only about an 80% chance I’d be able to find my current registration. Minorly losing my mind, I pilfered through my glove-box, procured all the paperwork and was ready to go by the time the officer was at my window.
The officer explained that the reason he was pulling me over was because I had no tail lights. I think I said something stupid like, “Are you serious?” Don’t ever say that to a police officer. Trust me. He took my license and registration back to his car… for a REALLY long time. I’m sure it was like 2 minutes, tops, but 2 minutes in cop time is at least 20 in me-panicking-because-the-DMV-mistyped-the-address-on-my- license-and-I-just-asked-a-cop-if-he-was-serious time.
By the time he got back to my car, I might have been hyperventilating just a tiny bit. Nevertheless, he was very nice and explained that I was getting a “fix-it ticket.” Having no tail-lights is extremely dangerous, especially as it gets darker earlier. What I would have to do is have them fixed and return to the police station to have an officer confirm I was safe to drive again. If I did that, the ticket would be waived and I’d be on my merry way. Ok, he didn’t say “merry way,” but that was the jist of it.
I drove off a little annoyed and a little relieved. Of course, I was thrilled I didn’t have to pay a fine (the cost of fixing my faulty tail-lights was plenty, thanks). But I was annoyed at myself for not having known I had any issues. I lamented this fact to the officer who came out to sign me off as safe and he laughed and said, “Well, how would you ever know?” I agreed, of course, but it got me to thinking. When was the last time I had just double checked to make sure my car was in good working order? I mean, I change my oil and have routine maintence like a champ, but I confess, I mostly just race out to my car in the morning, drive to work, run errands, keep her clean, and park her in a garage as often as I can… but is that enough?
When was the last time you just walked around your car to see if all the lights worked (that includes whether they are so yellowed with age that they’re too dim to be safe!), the tires were all full of air, or had that chip in your windshield fixed before it cracked? Has it been a while? If so, take 5 minutes and do a quick walk around. The weather’s changing, so it’s a perfect time to make sure you’re safe and legal on the roads!
