I got a traffic infringement today. $256 I can't afford. Dammit.
No , not for speeding. Failing to stop at a stop sign.
I'm a careful driver,I drive like an old lady, my kids tell me this all the time. I don't think this is entirely true, the old ladies in this village take 1o minutes to reverse park between two cars parked a mile apart and I'm not THAT bad. But I do wait at giveways for EVERY car, it drives the kids nuts, they can get a truck through that gap etc etc blah blah .....It's just white noise after a while.
I took the short cut to our country road home,hubby is"why are you going this way for?"
"I like going this way , It misses all the roundabouts in the main street,I always go this way"
" no you don't we were here last week you didn't come this way"
"well the kids go this way and I like it"
I turned left at the stop sign and I had to give way to a car on my right ,so I presume I stopped..I didn't hit it ,so I'm pretty sure I stopped?
I got about 500m or more up the road when I heard a siren, not sure where it was coming from I glanced in the rear view mirror a couple of times , and after a minute or so sure enough, flashing lights and a speeding cop car, so I pulled to the left to let it past. I thought the must have been an accident up ahead he was going so fast, but horrors, he pulled up fast behind me. Jeebus, for the life of me I couldn't think what I had done. He comes to the window and I'm about to ask but he says "before you say anything I have to tell you I'm Const. D from Coota' "you failed to stop at the stop sign" I'm now looking confused. " Is there a reason you didn't stop at the stop sign" Still confused I said "I thought I did' I must have looked a bit too confused because then I had to have the breathalyser.
He tells me I didn't stop and apparantly he has it on the onboard video.
Off he went to the car and took ages, I think he looked me up for warrants and rego,licence, crim history and when he came back I was $256 poorer.
And then I got 'you wanted to come this way,If you'd listened to me you wouldn't have got a ticket"
ahhh white noise..................shpshshfppshhhhhh
I'm going to go and ask to see the footage. I'm sure I stopped, I had to give way anyway,perhaps my wheels were rolling slightly which technically would not be a stop I guess. Fingers crossed he was wrong.
if only he'd been napping
oh no poor you, I hope he is wrong too!
ReplyDeleteOh : (
ReplyDeleteThat is so annoying. And VERY unfair.
It sounds like the government is just wanting some extra money, so they're LOOKING for minor mistakes.
I'm all for stopping people (and punishing them) for doing something dangerous. But to pick on you for that is beyond ridiculous.
Definitely query it, especially as you had to giveway to the car on the right.
ReplyDeleteWell that just stinks!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry!
Hope he was wrong, too.
"I think I'm gonna be sad (I think it's today, yeah)"
ReplyDeleteMy ex's Uncle George was stopped by a Coota Cop when he was a youngster for riding through town on his bicycle "no hands". He was fined 7/6 and had to pay costs of 8/- which was most of his weekly wage back then (1930's). Yes, those Cootamundra cops are a mean breed.
I would check the video as well. Maybe you were stopped and HE was moving, maybe that's why it looked like you were in motion.
ReplyDeleteI received a ticket by mail once for not stopping at a red light. It was one of those racing the yellow light situations but anyway. The ticket came with a photo of me in may car as I drove across the intersection...I had a huge smile on my face.
I didn't fight the ticket because my smile was somewhat reminiscent of giving someone the finger. I thought it best to just keep quiet and pay the fine.
Dom's Fiancé got into trouble for not stopping at a stop. He lost points which really stung as he's still in his first year of driving.
ReplyDeleteSounds like the cops were looking to fill some traffic quotas.
ReplyDeleteSure seems like they were out looking to ticket people. I hope you can prove them wrong! You'd think they had better things to do than follow a slow-driving woman through traffic.
ReplyDeletelyndylou...thanks ..but..I am ditzy so possibly I didn't stop at the line.
ReplyDeleteDina...must be quota time :( booking people for not using blinker when leaving a roundabout even when you're going straight ahead on tiny roundabouts bugs me.
twighlight--- thanks ,I shall :)
Ami...lol, it does..thanks
Peta..LOL , might be his grandson
Nari- lol ,yes I'm scared of seeing myself with a maniacal grin aswell
I went up to the cops shop a few days ago to look at the film. Apparantly I have to request it in writing,postal not hand delivered, and then wait for a phone call to organise a time with Officer Daly...sigh..
Anji, our P platers only get 4 points a year. Danny ,my yougest is without his licence for 3 months for 2 p plate offences. 1st one p plate came off in a rain storm and the 2nd he drove a friends car with green p's not red, didn't notice in the dark. 2 points each and $200 each. OUCH. It sucks with the falling off plates because it's illegal to have them on the INSIDE of the car window now.
CUBE... I agree, they seem to have blitzes, you wont see police for weeks then in one or two days they get everyone for every tiny little thing.
Portia... bahaha..I probably stick out like as sore thumb in my slow moving bubble(clown) car