Traffic infractions in your youth and older years..

LadyEmeraude

LadyEmeraude

Tis The Season
Just a topic about things, driving tickets, fines, all that sort of thing.
Speeding, improper lane changes, illegal parking, driving under the
influence, red light violations, seatbelt violations, ...reckless driving,
and many other things we each might have had on our records. We
were young once, and now we are Seniors. Have you changed as
a driver? More careful now?

Vehicle accidents you were in, anything you want to share.
 

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I've always been a careful cautious driver. Still over my
many years, I have had all sorts of things occur, as I
continued to learn the ways of the road..

Running a red light said the officer. No said me, it was
yellow. (age 19, got my first ticket)

My first vehicle accident, I was hit straight on by a drunk
driver. He'd ran a red light. I sustained whip lash, neck
injuries, bruises, my car totaled. (age 21)

Multiple parking tickets (Seattle WA) was hard to find
parking at times.

Senior years, two warnings for impeding traffic, driving
too slow on a highway.

Parking in a handicapped spot and forgetting to place
the handicapped sticker in my window. It was after
driving my mother home from the hospital. She had
a designated parking spot at her home. That ticket
was $500 back in 1993. I went to court and got it
reduced to $250.

I've had several accidents. Another driver hit me, once
in foggy conditions. (totaled my car) I was very shook up
and some bruises, minor scrapes and dents to my person.

Some of these increased my insurance rates for a while.
Others did not..
 
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Had my first accident in 1965. Totaled my Corvair. Hit a monument piling and went end over end and rolled twice. Then, in the 90's I was living in a very hilly town in PA and a young guy slid around a curve (it was winter) and hit me broadside. He didn't have any insurance. Then just months later, another young guy ran a light and hit me head-on and totaled my car. I had whiplash from both those accidents. He didn't have enough insurance to cover my damages. I was without a car for months and had to walk to work (about 3 miles one way).

Then, when we lived in TX (about 2006) a gal ran a stop sign (she told the police she was only going 35 MPH) and hit me broadside on driver's side. Totaled my car and she had a broken ankle. I had a really bad bruise on my shoulder from the seatbelt and an airbag burn on my wrist. Whiplash again. No wonder I have arthritis in my neck.

Oh, yes. Almost forgot. I was arrested in IL because I still had a MI license plate and registration. They put me in jail and I had to post bond and go to court. Cost $500 for the fine. That was in 1967ish.
 
Back in 2000 I was driving to work and got sideswiped by another car, knocking my car off the street and onto a vacant lot. My car was headed towards a light pole head on. I honestly thought that was it for me. I did manage to turn my car sideways and the side of my car got the full impact. I walked away from the car OK but my car was totaled. It took me a few months to get over being nervous while driving.
 
I've been rear-ended three times, including once on Interstate 95 at full speed. In two of those instances the person in front of me slammed on their brakes but the person behind me wasn't watching. The other time was when I was stopped, waiting to enter traffic, and the young guy behind me wasn't paying attention and drove straight into me. He was already on risk assignment; I can only imagine what his insurance rates were afterward.

We also slammed into a deer in Nevada once. We were on a busy two-lane state highway, heading up into Idaho, with a lot of semi and motor home traffic. I was so glad my ex had the presence of mind not to jerk the car into oncoming traffic because we all likely would have been killed. Fortunately, nobody was injured (except the deer).

The only tickets I've gotten (so far!) have been one for speeding, one for an expired registration, and one for a non-functioning headlight.
 
Good that we all made it through, and are pressing on and of
course, if still driving, being safe in our ventures..
 
Back then, the only car I could afford was a $300 "Special" that could pass inspection only once. I had the ancient Chevy that still ran, but would never pass inspection. I needed a car for work. So, I figured if nobody would give me a new inspection sticker, I'd make one myself. I got a set of watercolor pencils and made really good likeness of a sticker, unless you got close. My next door neighbor was an eager beaver, who just joined the police force. I was going to work, and I started down the street when got pulled over by him. He reached in grabbed the sticker and said, You misspelled 'Pennsylvania". What gave me away was the hot humid summer, the colors ran.
A $100 fine for "forgery of state documents".
I got two speeding tickets, but they were for speed traps. I don't count them. In PA, local cops were funded by traffic fines, and cops ensure they had a full pay check.
 
I've been pretty lucky. One rear end that did not damage. One speeding ticket at 25 or 26. And a fix it ticket or two.

The one, I was young and lost my tags, found them and I swear I went to the police station to prove. But lost that paperwork and it was against my drivers license when I went to renew. So traffic court it was. Everything was dropped but a $20.00 failure to appear. Earlier 80's. Wonder what it would cost today.
 
Oh my… speeding tickets. On cop told me that he chased me thru three counties….I did not notice him until he caught up. I have probably had at least half dozen or so. No wrecks that were my fault.
 
In Pennsylvania, a report comes out each year showing the age groups of what ages brackets get the most citations and have the most accidents. It's been pretty consistent showing that ages 21-26 receive the most citations and ages 18-26 have the most accidents.

If you want to break it down by gender, males have about 1/3 more accidents than females. With citations, females receive slightly more than males.
 
bobcat said:
Spent a night in jail in my youth for racing
They called it exhibition of speed, reckless driving, and running a stop sign.
I called it proving a point
(They didn't care)
Click to expand...
I have seen young people laying in caskets because they were trying to prove a point.
 
I have had a few wrecks, one I was hit in the rear of the car during a rain storm that pushed me into the car in front of me. I received a ticket for hitting the car in front of me but somehow convinced the judge it wasn't my fault. I used the excuse of my glasses falling off and going backward. I think I confused him. Then I turned into a road without an arrow and a car hit me broadside and totaled out the old Buick I was driving. I got a ticket and paid it. I had some other slight accidents that were not my fault. Good grief, I was an accident waiting to happen. I have not had a wreck in the last 30 years, yet.
 
This is a true story:

My father was dying so yes I was probably speeding. Two cars pulled me over on a 4-lane highway in the countryside and the first one said, "Why did you speed faster, up to 80 miles an hour, after I drove up next to you and pointed at you to pull over?? I had to call for backup! Only then did you pull over".

I said, first of all your car is unmarked, secondly, you pulled up along side me and I saw a man in the front seat wearing a lumber jacket. You both looked highly suspicious so I sped up to get away from you but you kept driving faster to catch up with me...and you scared me to death! I've read to never stop for an unmarked "police car" until you can pull into a gas station or populated spot. We're in the country right now.

I don't think he even had a flashing police light. But his backup policeman, who arrived later did have a police car. He smiled and said, the man in the lumber jacket is an inmate that I'm transferring to another facility. I won't write you up and be careful.
 
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My first ticket came in Detroit. I lived near Nine Mile and Woodward and had to cross the overpass over the infamous (or famous, depending on what you thought about the rapper Eminem). The North side of the overpass was in Oakland County, the southside in Detroit.

The Detroit cops lay in wait just over the border and passed out tickets right and left for the most bogus things. Mine was "entering the intersection on a yellow), which I didn't. The light (which was at the bottom of the overpass on the Detroit side) was absolutely green when I entered the intersection. Several people followed me through the intersection, but I was the one who was pulled over a block later.

But they could hand out tickets with impunity because they knew few people would contest them because of the process. You either mailed in a check and it was over OR you had to call for a court date to file to contest the ticket. You didn't get a time, you just got a "day". So, you had to possibly take off a whole day from work and sit there until you were called. It could be 9 a.m.; it could be 4 p.m.

Then, after you filed to contest the ticket, you were given another court "day", which would necessitate another day off work.

If the cop didn't show up, the ticket was dropped but you were still out of possibly two days work. AND if you lost, you had to pay "court fees" in addition to the ticket. Few people wanted to take that chance, so the system plowed on in the city's favor.

I had a job that had only two excuses for a day off: sickness (yours and you'd better be REALLY sick) or death (yours and you'd better be able to prove it!) Needless to say, I paid the ticket and fumed for years.
 
911 said:
I have seen young people laying in caskets because they were trying to prove a point.
Click to expand...
I was about 19 yrs old at the time, and learned a valuable lesson.
I assume, from your comment, that you never made foolish mistakes when you were young.
My mom was pretty busy working to provide for us kids after my parents split up. She did the best she could with what little time she had. I learned a few things the hard way. For what it's worth, I don't live that way now.
 
It was 1984, and I'd just bought a new Monte Carlo. It was a beauty, red with a white leather interior. It was a scorching hot day, and the air conditioning at work broke down. I couldn't wait to get out of there. As I was driving home, I came to a stop sign, stopped, and proceeded across the road. A car came barreling up the road I was crossing, ran the stop sign, and crashed into the driver's side door of my car.

His car pushed mine across the road into a huge oak tree. My car was squished from both sides, like an accordion, and the windshield and dashboard fell in on me. There were some bystanders who saw the accident, and a man ran over and pulled me out of the car, carried me across the street, and laid me on the grass. An ambulance came and took me and the jerk who ran into me to the hospital.

I was bruised, banged up, and needed a few stitches in my head from where the flying glass from the windshield got me, but, thankfully, nothing was broken. Of course, my beautiful car was totaled, but it saved my life. I can't help thinking that if I'd been in a smaller car, I might not be here right now.
 
This topic would be a whole 'nother chapter in my book.
I haven't had any topic related incidents in over 25yrs though ... the times they are a changing

First ticket was rolling through a stop sign I think. Failure to come to a complete stop.
Last ticket was doing 45 (or something) in a 25 I think ... and I could see my apartment from where pulled over.

I've been in several accidents but luckily never hurt badly or lastingly.
One dumbfounded accident happened late one night at a red light in town.
The driver in front of me must have felt he was too far into the intersection.
Suddenly I see bright backup lights in front of me and the guy plowed into the front of car too quickly for me to react.
Luckily I was driving a red 1968 Volkswagen Beetle convertible.
The engine is in the rear of the Beetle and I was able to drive away.
Just glad he admitted it was his fault ... since the damage was to the front of my car and the back of his ...
He could have said I rear-ended him and it would have been my word against his D'OH

Another accident I witnessed and may have caused though not intentionally ...
Involved someone tailgating me. Right on my bumper and at a good speed.
The tailgater was a small go fast sporty shinny thing ... I was driving a full size 1965 Chevy pickup truck he couldn't see in front of.
As we approached a red light, there was a stream of cars stopped.
I swapped into a turn lane near the end of the line of stopped cars at the red light.
The tailgater plowed right into the last stopped car. And they in turn, dinked the car in front of them. I kept going.
I did not want to be involved in an altercation with an irate tailgater. And no witness was required.
The accident was pretty self explanatory. Guy ran into the back of a car.
 
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Okay, this is going to sound tame compared to the previous posts.

I was 29 and working for a State Farm insurance office. Three agents shared the space. Apparently they didn't want o spend money on furniture.

So, anyway, I sat down on one of the chairs typing out an auto insurance card (and by the way this was before Selectric electric typewriters. It was a manual. However,that wasn't the problem. The problem was that while I was typing, the chair collapsed and I found myself on the floor. The agents were horrified and asked if I was okay (I was and by the way the chair collapsing wasn't my fault. I was 5'2" and weighed only 98 pounds.

So they sent me to the nearest supply store to buy a new chair--whatever I wanted. I never drove to that place before and the building was on the far right of the road and I was looking out for the entrance to the parking lot. I drove slowly so that I wouldn't miss it. I turned into the entrance and before I could park or anything, a police car pulled up behind me and this harassed looking cop came bounding up to my car door. He was upset and said that because I didn't make a signal he almost plowed into me.

Well, I was surprised and very apologetic J did it and I wasn't about to argue that I didn't. I told him that I worked for an insurance company and that I should have known better. He looked at my driver's license (he was fairly good looking and commented that "oh, you're local".) Okay, he said, just be more more careful next time. And he walked back to his car and A'las no date, Haha, But no ticket which is even better!

And that was the closest thing I ever got to getting a ticket or accident of any kind.

Just boring, law-abiding me.
 
Ahh, I could write a book on this.... (but I'll keep it short):

I've been a car/bike nut since I was a kid. Had one serious accident when I was 20. I was going to make a left turn and a drunk hit me almost head on. Really messed up my car, but I was not hurt much.

Tickets are another matter... From age 16 to 22, I collected a lot of them, a few were bogus, but most legitimate. Chicago cops were on a quota system at the time, so a young guy in a convertible was choice game. That said, I did get caught racing a couple times, speeding, and such. I lost my license for 3 months.

After age 23 (and leaving Chicago), I pretty much stayed out of trouble. Where I live now, I actually wish the police were more vigilant, for the "crazies" out there are way too careless.
 
I was in my early 20's and was going to my mother's house for lunch and was going through a green light when a car who didn't stop for the red light on her side plowed into me. I hit my head on the steering wheel and looked in the rear view mirror and saw blood all over my face. Then a man came up to the window and asked if I was all right. I tried to talk but blood was coming into my mouth. He said an ambulance was on the way. I was taken to the hospital and had about twelve stitches put in and around my lip which was the cause of most of the bleeding. Anyway, my little Volkswagen was damaged in the front but not demolished.
 

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