Speed Trap
A 15-20 mile stretch of I-5 through Chehalis and Centralia (halfway between Seattle and Portland) is now a 60 mph zone. It's always been a cop trap, since the state highway has an office there, but now they have officially become the interstate version of small country towns on state highways that set their speed limits at 25-35 mph just to catch outsiders on their way through town.
Friday night was quite foggy, where you could barely seen the signs, and since I've driven the road often enough I don't NEED the signs, I wasn't really looking at them much. It was just dumb luck, and me wanting to make sure I got into the right lane in time to pull off for some Diet Coke, that I saw the sign in the first place. Although it didn't look like the cops were out at 12:30 am, so I might have been OK.
Traffic was already regularly snarly through the area, so now I'm sure it's going to significantly add to the Seattle to Portland trip. But I'm sure the cops will snag their share of people.
I just hope I'm not one of them. I got pulled over in that stretch once before. In my early 20's, when it was still a 65 mph zone. I was going about 72 or 73 at 1 or 2 am, and it was only me and the truckers on the road. I got off with a warning, the cop wasn't even really interested in giving me at ticket.
A friend got pulled over when he broke the Portland to Seattle time record and got off with a warning as well. He actually had to talk his way out of that ticket, but the cop had grown up in Springfield, Oregon, and my friend had gotten his master's degree in Eugene, so he got off with a warning (they are neighboring towns). Which, when you think about it, is a bit surprising, as people from Springfield (conservative loggers living near the timber) and Eugene (liberal college students and professors who will protest anything) tend not to get along very well. But, my friend made the 175 mile trip in 2-1/2 hours, even with the delay, so he owns that record among my circle.
And I'll own my bitterness every time I'm forced to slow down as I drive through town.
Friday night was quite foggy, where you could barely seen the signs, and since I've driven the road often enough I don't NEED the signs, I wasn't really looking at them much. It was just dumb luck, and me wanting to make sure I got into the right lane in time to pull off for some Diet Coke, that I saw the sign in the first place. Although it didn't look like the cops were out at 12:30 am, so I might have been OK.
Traffic was already regularly snarly through the area, so now I'm sure it's going to significantly add to the Seattle to Portland trip. But I'm sure the cops will snag their share of people.
I just hope I'm not one of them. I got pulled over in that stretch once before. In my early 20's, when it was still a 65 mph zone. I was going about 72 or 73 at 1 or 2 am, and it was only me and the truckers on the road. I got off with a warning, the cop wasn't even really interested in giving me at ticket.
A friend got pulled over when he broke the Portland to Seattle time record and got off with a warning as well. He actually had to talk his way out of that ticket, but the cop had grown up in Springfield, Oregon, and my friend had gotten his master's degree in Eugene, so he got off with a warning (they are neighboring towns). Which, when you think about it, is a bit surprising, as people from Springfield (conservative loggers living near the timber) and Eugene (liberal college students and professors who will protest anything) tend not to get along very well. But, my friend made the 175 mile trip in 2-1/2 hours, even with the delay, so he owns that record among my circle.
And I'll own my bitterness every time I'm forced to slow down as I drive through town.
posted by Swankette at 10:39 PM
1 Comments:
I hate speed traps, but I figure I speed almost every time I get behind the wheel of my car, so the fact I get one ticket every 3 - 4 years I think is a fair trade. I've never been very good at talking myself out of a ticket so I don't even try any more.
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