Good Afternoon, Officer

See what happens when you break the rules?

I broke my own "7 MPH" rule and suffered the consequences. My "7 MPH" rule is that it if you keep your car's speed under 7 MPH over the posted speed limit, the cops won't bother you.

Yesterday while enroute to a meeting in southern Maryland, I saw a state trooper had pulled over a speeding victim. I noted that my speed was a tad over 70 and took my foot off the gas. Once I passed by the side-of-the-road spectacle, I resumed my 70+ speed figuring the cop was otherwise preoccupied and unable to attend to my wanton and flagrant disregard of the law.

I had not driven 30 seconds when I glanced in the rearview to see another state trooper right behind me with lights blazing. "He must want to get by me," I thought naively, "I'll just pull over into the right-hand lane."

No such luck. He wanted me.

"Sir, I'm Officer Schmidt. My laser told me you passed through my sector doing 74 MPH in a 55 MPH zone."

You know the rest.

He let me off with just a warning. I guess it was because I was wearing my blue suit and driving one of my employer's Chevy Cavaliers. Maybe he was impressed I had the temerity to redline a Cavalier.

When I got to my destination, I discovered that a co-worker who was also attending my meeting had been pulled over by the same Officer Schmidt in the same sector.

Damn talking lasers.
K-