Chacos: If I don’t get caught speeding am I breaking the law?
The cost of the rental car was a bargain, yet the driving ticket that casually came in the mail after I returned home was not. Weeks earlier, I was driving in another country on the wrong side of the road navigating a manual transmission with constant traffic. I was being brave and bold trying to model strength to my daughter sitting scared in the passenger seat. To make matters worse, there were funny-looking street signs posted all over the place. There was spotty cellular service that hindered my usually decisive navigation skills. These were the seven-layer bean dip of reasons I piled onto my husband when he had to open his wallet and pay the hefty fine in my name. I figured a traffic enforcement camera caught me speeding or going too slowly, driving the wrong way on a one-way street, or perhaps I parked illegally. Maybe I was going through one of their many roundabouts one too many times. It is still a mystery to me, yet it robbed me of my pride and some of the arrogance I cherish when I’m behind the wheel and no one is around to catch me going too fast and furious. However, there’s a part of me that appreciates this foreign country’s attention to detail and diligence because maybe we’re missing more reliable and consistent oversight on our roads, especially with a driver like me.
I do a lot of daily commuting and abhor the routine drive. I’ve learned where the po-po like to wait for me to say good morning. Most days I slow down enough and raise my coffee mug in their direction in an informal salutation of sorts because I want to give them a proper greeting as I drive by. It’s the friendly thing to do since we see each other every day. I know they are really busy, so I pick up my pace once I pass to make space for the drivers behind me to do the same. Every now and again they move locations, and I know they are trying to keep things fresh and exciting in our relationship, yet they are so obvious that it’s not much of a flirtatious game at all. Sometimes when I’m running late they will flash their lights as I drive past them, and I’m starting to think one of them smokeys has a crush on me. The passion is there.
My children and I were driving back to a hotel late one evening after a delicious dinner in Boulder where my son had been attending school. I had the steak cooked medium rare. Not a lot of restaurants get the temperature right, but this one did. The road was deserted as we drove out of town, and we were all loudly singing a song by the Beatles, the one with the name Desmond in it. The dark sky was dotted with bright stars and made the evening extra special, the way late summer Rocky Mountain nights often do. Up ahead was a green traffic light. It was still off in the distance, and because I understand how patterns work, I knew it would turn yellow soon. When we finally approached the light, indeed, it did turn yellow. I slowed down. Then my children all chanted for me to, “Go for it!” and because I was excited they were all in agreement about something and I had a good steak dinner in my belly, I pressed on the gas pedal like I was in a Formula 1 race with Max Verstappen trying to overtake me in the last lap. The light turned red real fast, and I saw it only from the haze of my rearview mirror.
The driving ticket that casually came in the mail a few weeks later was ceremoniously taped to the refrigerator door. There was a picture of me behind the wheel that my husband circled with a big, fat red marker. The traffic camera caught me happy and content singing under the stars on a magical night with my kids. It was more than a bargain in my mind. The ticket was priceless.
Like most everyone else that drives to work that has to budget extra time for their morning commute, I am also passionate about reducing reckless driving, severe crashes, and keep people from driving too slowly during rush hour. The day is long enough already, and no one enjoys sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic when we could be home doing pretty much anything else. There’s nothing more annoying than someone camping out in the left lane driving under the speed limit listening to public radio and ignoring my constant pleas to move to the right lane. Reluctantly, I’m forced to pass the slow driver in the right lane making a showy display of my disgust and then I’m the one making an egregious traffic violation. These types of things could be easily avoided if people followed basic road rules and common sense.
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If the goal is to have safer roads and reduce erratic driving, installing red light cameras and speed photo radars can certainly help. Knowing I’m being monitored and having the oppa’ stoppas spying on my driving behavior will encourage me to obey more traffic laws, yet I prefer to know where they are located. That’s how the game works and the foundation for a promising and respectful relationship. The foreplay with these guys is real.
My behavior will change if I know a camera will catch me speeding and a fine will be imposed for running a red light, I promise. However, I will still push the envelope when I think no one is looking or when the light refuses to turn green after what feels like forever on a lazy Sunday morning. I think that’s a reasonable compromise in our budding bond moving forward. Don’t you?
Andrea Chacos lives in Carbondale, balancing work and happily raising three children with her husband. She strives to dodge curveballs life likes to throw with a bit of passion, humor and some flair.
