I got yet another speeding ticket yesterday - my first one in almost 3 years… at least I know it’s been more than 2 years.

I was running late for my kid’s Kindergarten graduation and then I got stuck in slow moving traffic out in the country. Finally when I got around the 10mph under drivers I got 2 minutes down the road and then at the bottom of a hill I was nailed by a state trooper. (By the way, those hats gotta go.)

Apparently I was going 76 in a 55. I really don’t know how fast I was going - and I’m not just saying that. I was not paying attention at all, but I will tell you that I was completely in control, there weren’t any other cars or people around, and even if I was going that fast I don’t really care. Why? Because almost nobody else does.

I just got back from a weekend in the NYC area  - driving around on Long Island, and the major highways that get you there (81 & 87). People are in a hurry and they were weaving in and out of traffic - which I agree is a bad idea - and passing me like I was standing still when I was going almost 80mph - in a 55 no less! I even had a local cop from out that way blow past me going way over the speed-limit.

I completely admit that I break the law and speed at least once every single time I operate a motor vehicle - period. I’m willing to bet that most of you do too. I don’t care if it’s 5 over or if you were going 140mph either way you’re guilty and you have little to no respect for these traffic laws. The same goes for those of us who do not come to complete stops at all intersections.

What pisses me off about the laws in this wonderful country is that there seems to be an acceptance that the laws only apply to some of us. If you have money and lawyers you can get away with just about any crime you want… Apparently if you’re a cop you can speed whenever you want. Go ahead, turn on your lights and siren to blow through traffic… get through that red light - break all the laws you pretend to uphold and place so much importance on just to get to the Drive Thru at Wendy’s, or pull into a mobile station. I have seen this a bunch of times.

I really hate some of our laws, but like most people I don’t go around making it my life’s work to get them changed either. I’ve tried raising the issue before - I’ve been yelled at by cops, judges, lawyers, I even argued a ticket for myself in court and basically won - only to then have the judge tell me that the state will just re-file the charges the following morning and then the court will do everything in it’s power to make sure I get the maximum punishments allowed by law, so then I chickened out and took a plea. (Then they asked me if I was in law school and then told me I should really consider it. WTF?!)

What I hate more about laws I don’t agree with is that they aren’t equally enforced. If you want drugs to be illegal then make all drugs illegal. Why can’t we smoke pot but we can drink ourselves retarded? Why is it that people speed every day - drive right past a cop going 5 or 10 over the posted limit and nothing happens? If speeding is really so serious, then why is it that most tickets are reduced in court?

Why the hell is it legal to buy a car that can go so fast if it’s so important to drive at or below the speed limit? I used to paint cars and part of my job was driving these cars to my shop. I was a young idiot when I started that job and I’ve hit the governor on many vehicles - usually between 99 and 119. Once I got in a BMW M3 coupe and I did over 140mph on a back road out in Rush, NY - and that car could have gone even faster.

At least give me the logic that I was going out of my way and doing something wrong and I got punished just like everyone else. No exceptions, no reductions. It just further re-enforces to me that it’s more about fines than it is safety and rules. Don’t give me the crap about 30% of traffic fatalities are attributed to speed either. I can take numbers and statistics and tell you anything I want with them. Are they counting people who are driving recklessly? Because that is totally different than going even 40mph over the limit in most cases.

Fact is I’ve driven a few old American cars in stock form. They handle poorly and didn’t have Overdrive. Going 65mph in a 1969 Oldsmobile 442 feels like you’re going at a pretty good rate of speed. Cars today are far superior. They’re smoother, they handle better, they’re more stable at speed, they have a bazillion more safety features, the list just goes on. I trust any reasonable adult to handle driving over the speed-limit as long as they feel comfortable and are in control.

I propose we drive less and drive safer, more fuel efficient cars. Actually, I’d love to see more public transportation around which just about solves my speeding addiction entirely. But until that utopia is upon us, set the speed limit way up there… 85mph or something like for a major highway. The road where I got nailed yesterday is posted at 55mph but I think it should be 70mph. Admittedly there have been times in the past that I’ve gone over 100mph in the same area, but I’m not saying that should be legal.

The only place people should slow down is in heavy traffic, road hazards, or in areas with lots of people around -  something most of us would just do out of common sense anyway. Then we get rid of these big V-8 powered gas guzzlers the cops are driving around or sitting in running all day looking for speeders. They aren’t supposed to chase anyone anyway, so they don’t need them for speed and if they really need to go fast you just need to look around to see that even a little car with a 4 banger can be quick as hell these days.

The speed limit purely a money making business run by towns and insurance companies. I heard the insurance companies actually buy the police their radar guns! Fitting since once you get a ticket on your record they jack your rates through the roof.

So, watch the road ahead - someone is out for your wallet, and if it ain’t the cops, the gas companies surely are.