Speeding Ticket Number 1
The first traffic ticket I ever got was while driving my first car, a 1966 Chevy Caprice. I bought it from a fellow high school classmate in 1978 for about $300 cash. I was heading south on Wisconsin Highway 35. I had just passed Luck, Wisconsin on my way to Milltown when a Wisconsin State Police car went by heading the other direction. I was going 62 MPH in a 55MPH zone. As soon as I noticed he was making a U-turn, I floored it, thinking I would be able to out run him. As I topped a small hill, I saw a dirt road and decided I would be able to be out of his sight before he knew I turned. I slammed on the brakes and was about to make the turn to the dirt road when my car stalled right in the middle of the highway. I kept trying to get it started, but the officer was on me within a few seconds. I finally got the car started and moved it to the shoulder. He asked me, “You weren’t trying to outrun me, were you?” I said, “No, my car just stalled.” Luckily I just got a speeding ticket and not a citation for trying to evade a police officer.
Speeding Ticket Number 2
I got my next ticket on Feburary 14, 1980. I was on my way home to Luck, Wisconsin for the weekend from my first year at college at Stout – University of River Falls. I was giving a fellow classmate a ride to his home near St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin. We were minding our own business, listening to rock music on my 8-track player when I saw the red lights flashing. I was shocked he pulled me over because my speedometer showed I was only going a couple miles over the speed limit. He said I was going 72 MPH in a 55 MPH zone! I argued a bit with the officer and said, “I’ll see you in court!”
When I got to Luck, I arranged for someone on the Luck police force to do a radar run for me while I drove 55 MPH. He told me it registered 71 MPH! After some thought, I realized I had just had a new transmission put in the car in the summer of 1979. I went to the mechanic, who ran a dynamometer test. Turns out the problem was a plastic gear was installed with the incorrect ratio that improperly showed my actual speed. Which means for about 8 months I was constantly speeding and did not know it!
I tried to fight the ticket in court in Hudson, Wisconsin on March 26, 1980 with the excuse that it was a mechanical error, But I was not well prepared to defend myself. The judge said regardless of the improper plastic gear ratio, I should have known I was speeding. Because the ticket showed I was over the speed limit by 17 MPH, three points were taken from my license and I had to attend a ‘driver improvement course’ in Balsam Lake, Wisconsin. The entire experience cost me over $150.
