As the More is More Mom®, I’m all about…….more mother/son Defensive Driving Basics! I knew he’d be right behind me, his bright lights flashing, the minute I saw the police car sitting on the side of the road. He clocked me going 17 miles over the speed limit. The moment we saw him, Nick was prodding me to turn down a side street, so both of us could jump out of the car, insisting that if the officer couldn’t prove which one of us was in the driver’s seat, he couldn’t issue a ticket. This sounded like an urban legend to me and, besides, evading the police is always a bad idea of colossal proportion. No, I pulled over and took my medicine…..a speeding ticket.
My Nick, having had his driver’s license for 2 ½ years, has gotten two tickets. The first was a speeding ticket (apple/tree). I believe that the second, a moving violation for an “improper lane change,” was a totally trumped up charge. While Nick is over 18, he was blessed with youthful good looks. At a glance, he could be taken for 15. At 11pm, I’m sure the police officer thought he was under age and felt compelled to issue a citation after he went through all the trouble of pulling him over. Until he can grow a beard, my suggestion to Nick is BE HOME EARLY!
Accompanying Nick to traffic court reminded me of my first ticket. Back in the olden days, when you never had to tell your parents anything, my high school friend Kathleen joined me at Chicago’s version of: The People’s Court. I was 16, a complete imbecile, and was issued a citation for making a left hand turn between 4-6pm. It was 4:03 in the afternoon. I was a nervous wreck as we waited for Judge Wopner to burst out of his chambers. The judge was very, very nice (though it could have been the mini skirt) and let me off with a warning and no court fees. 27 years ago, that was the Chicago way.
Thankfully, for everyone’s safety, times have changed. Being a city girl, I was imagining that we would arrive at 8am, on a school day, to an actual courthouse. Instead, we found ourselves at a local VFW Hall that doubles by day as traffic court. The judge sat at a banquet table on a platform, while folding chairs made up the gallery. Perhaps a broom closet served as his chambers.
Nick and I waited our turn and eavesdropped as closely as possible to all of the other cases. Because we live in a bubble (we love the bubble), we were surprised by the case of an under age boy who had been issued a citation for being in possession of brass knuckles and cannabis. Nick leaned over, whispering to me, “What’s cannabis?” YES! The say no to drugs campaign seems to be working! $225.00 in court fees, 6 months probation and an online Defensive Driving Course sounded about right.
You know my mantra is more of everything is always better, so why not spending more time together taking our online Defensive Driving Courses? Nick and I fired up our laptops and settled into our basement for 4 ½ hours of the Rules of the Road.
More time together, more road safety, more defensive driving, ……..
More is More Mom 