Jul 08 2008
The road hazard
Driving home from the Berkshires on the scenic Taconic Parkway, or Route 66 as the locals call it. Golfer got a ticket, from the town of Ghent. He was doing 74 on a 55 speeding zone. Taconic Pky is very pretty with part of it being winding, which the 55 state limit warrants it. But part of it are wide open where 65 should applied - that’s why Golfer is going 70. The lucky cop caught 3 of us. Not bad for half an hour of work. He asked if Golfer has any points on his license for the past 18 months. I failed to see the point: would he give the ticket depending on this? Can’t he check this simple fact in his car? Not equipped? After long write up in his car, he came back and mentioned (spoke nicely, decent diction) that there will be points.
Call it cost of living, road hazard or luck of the draw. The speed limit in the US is outrageously low. Given the advancements of the auto industry, cars have improved over the years. The speed limit should loosen accordingly. Should anyone drive 55 on a highway, it will either slow the traffic or cause an accident: this is the joke of it. Everyone drives above the speed limit. The NJ governor almost died from it. I understand that those cops do need to make a living. Just not the happy ending we were expecting at the end of a lovely vacation.
Now we need to hire a lawyer. S/he will have to appear in court, would try to have this reduced from moving violation to parking so there would be no points, just a fine. Money keeps the world go around, the local economy booming .. hence every one’s happy, 
..