Going for speed

I spent yesterday morning in traffic court. That was fun. Apparently, they don't really like it when you go 86 miles per hour in a 65 zone, even if it is the middle of nowhere. Plus, in Virginia, anything over 80 mph is automatically reckless driving. Joy.

So, charged with reckless driving, I had to appear before a judge. I had to wait for 2.5 hours for a gazillion other people to do the same thing. A lot of them were getting their charges reduced to improper driving and just having to do traffic school. Some were there for possession of marijuana and DUI! Those are not the same thing as a first time reckless driving offense, thank you very much. I spent the entire time I was sitting there thinking either Can we be done yet? or Oh crap, I'm going to jail! The judge was a kindly older gentleman who was being very nice to these people, even the ones who clearly had no idea what was going on. He'd give them their punishment and send them on their way.

Until it was my turn.

Judge: "You've been charged with reckless driving for speeding."

Me: "Yes, your honor."

Judge: "How do you intend to plead?"

Me: What? EVERYONE else got reduced charges. Fine. "Guilty, your honor."

Judge: "86 in a 65. You need to slow down. That's almost the speed where you could face jail time. You keep speeding like this, you're going to lose your license pretty quick."

Me: *wide-eyed* "Mm-hmm."

Judge: "Traffic school and court fees, logistics blah, blah, blah"

Me: *sideways glance at the officer who caught me* "Thank you, your honor."

And then I got the heck out there.

Since I was 1) The only white woman in the court room and 2) The only woman dressed quite nicely, I felt like the reason I got the only lecture I'd heard all day was because he saw me as some spoiled little rich girl or something, which is far from the truth.

However, the opinion that everyone else has is that I'm the only one whose future is salvageable. The druggies aren't going to quit, but if I slow down, that's one life saved.

I haven't gone over 80 in weeks.

The court fees were $72, and I can take the 8 HOUR TRAFFIC SCHOOL online for about $50. It could have been way worse, and I'm immensely grateful for that.

Fittingly, I ended my day by seeing Speed Racer with Princess. The movie = Good summer fun! Traffic court = Completely the opposite.