This crazy country

In January I received a speeding fine. This would have been no surprise in the past, but since having children I have been considerably more responsible and consciously try and drive within the speed limit. Anyway, a traffic cop was trapping on a road on my way back from TopTots of all places and stopped me. Yip I received a fine, not on a highway, but on a back road in good old suburbia. I was pregnant with Nina at the time and had Amy with me in the car. I can’t handle things like this. Not sure why. Maybe it is the perceived authority figure – the uniform – and being crapped on by the perceived authority figure. Whatever it is my immediate reaction is to want to burst into tears and that is exactly what I usually do. Anyway, said cop did not take pity on me, oh no, he wrote his fine out quite happily. I was going 77 in what he said was a 60 zone. (in my opinion there should not be such a thing as a 60 zone. Who can possibly drive at that speed???) I said I thought it was an 80 zone and he said no, it was a 60 zone despite there being no signs anywhere to indicate this. I genuinely did think that it was an 80 zone and guess what, just 1 week later, three signs showing 80 were put up. So, I decided I would argue the point. I don’t have the money to waste on fines and I really do think I was not in the wrong. Weeks passed, I had other things on my mind, I had a baby and in that time I totally forgot about the whole thing. Then on Sunday, Craig finds the fine and shows me how I had a summons to appear in court on the 4th and of course didn’t. I panicked and had visions of being arrested and carted off to share a jail cell with prostitutes and the like. Actually in this country, prostitutes would be the least of my worries. Anyway, I was frantic as I don’t like to disobey the law, so I got out my summons and called the number on the back. After 3 calls and an hour of being passed from one department to another I finally managed to speak to the relevant person in charge of fines. I must say this – the traffic department employees were all very friendly.  So, I talk to this lovely lady and tell her my story in a pleading, begging, innocent-type voice. I quietly pray I won’t have to appear in a court to defend myself or worse, have to pay even more money. Then she says, “Oh, you don’t have to worry the case has been withdrawn.” What? “Oh, “ I say, “Is that because it was an 80 zone after all?” Apparently that was not the reason. Get this. She said that the magistrates have so many cases that if someone doesn’t appear in court often they just throw out the case as they have too many to deal with. (Say, what???) Yes, I heard her correctly and no I don’t have to pay any money at all. It is withdrawn. Gone. Never existed. I am relieved but what kind of system is this??? Moral of the story: Don’t pay your fines, ignore all summons and abstain from appearing in court. In other words – it pays you to disobey the law. Only in this country…

Tagged as: children, country