I got a speeding ticket from an Arcadia policeman Friday morning. It’s going to be a big one because I was driving well in excess of the posted limit; only for about two seconds, mind you, and there was little traffic and no pedestrians or school kids. I was running late to meet a half-dozen people sitting on a city shuttle bus waiting for me to join them so we could be driven to Long Beach, so I came around a corner and stepped in the gas just long enough to get around a slow car.
Scott Hettrick
Guess what; none of those excuses matter. For one of the first times in my life, I did not take umbrage at getting stopped and didn’t try to talk my way out of it. Nope, I clearly deserved it and I was, strangely, almost comforted by getting stopped. Since I have a full-time job right here in Arcadia, as well as this community news web site, and since I sit on the boards of several local groups, I do a lot of darting around town every day (sometimes I ride my bike — sure wish I had done so Friday!). In recent weeks I’ve caught myself noticing that I almost never see a police car roaming around the streets as much as I used to. I know the police are very busy doing their job keeping our crime low in town, especially major crimes, but I had begun to wonder if they still patrol streets or sit in one spot with a radar gun watching for speeders or drivers who don’t stop at intersections.
I got my answer Friday. The officer was at a curb facing the opposite direction I was traveling and said his radar alerted him the instant I accelerated above the speed limit. (I don’t think he was even sitting at the curb for that purpose – just my good luck.) So, while I don’t like getting a speeding ticket or paying the fine or getting the points or figuring out and taking the time to do the driving school, it’s good to know the APD is still out there on the streets reminding people like me that the way to get to an appointment on time is by leaving earlier, not by driving faster.
— By Scott Hettrick