In my quest to maximize the fuel economy I get out of my car, I am trying to reduce the amount that I use the brakes. In this spirit, last night I performed a “rolling stop” at a stop sign (by “rolling” I mean 25mph). It was 11pm in a small Colorado town and I could see for about a mile in either direction. In my defense, if ever there was a time to run a stop sign, this was it. However, as I made my calculated offense, my headlights played across a car that said “Police” on the side. I watched him to a U-turn behind me. I was already on the shoulder by the time his lights came on.

I had a few options. I thought this might be a regular ol’ gun-totin’, McCain-lovin’ police officer, and I could go the route of, “I was just trying to save gas and fight terrorism. USA A-OK! Put a boot in their ass! etc. etc.” However, on the outside chance that this did not work, I would look like a total idiot. I decided to play it more conservatively. The exchange went something like this:

Villain: Do you know why I pulled you over?
(yes, they really do say this)
Hero: I could guess…
Villain:Why?
Hero: I may have failed to stop at that stop sign back there.
Villain: You did not stop. Can you tell me why?
Hero: It is late at night, there is little traffic, and I had a clear view for a good distance in both directions. Under these conditions, I felt it was safe.
Villain:Do you think it is safe to break the law?
Hero:It can be.
Villain:Unfortunately, that is not the case.

As you may have guessed, I take issue with this on several levels:

1. Safety
   The world in an inherently unsafe place. We are taking a risk any time we do anything. We do our best to minimize risk, but nothing is safe. Is running a stop sign safe? No. I coming to a complete stop and then proceeding through a stop sign safe? No. In my view, the amount of additional risk added by not completely stopping at a sign was minimal.
2. Infallibility
   Some people (read: police officers) seem to believe that the law is absolute. That it is correct in every situation. That the letter should be obeyed at all costs. So since what I did was against the law, I should be punished. However, since the police officer who did a u-turn in the middle of an intersection was within the law, he was allowed, even though what he did was arguably much more dangerous by intersecting 3 directions of traffic (to my one) that he did not have a clear view of.
3. Hypocrisy
   I have never seen a police officer come to a complete stop at a stop sign, aside from when the intersection is obstructed by another car. If a police officer was really protecting and serving the public even-handedly, he would spend his entire day writing himself tickets.

So now I have the option of paying $80 (plus a $25 handling fee?!?!) or going to court, having to pay the $105 anyways plus $25 (minimum) court fees and getting an additional 2 points on my license and wasting a day or two in the Erie, CO courthouse. I’ll try to contain myself before this rant spirals out of control.

Final thought: I don’t know if it is worse to have a total jerk cop or one that tries to be nice and smiles to your face while fining you. I had the latter.