Fast Fiction

LA Blog’s LA Insight was conceived by lil’ ol me. Mostly because I know we all have stories. Man, do we have stories.

1. Have you ever been ticketed for a moving violation?

Yes. Once. Running a red light. Going down Beverly Blvd. through Beverly Hills to work back in ‘96. He got me dead to rights as I blew through a stoplight that changed from yellow to red.

2. Have you ever been able to talk your way out of a ticket (just getting a warning)?

I was stopped one other time, New Year’s Eve in (I think) 1988 up in Arcata, CA. I was on my way to a party by myself and sat at a stoplight (one of only two in town) and when it turned green I went. A cop was sitting opposite me in the left turn lane and swung a U-ie and pulled me over. He said I ran the light. I was just puzzled (honestly puzzled, not talking my way out of it or anything) and said, “Why would I sit there through most of the cycle and then blow through it? It obviously turns green on my side before yours because of the left turn lane.” He kind of stammered and asked if I’d been drinking (I didn’t drink back then.) and sent me on my way.

3. Have you ever fought a traffic ticket?

Nope. I’ve wanted to fight parking tickets before, but it seems that the law of diminishing returns dictates that my time is worth more than the price of the ticket.

4. How did you fulfill your traffic school requirement?

I went to Chocoholics traffic school over at Rose’s in Venice. The teacher was an ass (we got into an arguement about gun laws), but was an otherwise painless experience.

5. Have you ever gotten a parking ticket? Did you fight it?

I’ve gotten two parking tickets in the last 13 years. I didn’t have a car before then. One was for parking the first week I lived in LA in Venice - the meter had NOT expired, yet the meter maid insisted that we’d already parked on that block (we’d not, but I suppose it was easy to confuse my light blue Camry with the 22 million other light blue Camrys back then). The other ticket was in Glendale for an expired meter. I’m paranoid about getting parking tickets so I try really hard not to get them.

6. How much do you think youíve spent in your lifetime on tickets?

Both parking & that one moving violation including the fee for traffic school - probably $500.

7. Have you been ticketed in other cities/states/countries? How does that experience compare?

Well, being stopped that one time up in Arcata. I was once picked up for curfew violation when I was in college too. That was weird, because it was 2AM and I was only 17, so I suppose I wasn’t allowed to be out. But then again, I was in college and not living at home anymore (hell, not even living in the same state/time zone as my folks.)

8. If you had it to do all over again, whatís the one thing you would have done differently when it came to a run in with The Man?

Well, I think that running that light was probably good for me. It’s good for everyone to have a little dose of the system if you don’t hurt anyone else.