smoky five-o

As I was driving back home from work going 50 mph in a 45 mph zone, I passed a cop car that was sitting on the median. 2-3 seconds after I passed him, I looked in the rearview mirror and saw that the cop turned on his lights and assumed pursuit mode behind me. Since I was the only car on the road, I knew he was after me. I thought to myself "damn, this guy is going to give me a 5mph+ speeding ticket?"

I pulled over and the cop situated his vehicle behind mine. I got my license and registration ready before the cop got out of his car. As the cop approached my driver's side window, I asked him, "Was I speeding?"

He replied, "Do you know what the speed limit is on the bypass?"

I answered, "Yeah, 45mph...I know I was going 50mph...but..."

He interrupted me and said, "I didn't stop you for speeding."

"Oh", I said, "So..."

He told me that my license plate covers were illegal. He could not tell if my plates were current or not. I told him that I bought the smoky plate covers at Advance Auto store and didn't know that these little suckers were illegal. (that is the truth too, I really didn't know.)

He nodded and said that the smoky plates are for "show" cars only. He said that Advance Auto people really should tell people about the legality of those smoky covers, but he can certainly understand why they don't at the same time. Then he went back to his car to run a check on my driver's license and registration.

As I was waiting for his return, I felt relieved that I was not caught for speeding since I have been "good" for so long. And I thought that I was damn lucky that I had all my windows down or else the cop would probably have also tried to get me for my window tints. phew.

When he came back, I told him that I will remove the covers right away when I get home. He gave me back my license and registration and told me to try to get my money back at Advance Auto Store. I guess he was nice. Personally, I don't think the plate covers I got are dark at all especially in sun light. I think he was just bored. Oh well. I guess I should remove those plate covers today so to give cops one less reason to harrass me.