The Big Ticket

Since I moved to California in 1991, all the cars I drove were registered out of state. And for the majority of that time, I didn't have car insurance. I tried to be very careful when I drove. Anytime I got pulled over, I was basically let off with a fix-it ticket or a warning. I always swore to the officer I would get the car registered and insured, but I never did.

One day, I went to pay my electric bill in this shopping center at 54th St. and El Cajon Blvd. This was something I did on a monthly basis. There's a great place to make a left turn out of the parking lot so you can go north on 54th. However, there's a sign telling you that you can only make a right turn. But if you make that right turn, you have to drive down about a quarter-mile before you can make a U-turn and head the opposite direction. It made no sense to go through all that, especially when there was no traffic in either direction. (But if there was heavy traffic going north, I would follow the law and make the right turn.)

This particular day, I made the left turn onto 54th. Afterward, I turned left onto El Cajon Blvd. Then I heard the blare of a police motorcycle. I pulled over. I knew that all the luck I'd had up to this point had run out. I was going to have to pay dearly for this. (I am aware that this was a trap, but I'd never been caught before nor had seen anyone pulled over before.)

I gave the officer my registration and ID. I told him I didn't have insurance. He told me I wasn't allowed to make a left turn there. The next thing I knew, a pick up truck pulled up next to the cop and two men inside told him about some kind of emergency that was taking place about a block away. I figured this for what it was: They were trying to get him to stop giving me the ticket and check out the issue. He thanked them and they drove off. He continued writing out the ticket. I knew I was not going to be that lucky.

So I was going to have to get a smog check, register my vehicle, get insurance and pay a fine in order for me to continue to drive my car. The smog check and the insurance were easy. Registering my vehicle was going to be more difficult because the DMV at the time was illegally charging a $400 fee for out of state vehicles. Even though it had been proven to be illegal, they continued to collect it.

I was determined to do this without turning to my parents. Even though I got an advance on my pay, I was still stuck owing a lot of money that all had to be paid by a certain date. I resorted to something I thought I would never do: I went to Kelz to ask if she would loan me the money. She had just started getting Welfare and since she didn't have to pay for housing expenses, she could temporarily spare the cash. I was very thankful.

My last step was to go to the courthouse and pay the fine. It was a very long line. There were several windows and you had to wait for the next available employee so you could pay your fine. It seemed like every person took 15 minutes at each window. I got to the front of the line where I would be next. I saw a transaction finish up at a window. I prepared to go up. The employee closed his window. I had to wait another 15 minutes before someone else's window was available. The thing that made me mad was that my business wound up only taking five minutes. Why didn't anybody else take as short a time?

But it didn't matter. I was legally free and clear to continue driving. I didn't have to be on hyperalert anymore. I could drive and not worry about getting pulled over because my car was registered and I had insurance.

The next day, I was driving home from work along 5th Ave. While I was slowly proceeding north with my window rolled down, a police officer got my attention and told me to pull over because I had been caught speeding on their radar. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! I JUST THREW A BUNCH OF CASH INTO THIS AND NOW I HAVE TO PAY MORE?

I handed him my ID, registration and proof of insurance, which were all nice and legal now. He went away and came back a few minutes later. "I'm going to let you off with a warning!" "Oh, thank you!" WHEW!

As for that illegal $400 DMV fee, a couple of years later, the court ordered the state to refund all the money it had collected. Even though I no longer had the car, I still had the receipts associated with the change in registration and was able to get that money back with interest.

But I never did pay Kelz back her money.