The State of Texas Vs. Me

A WHILE AGO I got a ticket for not wearing my lap belt. Lucky me—I was riding in a friend's old Corolla, in which the passenger seat has separate lap and sash belts. The unjust part of the whole affair is that, while we were parked at a red light, the policeman walked over to us from a nearby gas station, from where he could not have seen that I was not wearing my lap belt. Initially he asked for my friend's license, but upon realizing that she was all buckled up, he asked for my license.

As much as I complain about it, I don't mind defensive driving. I'm taking the American Safety Council's Texas Safe Motorist Course, an online course. Not only does it dismiss my ticket, it also makes me snicker. Here are just a couple reasons why.

Imagine running as fast as you can - into a wall. You'd expect to get pretty banged up. Do you think you could stop yourself if the wall suddenly loomed up when you were two feet away from it? This is exactly the situation you face when the front of your car hits something at only 15 miles an hour.

Children can manipulate their pliable little bodies out of car seats and, emulating adults as they love to do, shift the vehicle out of PARK.