Hello, It is a trauma to get your first “speeding” ticket. Having driven cars since I was 10, racing an Impala at 15 and then finally being a driver in the Impala for school and teenage activities during high school was a big thing. But the worst thing at the time was that first ticket. It set me back and my mom was mad for me to get a “speeding” ticket. What ticket? A 26 in a 25 school zone. I was driving down Pacific Avenue in Long Beach taking a friend home from school. Pacific was one of those busy streets that was built on the “rectangular block” way those old Long Beach streets were made back then. I knew the turn off for the house was coming up and we were in the commercial area of the street. I saw a sign that said 30 mph, so I made sure I was going lower. There was a parochial school up ahead and we knew it turned into a school zone, which is an automatic 25 mph. So, I was slowing down to 25. But, my passenger called out… that there was a radar sticking out of a car up ahead. So, instantly, I slowed down quickly. But the school zone does not start until we actually got closer to the school grounds, still at least a half a city block ahead. Jnaki But, with the passengers turning to look at the radar as we passed by, perhaps gave the local police emphasis to get out and get those "racing teenagers" for a lesson or two. He pulled me over still a half block away from the school and proceeded to tell me I was going over the speed limit for a school zone. I told him the speed limit a half a block away said 30 mph. He then got mad and said I broke the law and the school zone was on this block. Well, he was getting antsy, so I accepted the ticket and did not say another word. My first “speeding” ticket for 5 miles over the posted a block back speed limit. Note: I thought my first speeding ticket was going to be for a high speed run at the Cherry Avenue Drags location, but for the whole time we were active, we just knew how/when to have fun and where to hide if necessary. YRMV No more tickets throughout high school, but in college, I racked up a couple more in one year of high speed freeway driving to and from our Long Beach house. So, one vacation home from college, I had to go to the DMV for a 3 ticket array, meeting with officials and penalties it gave me. Needless to say, I went the speed limit all the way back to Northern California for the next year and then some. YRMV
My first "speeding" ticket was in a school zone in Las Vegas. At that time in Las Vegas the speed limit was an automatic 15mph in a school zone. I was doing 25. Long story short, they suspended my license 90 days.
From the photo album of my great uncle Lawrence Krettler's travels in the US Navy aboard the USS Altair 1923 - 1933 total mileage 85,020
The Jalopy Journal
