OHHH how I LOVE Cops...

I was debating whether or not I should write a post about this, so here it goes...

Last week my roommates wanted to get lunch at McDonalds and asked if I could drive them. McDonalds is just up the street, so I said I would. I wasn't in the mood to eat fast food, but I took them anyway. Julie works at the PCC and needed to be at work by 1 pm and it was about 12:15 when we left. While we were at McDonalds, Julie remembered she needed to pick up her dance tickets at the Aloha Center (at school) and HAD to get them before she went to work so she asked if I could drive her to school first and then take her to work. Laie is a small town, so it wasn't a big deal. As we're leaving McDonalds, I turned left onto the main road, Kam Hwy, and drove for all of 3 seconds before the car in front of me decides to turn left. Well, I was kind of in a hurry because I wanted to get Julie to work on time and I didn't want to wait for this car to turn left. For those of you who haven't been to this island, up on the North Shore where I live there is only ONE LANE each direction so traffic can hold up A TON of people when they're turning, etc. (Later I thought about this and shouldn't have cared because it wasn't ME that was going to be late for work, but I'm a nice person I guess). So I did what EVERYBODY does on this island and went around the car on the right hand side, therefore slightly driving in the bike lane so I could get around it and continue driving. Literally, everyone does it, you just can't get caught.

GUESS WHO WAS SITTING DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET?!?!

I "illegally" went around a car who was turning right in front of a cop. Lights are flashing and I pull over. I'm really, really, really mad at myself. Funny thing is, I thought I saw the cop sitting there ON MY WAY to McDonalds, but I conveniently forgot that leaving the place. Typical.

Officer walks up to my window, big Hawaiian dude, and it went like this:

Officer: "I need your license, registration, and insurance please."
Lindsay: (Handing over the documents and smiling) Sumbel and Julie, my roommates, are all nervous.

Officer: (Looking at my documents & my license picture I'm sure) "Do you know what you did wrong?"
Lindsay: "Yes."

Officer: (Surprised) "You do?"
Lindsay: "Yes."

Officer: "You don't have insurance?"
Lindsay: "Yes I do."

Officer: "According to your insurance card, it expired April 16th."
Lindsay: (Panicking) "Really? I had no idea. But I know I have insurance. I wouldn't drive without it."

Officer: (Sarcastically) "REEEALLLY? Well your insurance card says you don't have insurance. How do I know you have it?"
Lindsay: "I know I have it because I pay it monthly. I just haven't gotten the new card yet."

Officer: "It's May 29th. Your insurance card expired April 16th. You've had over a month to get your new insurance card."
Lindsay: "I'm sorry, I don't know what to tell you. My Dad hasn't mailed me the new card yet."

Officer: (Confused) "What do you mean?"
Lindsay: "My mailing address is in AZ and everything is mailed to my parents. My Dad hasn't mailed me the new insurance card."

Officer: "You know it's a $1,000 fine driving an automobile without proof of insurance in Hawaii, right?"
Lindsay: (Eyes are HUGE) "REALLY?! Wow, that's a lot of money. Nope, didn't know that."

Officer: "I'll be right back."

OK, at this point I am PISSED (excuse my language) at my own Father. How could he not mail me my car insurance card?! You see, I don't pay for my car insurance. My kind parents decided they would help me out with my car insurance when I bought my car last October, so I had no idea when it expired. It's not every day I check my glove box and make sure everything is current. I could NOT believe this was happening!! Are you kidding me?! I'm frantically calling my Dad as the officer is writing me up and he doesn't answer. I CALLED 5 TIMES, and got his voice mail EVERY TIME. Then I try calling my Mom, who is in Chicago with her friend Christy. She doesn't answer. I'm even MORE mad.

Julie was in the back seat of my car, totally silent. Sumbel was asking me a million questions. I was mad, nervous, irritated, ALL OF THE ABOVE! The officer walks back up to the car.

Officer: "I'll let you go on the insurance, but you better have your Dad mail you your proof of insurance in case you get pulled over again. I did write you up for driving on the shoulder of the road. You have 21 days to pay your ticket."
Lindsay: "Thank you."

Thank you?! Why am I thanking him for writing me up? Then again, he let me go for not having insurance. That was HUGE! Then the officer wants to chat...

Officer: "Looks like you don't have to change your driver's license until 2049. How old are you in your picture?"
Lindsay: "15."

Officer: (Smiling and all) "You might want to change your picture before 2049."

And then he walks away. My ticket was ONLY $97. I was surprised because AZ tickets seem higher. I guess it depends on the violation. I started thinking 'Man, I could put gas in my car 2 1/2 times with that money. What a waste.'

My Dad FINALLY calls me 30 minutes after the whole thing happened. I told him I got pulled over and what I did. He said what I thought he would, "LINDSAY, why would you do that?" I gave him my usual daughter response and said, "Dad, you don't understand. EVERY ONE does it." Nice. But it's true, everyone does do it. It just stinks I got caught. THEN, I tell him my insurance expired. He was like, "Oh." Almost like his brain was processing what I just told him. Haha! I think he was worried for me for just a minute.

My Dad is A LOT like me. We like to resolve things quickly. He was on the phone with the insurance company soon after we hung up and about 20 minutes later, he calls me and tells me the insurance company sent me an email of my insurance card. Thanks Dad!!