Legality is Best!

I have not always made smart decisions and back in 2004 I had some traffic violations for expired registration and no insurance. I had arranged to make payments to the courts (yes, plural) for my fines and in my state of utter destitute, I missed a few. During this time I had moved quite a few times and did not receive my summons to appear in court. Evidently when I failed to appear there was a "FTA" warrant placed on me. Last year when I went to renew my driver's license I discovered that it had been suspended for 2 years. Whoops. I then made the plan to use my "Economic Stimulus Package" check to pay my fines and reinstate my license. Due to some unfortunate tax ridiculousness, I ended up not getting the stimulus package. I was definitely living on borrowed time and everything caught up to me at the end of June. I'm going to spare you the details, but it was not fun or pretty. The circumstances made it so that because of extremely trustworthy and willing parents, I was able to take care of everything at once. I have always been a considerate driver and have excellent cop-spotting eyes. I have had several people ask me in the last few weeks if I feel better now that everything is taken care of. I usually responded that it was no different except that I didn't have to dart into cemetaries to avoid law enforcement. *see disclaimer I have also noticed something however, I have become a more aggressive driver. I was so pre-occupied with avoiding law enforcement that I never broke the speed limit, I always let people in and I was a much more courteous driver. Since obtaining legality I have been less cautious. It does feel great to drive down the city streets and not fear being detained and possibly jailed. But I do miss not having road rage.

* I do not recommend ever letting something turn into a warrant, or thinking you can evade the law forever. Prompt repsonse should be the ONLY option. The way things played out was ENTIRELY my own fault and I take full responsibility for it. I used to say that the only thing I would ever change about my life to this point was that I wish I had taken better advantage of my education. I now add to it that I wish I had not let things get as bad as they did. It may make a great story, but it is not a proud one, nor one I would EVER wish on someone else. Please drive responsibly and remember that you are not the only one on the road.