Previously in the "End of an Era" series: My ticket for uninsured operation of a motor vehicle was less than half of what I was expecting to be fined! All I had to do was maintain my insurance with proof of SR-22, and return to court in December. Simply enough, until...
Part III: Busted in Suburbia.
The First Time
As Fall approached, I received notice that if the Secretary of State didn't receive my proof of SR-22 (which I still don't fully understand what that is other than a certificate of insurance when you've gotten my kind of ticket?) by October 25, my driver's license would be suspended. Obviously, with many suburban obligations, such as my family, school and boyfriend, we couldn't let that happen. Since I'd purchased insurance in May, I was fine. Or so I assumed.
When I went into my insurance office to pay my premium, I showed the lady the letter from Jesse White and she said, "Oh, yeah, we automatically send your insurance information to the state when you start a policy with us."
And to think, I believed her. How naive.
In late August, Shane and I decided to pick up some movies from the library in his neighborhood--it has a better classic, indie, and foreign collection than Blockbuster. His street was under construction but obviously those who live on that block and their visitors can still use the "closed" streets.
We weren't more than a block and a half away from his house when a Glen Ellyn police officer pulled up behind me, flashing lights. I parked at the Jewel-Osco across the street to get out of traffic. "What the hell happened?" I wondered aloud. Did I cut off traffic when I made that left turn?
"I ran your plates because not many cars are supposed to be driving down that street, and when they came up as suspended Chicago plates, that's why I pulled you over."
Plates? Suspended?
That was the first time I heard anything about that.
"Um, all I've received notice of was that my driver's license would be suspended, but the Secretary of State has all my insurance information," I told him.
"Yeah, my computer's showing a pending license suspension, but your plates are definitely suspended right now."
"When I went to court the judge made no mention of my driving privileges! Why didn't he tell me? All I had to do, to my knowledge, was obtain insurance and go back to court in December!"
He wasn't budging--he had to go off of what his database was telling him. To top it off, since I didn't have my driver's license (since the Cook County Court had it) and couldn't find the ticket from Chicago, I was getting two tickets--one for operating a suspended motor vehicle; another for driving without a license.
"But you obviously see in your computer that my plates are suspended...doesn't that show you that I don't have my license until I go back to court?" I argued. Politely.
"I know, but I still need the physical ticket. Your expired license from when you were 16 does nothing for you right now." Thanks, dude. Another conversation going nowhere. And in order for them to not seize and impound my car right then and there, I had to come up with a $100 bond on the spot, which was essentially "a deposit on the $1000 fine for operating a suspended vehicle." That way, they'd "know" I'd show up to my court date.
I don't carry that much cash on me, obviously. "Well, can your friend here go to the ATM here at Jewel?" The cop suggested. "I don't know if you trust him or not, but if you do, you can give him your pin and have him get the money for you. You'll have to stay in the car." As though I drive around with people I don't trust. As though I was going to run away...on foot...in the suburbs. Whatever.
So Shane ran to the Bank of America across the street with my debit card. It was literally right across and half a block down from where I was parked, but he had to walk an entire block east to cross at the light so as to not jaywalk in front of the cops. Lol.
He returned with the cash five minutes later, I gave it to the officer, and he went to his squad car. He returned a moment later to say, "I'm sorry, but since you don't have your license or ticket on you, the fine is actually tripled. It'll be $300 on a $3,000 fine, so I'll need another $200." He showed me the rule in his little white notebook. Dumb rookie.
Fuck. My eyes welled up with tears. "Do you have that money, Char?" Shane asked. Yeah, I did. As though it wasn't hard enough to part with that initial hundred. I had the cash, but school was starting up in two weeks and I had a nice balance to pay--that money was going toward that. But I had no choice. Shane made the run again, up and down the street to the BOA. I was pissed. $3000?
On top of all this, the officers told me they had to search my car in the parking lot.
Thankfully I'd recently had my Jetta's interior cleaned so there wasn't much to dig through, but I did have my bowl in my purse. "You don't have anything on you, do you?" Shane asked, nervously, while the officer was back in his squad car.
"My bowl's in my bag!" I whispered frantically. "But it's well-hidden. There isn't any weed anywhere in the car though. What should I do? Should I put my bowl in my pants? Are they gonna search my purse?"
"No, no, it's okay," he reassured me. "Just leave the bowl in your purse and hold onto it when they start searching."
It was so annoying. As Shane and I stood to the side about 15 feet away, they put on black gloves and looked in every crevice and corner. The interior was pretty clean but my trunk was full of clothes, shoes, old CD cases, a VCR...they had a lot to shuffle through but didn't go too into depth in that area.
Finally, we had to drive and follow the officers to the Glendale Heights police station to sign some shit that I posted bond or would appear in court or whatever. "You should be fine to drive for now since I already addressed the issue and you have these tickets, but call the state and your insurance company ASAP to find out what's going on."
"Thanks," I said dejectedly as we left the premises.
"Aw, damn! You said 'thanks' to him," Shane told me. Rar. I totally shouldn't have.
What a hassle! I was so pissed for the rest of the day. We still went ot the library and got the movies, though. ;)
The Second Time.
Not two weeks later in September, I was back in Glen Ellyn hanging with Shane as I did so often this past summer. I had gone to my insurance company earlier that week, only to find out that they did NOT add SR-22 to my insurance and had NOT sent my information to the Secretary of State. "Yeah, we haven't sent anything to them because you didn't tell us you needed SR-22," the lady said.
I wanted to slap her.
"When I called initially for insurance, I TOLD the guy that I had been pulled over for driving without insurance," I explained. "That was the reason why I started the policy! I TOLD him I needed SR-22. I've been through this before--I know what to ask for!" Nope, they had done no such thing. I never asked for it.
So I started a new policy with them, this time with SR-22, and I received a letter shortly thereafter from the state saying they'd received my mandatory insurance information. So I was good, right?
No.
One Sunday night when I was departing to Chicago, I was pulled over a-fucking-gain by the bored-ass Glen Ellyn police...not one block from Shane's house.
I explained the situation and why it should have been rectified. Showed him the paperwork. No dice. This time, probably since it was late, they didn't search my car. He asked if I had the $100 bond, and I really didn't, nor did I have a "trusted passenger" this time. He said, "Okay, I'll just have you sign this that you will appear in court then." The fuck? Why didn't I have that option last time?
"I have to go to another court date for this same issue?" I asked. "The officer who pulled me over in September said I'd be okay since the 'matter had already been addressed.'" Nope. Two court dates. And fines, I was guessing, of maybe $4000?
I drove home that night, cursing the damn suburban police who had nothing better to do but run random license plates of vehicles parked on the neighborhood streets.
Stay tuned for part IV: all the dramz of how the suburban court appearances went down...
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