"Everybody gets one and this was my one"

About 15 years ago I was driving out of Spencer WV towards Ripley. With me was my lady friend who also happened to be my doctor at one time.  I had driven this road a thousand times because I had lived in Spencer many years earlier.  It was a bright sunny day and the traffic was very light. There are a few straight stretches along this road,  and I knew where they were.  I was driving my 2004 Mazdaspeed.  This was the Miata's big bother. It was the first turbocharged "Miata" that Mazda made, but it was NOT a Miata in any way.  It was set up from the factory for racing, with not only the turbocharger, but race suspension,  special tires, wheels, and brakes.  The car was SO different from a Miata that most Mazda dealers weren't allowed to work on them. Only an official Mazdaspeed dealer could work on the car while it was under warranty.  Even the cars registration said "Mazdaspeed", and this name was all over the car.  No one seemed to know exactly how fast the car would go at first, so I was about to find out..... I owned the very last Mazdaspeed made that year: 4000 out of 4000

So there we were, having a nice drive with the top down on a sunny day.  About halfway between Spencer and Ripley, I decided to open her up.  Now, I was never a speed demon on the highway, but I DID love to take the curves much faster than the sign said was safe.  ( I wore out expensive tires very fast.)  But on this day, something out of the blue told me to open her up, and so I did.

As we entered the straight stretch, I floored the pedal. Quickly we got up to 125  MPH.  When we hit 130, I started calling out the speed to my friend who's telling me to go faster faster.  So I called out "132... 133.... 134...  And right about then I saw there was a slight rise in the road that I couldn't see over.  As we topped the rise, wouldn't you know it... A STATE TROOPER GOING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION PASSED US!

The last number I called out to my friend was 134 MPH.  Assuming the Trooper was doing the speed limit of 55,  you can just imagine how fast we passed each other.  I looked in my rear view mirror to see the Troopers lights already on.  Now, I had two choices:  Outrun the Trooper.... or pull over.  I hit the brakes and immediately pulled over on the left side of the road, which was the only place I could stop.  I told my friend that I was caught dead to rights and would have to take my punishment.  We sat there for what seemed several minutes, because the Trooper had to find a place to turn around on that 2 lane road and head back to me.  He finally showed up.

SO HERE'S HOW THE CONVERSATION WENT: Trooper:  License, registration and insurance please. Me:  Here you go sir, I had it all ready for you. After a couple of minutes after checking my paperwork,  the Trooper returns: Trooper:  Mr Xxxx,  you were going pretty fast weren't you? Me:  Yes sir, I was. Trooper:  Well, you KNOW you cant drive that fast! Me: Yes sir, I know.  It was such a nice day and traffic was light and I just decided to open her up a little. Trooper:  Mr Xxxx I clocked you at 133 MPH! Me: Well, I had just called out to her (pointing to my friend) that we were doing 134, but I wont argue about 1 MPH. (At that point I almost saw a smile on his face ) Trooper:  I also noticed that you weren't wearing your seat belt. Me: No sir, when you're going that fast, you want to thrown CLEAR of the wreck. Can you imagine being upside down in this car with no roll bar? Let me stop here for a second and explain something. When you're going that fast, there's no point in lying about it.  You might as well tell the truth instead of "Oh sorry, I didn't know I was going that fast. At those speeds, you BOTH know that it would be a lie, and anyone going that fast KNOWS they're going that fast!  Besides, I was a little insulted that he had clocked me a mile slower than I felt I was going, because this is a MAZDASPEED!  SPEED IS IN THE NAME!  Hahaha.....  Fortunately for me, this was an older Trooper.  He appeared to be about our age. Had he been some young guy trying to make Brownie Points with his superiors, I can guarantee the outcome would have been completely different. We talked for a few minutes, telling him a little about ourselves and where we were from etc.  Finally he says: Trooper:  Mr. Xxxx,  let me tell you how I work:  First, I look at the vehicle, including the tires to see what shape it's in. Obviously your vehicle was made for high speeds.  Then I look at the driver.  Is he really young?  Is he sober?  Then I look at the road conditions.  Today is a sunny day with light traffic.  After taking all those things into account, I make my decision. At the speeds you were going, I could easily impound your car and lock you up.  But I'm not going to do that. I saw you hit your brakes and pull over and wait for me.  If I had to chase you, I would have added another charge and locked you up.  You don't know how important it is for a Trooper to NOT have to chase someone if we can avoid it.  You also didn't try to come up with some lame excuse as to why you were driving that fast. You told the truth knowing very well that you were in trouble,  so here's what I'm going to do: The new law states that if I stop someone for multiple moving traffic violations,  I can reduce that violation to the lessor charge. I'm going to write you a ticket for no seat belt.  ( what he's doing in the photo )  But I don't ever want to see you speeding in Jackson County again OK? Me:  Yes sir!   I  really appreciate the break.   You'll never see me speeding again! So I sent the fine in to the Jackson County court and they actually sent me a $10 refund. AS I SAID IN THE BEGINNING, EVERYBODY GETS ONE, AND THIS WAS MINE. Today, I drive a car that wont even get out of its own way, and at my age now, that's fine with me.  I had my fun, and lived to talk about it.

We did learn that the car would do at least 134, and I still had a lot of pedal left

Photo taken in Roane County

What a great car it was...... and now I understand the car is in Florida.

jerry @ mywvhome.com

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