Traffic Violation ticket…

I had my driver’s license with me for over a year and a half now. I had my baby steps in driving here in Manila but I learned most of the driving rules and laws in the US for over a year that I worked there. I never got a ticket for traffic violation. Not until last weekend.

I’d always thought my first ticket would be decent enough that I can say “Yeah, why did I do that?” but no…I’m more dumbfounded by my first ticket.

It was a Saturday evening when I drove out of a parking lot. It is a two-way street but there are no cars in the opposite direction. I saw a no left turn sign with some small scribbles below it on the left corner of the intersection to a two-way street. My instinct is to turn right carefully not to hit the parked cars in the corner.

Then it happened. I metro police hailed me at the side of the street and told me I just turned on a no right turn corner. I said, “What?! But there’s a no left turn on that corner, not a no right turn sign.” Apparently, the metro police told me that the no left turn sign has a note below ‘7AM-4pm’. Another sign – a no right turn – is on the other corner with a note below ‘4PM-9PM’.

How brilliant!!! Who would have thought that there is such a thing? I would not have missed it if both signs were on the same corner of the street one on top of the other and have the time written in large typefaces. I didn’t see the sign because I was driving a low-body Toyota Corolla while a parked van covered the sign. Geesh, it seems like these traffic enforcers wanted me to violate the sign on purpose. Several cars got stopped and apparently they just enjoyed hailing each one of them. They seem to be happy to get a quota of traffic tickets issued for the night. How convenient.

It would have been acceptable for me to have my first traffic ticket if I was the only one they issued tickets for the violation but 3 or 4 cars when I was there? It seems like these enforcers don’t want to teach drivers and go out of their way to make sure every driver sees the no right turn sign.

Sigh! Too bad for me that became my first traffic ticket. How about any of you? What was your first traffic violation? Was it as crazy as I have?