Pulled Over

Recently, I went to Micky D's on U.S. 27 S., just south of Lakeview. Well, after I got my $2 food, I was promptly pulled over for making the right hand turn and across into the u-turn lane. Sounds okay to me, it says "right turn only" and I went right. So why did I get a $139 ticket? The officer said I was going into oncoming traffic. Huh? Not possible! There's a median strip; everyone does this every hour of every day!

He actually said that if you look up his service record, he's pulled countless people over for that very thing. The point is, no one was coming, and no one was hurt or even scared. Well, as explained to me, you must go to the next intersection (down by Sweetbay) and only then make a u-turn (even if you're going north.)

Now, we all know everyone is hurting for money and that includes the fine police department and all their hard work and budget cuts and all. But come on, are you kidding? We've all seen so many stupid people on the highway! Why don't they pull over the people who blast their music so loud that they couldn't hear a siren if it were behind them? And how about those people who make the right on red, before they stop? The ones who don't get out of the way for an ambulance? I don't see them getting tickets.

I hope McDonald's hears about this nonsense. I wonder how they would like it if they knew it affects their major consumers, like me. I think I'll not go back there for a while, unless I want to travel another mile up the road and then back for a burger; kind of takes the fast and cheap out of fast-cheap food.

To make matters worse, I could go to court and fight this injustice, but if I should lose, it could cost me another $500. Then of course there's the traffic school ($35,) so I don't get the 3 points on my otherwise unblemished record and the ensuing insurance hike if I don't. We've all got a lot of problems right now with trying to pay the mortgage and avoid foreclosure, etc., and now this? Going for fast food, $174; priceless.

Feel free to check this out yourself. Even if you go through the drive-thru, you still have to go all the way south half a mile to go back to your north office. Also, you might try going from Sparta to Publix-BP station. Everyone goes that way too. I guess that's an offense now also? Oh, and one more thing, why do all the stop lights change when there are no cars coming? Everyone wants us to save fuel and be "green," but as soon as you get up to speed, there's a stop light. There has been an article about that before, but that's another subject.

Donna Sahely
Sebring