Traffic Cops:Love Them / Hate Them, But They Save Lives!

Encounter in the dark!

" Geez-a-lou, I am glad it's not me! " was my first thought when I drove home from Edlitz last night and happened upon a traffic check. My second thought was; " Do I have to stop or not? " which I combined with an automatic touch of the brake pedal.

Gosh, it was only late afternoon, yet it was already pitch black and could easily have been mistaken for the middle of the night. In fact the only reason that I noticed the Police, was that their protective night clothing lit up like the landing strip at the airport.

There were at least three of them ( a bit of a riddle to decipher the reflective strips all over their bodies ) and they obviously had stopped a driver. I could see all the activity on the right side pavement up ahead. But what to do?

Just in case, I was crawling along at no more than 30 kph. Speed limits are 50 kph, but what if they wanted me to stop? They were stationed about 50 meters ahead of me and I felt like a headless chicken. Should I slow down, speed up or pull over?

Diligently I kept my eyes peeled for a reflective wave in my direction. Would they actually wave me in, or is it expected that I stop regardless? I slowed down to a stalling speed and turned my head right in case they grew bored with their current prey and shifted their focus on me. Silly me, I even considered rolling down the window and asking whether they wanted a peep at my particulars. Yes right, a slightly blonde move!

Once I crawled past them, I have to admit that I kept on checking the rear view mirror. Oh and of course I drove with the slow motion care of a newly licensed driver...

Let me know how you react when you see a traffic check up ahead!

Biggi