20 demerits and $120

Driving back to Wellington on Sunday I got my first ticket since 1999, pulled over for 118 km/hr on the straightest portion of the Desert Road.

The officer I have to say was very friendly and professional. He asked me if there was any reason I was at that speed, and I replied that I wasn’t aware of the exact speed, but was driving at what appeared to be comfortable for the conditions. I mentioned it was a fine day, with little traffic, and a straight road. Also that when conditions were not ideal, such as the sand blowing across the road a few kms north, I slowed down to 30 km/hr. The officer joked that it wasn’t the crime of the century, but said it was outside the tolerance zone.

He also gave me some good advice about how there is a slight downwards slope as you approach Waiouru, and that this often has motorists going faster than they realise. This is I am sure correct as a few minutes earlier I passed another police car and my speed was only 98 km/hr, and I hadn’t intentionally sped up.

He also asked me how long I had owned the car for, which got me wondering if there was a problem with it. But in fact he said he was impressed it was in such excellent condition. Eventually once ticketed I thanked him for his professional and helpful attitude and he said no he wants to thank me for being so good to deal with, and wished more were as co-operative.

So again a somewhat surreal experience. Slightly annoyed as for almost all of the 10 hours I was on the road I was driving at within the tolerance, but as they say it was a fair cop!