The Day I was Pulled Over by a Cop

It was the early to mid eighties and the scene was a city in Zimbabwe. After a church meeting one night, I offered a friend's sister a lift home as it was dark and late. I'd only had my driver's license for a few months and was still quite nervous on the roads. My car was a 1963 Morris 1100, painted a dull grey.

In the eighties, the war in Zimbabwe was officially over but there was still trouble with warring factions. As a young girl, I was nervous about criminals and violence and on this particular night, I noticed a car creeping up in my rear-view mirror. Still chatting with my friend's sister, I accelerated slightly and so did the car behind me. At this stage, I was driving out of the central city area towards a park. The street lights were not very good and I was somewhat dazzled by the head lamps behind me.

"There's someone following me," I commented to my passenger. "I wonder what he wants." By now I was sweating and unsure what to do next. Instinctively I sped up and just made it through the intersection before the traffic light turned red. The car followed me.

Panicking now, I drove through the next two red lights reasoning I needed to get to somewhere well lit and safe. The car followed me through the lights and as I approached the next intersection, it let out a wail and lit up like a Christmas tree. It was a cop car.

I pulled over feeling sick, embarrassed and angry.

"Evening," the cop greeted me. "Did you know you were speeding and passed through two red traffic lights?"

I was mortified to have mistaken a policeman for a criminal and it was made worse by having a passenger with me. Instead of explaining the situation to the cop, I admitted my guilt and felt my cheeks flame as he lectured me. He was a bombastic type of character and the lecture was prolonged and painful. I wanted to melt into a puddle of shame and disappear.

I was fined for my offences and although I was angry that he had jumped the red lights too, so causing my panic, I never said a word. In fact I met him socially a number of years later and although our previous meeting came up in conversation, I still didn't defend myself.

If it were to happen today, I would have plenty to say. I've learnt that cops aren't always right and I would point out that his behavior had been inappropriate and had frightened me. The story still embarrasses me and I really wish I'd had the courage to stand up for myself at the time. I seldom talk about the experience but it definitely taught me a valuable lesson - even though I took a while to learn it.