Road Rage

So, how many times has this happened to you? You're driving on the freeway, and there's someone in front of you you'd like to pass. You signal a lane change, and he happens to do it at the same time. You both dart back to your original position.

Now you're back where you started. You change lanes again, and this time do it quickly to avoid the confusion, and you pass.

Well, I got pulled over this morning for exactly that. I had to speed up to pass the guy, and as soon as I was past, I slowed back down to the limit.

All the cop said he saw was me swerving in and out of the lane I was in. Then, because the first "lane change" (us both moving) happened while we were passing the "end construction zone" sign, he decided the whole thing counted as being in a construction zone, and cited me for 76 in a 55. (76 is how fast I sped up to pass the guy... seeing as how traffic was flowing at 73 or so, I don't think I was out of line)

I was very polite and didn't talk back, I explained why the multiple lane changes (he didn't see the other guy signal), but I think the part where I screwed up was where he asked if I thought that was safe. I hesitated, then said, "Well, there was nobody in the other lane, I checked that nobody else was around.." then he asked for my license and registration. I can't help but feel that he would have given me a warning if I had said something like "No. It was stupid."

I'm thinking I'll fight it. I looked up Draper City ordinance, they don't offer traffic school, and it's going to be about a $600 ticket because of the "construction zone" that we weren't in.