Pulled Over for Speeding

I was pulled over on the way home from
Skydive
Atlanta for doing 72mph in a 45mph zone
tonight. Bad me. Bad me. The officer let
me off on a harsh verbal berating about the
holiday
weekend. I knew that he wasn't going to
write me up because he got out of the car
immediately. After he was done warning me I
reflected on the safety of my loved ones and
the fact that societal stability relies
heavily on our acceptance of artificial
rules like speed limits. Then I messed with
him for a few seconds by flashing my lights
on and off, eventually getting him to turn
off his headlights before I pulled away.
Ah, the international language of
headlights.

On the remainder of the drive home I kept
the speed down and realized that skydiving's
rules are somewhat more cut and dry when
compared to society's rules. The main goal
of skydiving rules is to maintain safety.
Since the skydiving community at large is
very trained, the rules apply to all and are
not overbearing. Society's rules have to
apply to everybody: the blue hair 89 year
old driver in Florida and the 16 year old
new driver. They apply to that guy in the
67 Chevy Nova and the sexy blonde in the red
2001 Ferrari Modena. As such, the limits of
speed are rather constrained to make them
applicable to all. We have decided to trade
some restriction for extra safety. Overall,
it's probably a great decision. But it can
seem like a pain when you're tired and want
to get home after a long day of skydiving.

Oh, and Mr. Insurance Company... this
alleged event may or may not have happened
and may or may not be used for a
philosphical discourse on the respect of
authority in a post-modern existence.