Traffic Ticket for Being Fat!

Tonight I got pulled over while driving in Spokane Valley. Today was an exhausting but great day. I got a lot accomplished. I suffer from "too much stuff and not enough space" syndrome. I've been living in my apartment since November of 2010, but have yet to go through everything and get it down to a manageable amount of stuff. Today was the day that I decided I'm done with clutter! My cousin Ashley just moved to Spokane and she was willing to help me get everything done so we went to town. We had just dropped a load of stuff off at my storage unit and were on our way to Wal Mart to pick up nails for picture hanging and an odd sized light bulb for the ceiling fan in the dining room when I noticed the blue and red flashing lights in my rear view mirror.

I pulled over into a parking lot in front of a party store and proceeded to await my fate. The police officer proceeded to ask me if I knew that my headlight was out. To this I replied that I was aware of the fact that the light was out, but as it had only been brought to my attention today and the auto stores were closed, I had not had the opportunity to purchase another headlight yet. He seemed to be very understanding of this. He then noticed I was not wearing a seat belt and asked me why. Honestly, I wish I would have just lied and said, that I had just taken it off. It was way too dark for them to have seen if it was on or off when they pulled me over. Unfortunately, the goody goody in me won out and I told him the complete and honest truth, "my seat belt will not fit and click because it's not long enough".

I stepped out of the car and grabbed my vehicle registration information from the back seat of my car and presented it to the first officer, while the other officer took the liberty of checking the seat belt to see that it was capable of clicking securely. Upon getting back in the car, the two officers went back to their vehicle, made sure that I'm not a common criminal and then came back with a whopping $124 ticket. They explained that in WA there is a zero tolerance for not wearing a seat belt and explained that until I could fix the problem with my seat belt I can not drive my car. And then they tell me to "have a good night".

Are they kidding me? So they pulled me over just to be good citizens and let me know that my headlight is out and then I get fined $124 for being fat and I'm supposed to have a good night? I sat and cried in the Wal Mart parking lot for at least a half hour and I'm still not even close to being over it. My feelings are intensified because of everything going on in my life right now (my husband lost his job, we are financially floundering, and I don't even know how I'm buying groceries or paying any of my other bills let alone a $124 ticket). I just got my car and I only paid the insurance on it a few days ago for the first time. This is going to make me look like an extremely irresponsible driver who does not take proper safety precautions, when in reality I did not have a choice.

I can not just stop driving my car. I have too many things to do. I have to get back an forth to work. Since my husband is not working right now, all of the money making falls on me and I have to be able to get back and forth to work. I can't just stop my life because I'm waiting for a seat belt extension in the mail. They couldn't even cut me a break because I have a new car (and since stores don't sell seat belt extensions compatible with my car, I had to order one online which takes time).

Yes, I will totally admit that I am partly at fault here. I understand everyone should have all of their ducks in a row all of the time. I'm not perfect! And imperfection I guess has cost me $124.

What really gets me in the insensitivity. I don't think that police officers even have a clue what they are doing to someone when they write them a ticket, nor do I think they care. If they were empathetic, they wouldn't be able to do what they do. Congratulations, they're fit and don't have to worry about their seat belt fastening. They probably can't even imagine what it's like to know that when they get into their car they are putting their life at risk simply because car manufacturers don't stop to consider fat people either. Believe me, I know the importance of seat belts and what can happen when you don't wear one. My cousin and I (yes, coincidentally the same one who was in the car with me tonight) hit black ice December 1, 2007 and ended up smashing into a tree at nearly 70 MPH. Had either one of us not been wearing a seat belt at the time we would not be here today. This same car accident in which I sustained an injury to my foot, ankle, and lower right leg, is the cause of my weight gain. Unable to be active, I put on the pounds at a rapid rate. And now, I am unable to wear a seat belt in any older car.

So I've ordered a seat belt extension, what then? Am I to go through life never being able to carpool with anyone else? There is no such thing as a seat belt extension that will be compatible with every car.

And lets just go a little bit farther and think about how this all effects me emotionally. Luckily I am an extremely strong person or I swear this would be enough to make me clinically depressed. It's not just this incident, but the fact that I can't go to Silverwood (the local theme park) and ride any of the exciting attractions. I can't fly on a commercial plane without them trying to charge me for two seats (even if my husband is the one sitting next to me and he doesn't care that we're squished together). I can't run, jump, skip, or frolic. I can't find clothes to fit my butt to save my life! I'm constantly stared at, especially when eating in public because people assume that I eat all day or I wouldn't be this fat (each of these things are many more blogs, I know). I understand that there is fault in me being the size that I am. But if I love myself, and my husband, family, and friends love me, why is everyone else so judgmental? And this doesn't just happen to me, but to every other obese person in this country.

This is the age of the obese person! Get used to us, because we're going to be around. We're human. We breathe the same air that you do! We have the same feelings you do! And we deserve some consideration. This doesn't mean that everyone should be obese, but please understand that there are reasons that we are and we deserve just as much respect as anyone else on the planet.