Almost legal

Today I fired up my old Pontiac for the first time since last November. It was a nice day here in Central Ohio, as the sun was out, there was almost no wind, and the temp approached 50 degrees.

I backed the car out of the garage and let it run for a while. I filled the power steering pump, which has a moderate leak. I checked the transmission fluid level, and visually assessed the tire inflation. I checked the turn signals. I had checked the oil and coolant levels before starting the car. The gas gauge registered a little under a half tank. The car seemed to be running okay, and everything seemed to working.

I closed the hood, got in the car, and backed it out of the driveway, onto the street. I put the Pontiac in drive and started moving forward. Some dudes were gathering at a house across the street, probably to watch the Super Bowl later. They stopped their gabbing and watched as my old Pontiac rumbled slowly past.

I had planned to drive around the block, and maybe go further only if the Pontiac was running well. I tooled around the block, and waved to some folks. The Pontiac was running okay, so I decided to drive it a few miles more.

I pulled onto a busy street and accelerated. All systems go. I motored along at about 40mph for about a mile. Then I hit a bump in the road and the hood popped open. This happened the last time I drove the Pontiac back in November, so I guess it is something I'll have to investigate.

Anyway, I slowed down and pulled off the road onto an apartment complex parking lot. I slammed the hood closed, got back in the car, and decided to head for home.

I pulled back on the street and got back up to around 40mph. That's when I saw the cop behind me. I wasn't speeding since the speed limit on this road was 45mph, but because I was driving an old clunker the cop was paying particular attention to me. Also, since my car has only lap seatbelts, I figured the cop would pull me over since he couldn't see that I was wearing my seatbelt.

Initially, I thought to myself that I didn't have anything to worry about. The lap belts were original equipment back when this car rolled off the line, and according to State law, as long as it has the original safety equipment, I don't need to upgrade to the standards for newer cars. The Pontiac was properly licensed and insured, so go ahead copper, check me out.

But then I thought about it for a moment more. There were various things on the car that were probably not completely street legal. The exhaust, which is on the list of things to replace this year, is kinda loud. The parking brake isn't functional. I'm sure there are other things that aren't up to code too.

I pulled off the main street onto a side street that leads to my house. The cop followed. I turned onto my street. The cop followed. I pulled onto my driveway. The cop stopped, watched as I pulled into my garage, and then he continued on his way.

The scofflaw escaped again.