Dear Editor,
On April 2, 2015 at 11 p.m., after a five hour drive, I was pulled over for “speeding” in Rutland. I wasn’t the only victim. There seemed to be at least two other out of state vehicles getting tickets by other officers.
So, the Vermont State Police have nothing better to do than to harass out of state drivers on a Thursday evening? What a shame and embarrassment it is for your highly trained law enforcement to be given this duty.
Financially, this is the biggest mistake you can make. Below is an itemized list of the money that I usually spend on a ski weekend in Vermont. I was so irritated by this joke of a ticket, “taxation without representation,” that I left Killington a day early and will never return.
In dollar and cents this is what this ticket cost your state tourism:
Lodging for 3 nights: $600; food for 3 days/nights: $600; lift tickets for 3 days: $540; Miscellaneous (tips, gas, purchases at ski shops): $500. For a total of $2,240 at the very least, because someone got a devious plan to ticket “speeders” in Rutland at 11 p.m. on a holiday weekend.
By the way, I have been traveling that road for 30 years and planned another 10 more at least two to three times a season. That adds up to over $60,000 in expenditures your economy will never see — all over a $165 speeding ticket. Imagine if everyone pulled over that night felt the same way? I’m pretty sure there are other ski resorts that will be happy to accept my tourism dollars.
Both my wife and I agreed, that I was not traveling at 52mph as accused. There was a Jeep in front of me with Vermont plates and I was following him fairly close — 3 to 4 car lengths. Why wasn’t he pulled over?
So I plead “no contest!” Here is my $165 and you lose $60,000. I hope the listing was worth it! Great job Vermont State Police.
If anyone cares to contact me, I can be reached at my office at (570) 822-7312 or my cell phone (570) 430-1095. Perhaps someone can explain what it was all about. My wife and I had planned a week’s vacation in July. We’ll go to Maine instead.
Henry J. Zielinski, Jr., D.D.S., M.A.G.D., Kingston, Penn.
