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GOD TO
SPEEDERS IN MCINTOSH COUNTY: YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN
Here
is some free advice you may find useful. If you (a) believe in God, (b)
have a tendency to ignore posted speed limits and (c) get stopped for
speeding in McIntosh County by Lt. Kenny Williams, don’t bother praying
for a miracle — like talking your way out of a ticket. It won’t happen.
Williams, a small, wiry man, says, “If I stop them, I ticket them.”
Period.
Recently, I had the opportunity to spend time with Williams and Deputy Ty
Poppell of the McIntosh County police on what I consider one of the most
dangerous roads in Georgia — Interstate 95, not far from the Florida line.
I thought I was at the Daytona 500, except Daytona has a better class of
speeders. Both officers work traffic patrol, but Poppell also handles drug
investigations, along with his trusted partner, Shauna, an affable and
effective nine-year-old lab. Poppell and Shauna stay busy. McIntosh County
Sheriff Charles Jones says that more than 15 percent of the traffic stops
in his county result in a drug arrest.
The
McIntosh County police will give you some leeway over the posted 70 mph
speed limits. I won’t tell you how much, but it is more generous than I
would have imagined. That means that when they do stop you, you are
driving somewhere near the speed of sound and you might as well be
prepared to take your medicine. Fines range from $630 to $1,205 or more.
By the way, the same rules don’t apply to the Georgia State Patrol. They
can — and will — stop you at one mile over the speed limit.
Let me
disabuse you of the notion that the McIntosh police are running a speed
trap. They are not. They must be visible to motorists for at least 500
feet. Their radar runs a self-test after every stop to verify its accuracy
and, if required, will run an additional test. Each stop is recorded on
video to document that correct procedures were followed and to protect
police officers from charges of improper conduct.
The
officers hear speeding stories that range from predictable (“I was in a
hurry to find a bathroom”) to priceless (“I am on my way to traffic court
and I’m running late”). To the latter, Williams said, “Here, take this
ticket with you and save yourself an extra trip.” When motorists say, “I
have never had a speeding ticket in my life,” Williams, a man with a wry
sense of humor, smiles and says, “Well, you won’t be able to say that
anymore, will you?”
Lt.
Williams hates radar detectors as much as I do. They are nothing but a
means to circumvent the law and should be banned. Williams stopped a
speeder with not one, but two radar detectors in his car. “Why do you have
two detectors?” he asked. “One doesn’t work,” the driver said. “Looks like
the other one doesn’t either,” Williams replied. “I just caught you.”
Even
lawyers lose in a battle of wits with Kenny Williams. His fellow officers
tell about the time Williams was on the witness stand and was asked by a
defense attorney if he had administered a breathalyzer test to his client.
Williams said he had. “Do you know how a breathalyzer works?” the attorney
asked. Williams said he didn’t. “You don’t know how a breathalyzer works
and yet you administered it to my client?” the attorney thundered.
“Well,” said Williams, “I don’t understand how a telephone works either,
but I know how to use it.” End of testimony.
Like
many law enforcement agencies in Georgia, McIntosh police are low-paid.
Some work two jobs to make ends meet. They deserve better for the risks
they endure. Running down speeders and trying to stem the drug traffic on
I-95 is dangerous work, and I admire their dedication. Having said that,
if I am stopped for speeding in McIntosh County by Lt. Kenny Williams, I
can assure you that he will (a) thank me for the kind words, (b) tell me
how much he enjoyed having me ride with him and (c) give me a ticket. No
use appealing to God. There are some things even He can’t change.
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