Recently I posted a piece about a violation of my privacy –one I consented to—in the form of an app called Right Track. For three months I allowed my insurance company to track my driving so that I could scrounge a discount on my auto insurance. My ordeal is now over, the app has been deleted (I hope. Cue sinister sounds), I am driving like a madwoman and I am saving $164 a year on my premium.

But there was a bit of a speed bump earlier. Even though my insurer had a GPS out on me and presumably know I live in Seattle, a city of hills, they nevertheless took issue with my braking. They thought I used it too often. I felt they preferred I not use it at all.

After every trip, I checked my rating on the app, read the report which always said I braked too often and watched the rising tide of my savings. Halfway through the process I was saving $145 a year. Remember that figure.

One Friday afternoon a traffic ticket arrived in the mail. I had been caught on camera running a red light. Up to that point, I don’t think I quite believed there were cameras at intersections but evidently, there are. I remembered the incident even without the photo and video that came with the ticket, which, by the way, was for $139. Bringing my annual premium discount to $6 a year.

I was so pissed, I almost deleted the app right there and then. I was in a snit all weekend. But apps don’t run red lights, people do. I hate it when they have you dead to rights. I decided to request a mitigation hearing on the off chance that I would get a magistrate with either a good sense of irony or a degree in English literature.

A week later a packet of stuff arrived in the mail. The first page gave me a hearing date and the courtroom in which I was to appear, followed by threats of arrest, custody, jail time for reasons that had nothing to do with me since there aren’t any outstanding warrants for my arrest. I considered that paragraph overkill but nevertheless, it encouraged me to plow through the rest of the information carefully. After the first two pages of schedules and threats, was an Important Notice in regards to Courtroom Hearings During Covid-19, which some parts of the government think we are still in.

I had four options: mitigation hearing by 1) written statement, 2) telephone conference, 3) video conference, 4) in person hearing. Puzzled, I went back over the first page. Why did they schedule me an in-person hearing date if there were these other options with penalties attached if I made one incorrect step?

At the top of the next page the words “Important Notice Please Read” was highlighted, the first hint of an actual human being involved. It almost seemed kind and encouraging, that highlighting. On this informative page, I was told to disregard everything on the previous pages although it wasn’t so straightforward as to say actually that. What it said was that all in-person mitigation hearings were suspended. I turned back to look at the court date I had been assigned.

I opted to change my mitigation hearing to a written statement. I do better in writing than screaming hysterically over the phone at civil servants.

Here is what I sent the court:

September 12, 2022
Statement of Elena Louise Richmond re citation # 0212201135192:

I am 68 years and have been driving for 53 years and have never run a red light. I don’t expect to ever do it again. I want to explain why I did on Aug 8, 2022.

My insurance company is tracking my driving so I can reduce my insurance premiums. At the time of this incident, I was up to saving $145 a year. The feedback I get from Safeco is that I use my brake too much so I have been consciously trying to watch ahead, anticipate other drivers and keep my speed even so I don’t use the brake unnecessarily.

When I approached the light at 80^th, it had turned yellow, I didn’t know how long the yellow would last and my mind froze for a moment because I thought, “Oh no, I can’t slam on the brakes now because well .  .  . the App.” So I went through it at the point it had turned red.

The irony of a $145 discount for trying to drive more safely and getting a $139 ticket has an O. Henry quality to it.

I am hoping that, while I did commit the infraction, the circumstances of my driving record and my desire to be a better driver—this insurance company tracking has been kind of a driving refresher for me—the court might lower the fee.

A week later I got an un-ironic response with $42 dollars knocked off the fine. Now I am waiting for a second shoe to drop because it seems to me I ran a second light a month later.