Motorist Actually Thanks New Jersey Trooper for Speeding Ticket

You’re driving along the highway at a clip and all of a sudden you see those flashing lights go on behind you. Your heart races and you curse yourself under your breath. As the officer approaches you roll down your window and hear the smokey say, “license and registration please.” This scene may be all too familiar for some, but how often do you thank a police officer for handing you a speeding ticket? Virtually never. Some of us after being pulled over try to get out of it with a few cajoling words and apologies to the officer. While others meekly accept the piece of paper and pull away five miles an hour back onto the highway.

In the state of New Jersey where eagle-eyed state troopers are watching out for the next Mario Andretti, one motorist wasn’t so lucky when he was caught on the Garden State Parkway going well over the speed limit.

The unmarked car pulled over the speeder, Dave Coskey who was so impressed with the carside manner of Trooper 7515 that he followed up with the agency thanking him for the summons.

Coskey who is the General Manager of Longport Media, a company that operates radio stations, wrote a thank-you letter to New Jersey State Police complimenting the trooper, who preferred to remain anonymous. Ashamed by his own behavior after driving his wife’s car as opposed to his Jeep, Coskey admitted he wasn’t paying attention to the speed.

He wrote in the letter which was proudly posted on Facebook by New Jersey State Police, “I’ve driven 100,000 miles a year for the past ten years and haven’t been stopped for at least 15 years. I usually pay pretty close attention to what I’m doing. Needless to say I wasn’t happy with myself.”

In the post, which has gone viral and been liked over 2,000 times, Coskey wrote what was most impressive about the trooper was he took the time to explain safety procedures instead of just handing him the ticket and walking away. “When the trooper returned his actions are what impressed me the most. He could have easily handed me the summons and walked away. But he didn’t — he said, ‘Truthfully, we’re not out here to only give out tickets but I’m not sure if you are aware or not – but we’ve had some recent fatal accidents on this part of the Parkway and we’re really trying to get people to slow down – to save lives.’”

Apparently the trooper was feeling chatty as he engaged in small talk with Coskey who couldn’t get over how much the trooper cared. He wrote, “It was pretty obvious that this trooper was really interested in safe driving on the Parkway. Perhaps it was the sincerity of his words.” What’s more the trooper escorted Coskey safely back onto the highway.

The incident stayed with Coskey who said he was “blown away” by the trooper’s demeanor with him after breaking the law. In the letter he continued to praise the young officer. “I’m sorry that I don’t have his name but I believe that his badge number is 7515 and his demeanor and actions are a credit to the State Police. I’m not sure how often you hear from someone looking to compliment a trooper who issued a summons – but that’s the case here. My opinion is that Trooper 7515 is a great reflection on the NJSP.”

In the letter Coskey vowed to give the unnamed trooper even more kudos the next day on the South Jersey news talk radio station WOND on a program called “Blue Monday” hosted by Bob Burns.

Wonder if he promised to never speed again?