Vigan Traffic Incident

While driving home from our family getaway early this year, we were flagged down by a traffic officer. We weren't the first. As the hubby maneuvered the car to the roadside, we noticed the others, including one of my brothers. We thought it might just be a standard procedure on that particular day, but nope.

The officer came and asked, "Sir, driver's license, please? Do you know why you were pulled over?"

"No, Sir, I don't," the husband replied politely, while taking his license out from his wallet and handing it to the officer.

"You did an illegal overtaking, Sir, in a double yellow line," the cop stated further, while perusing the license.

The husband stayed quiet.

"Ha? Sir, we didn't do that. We were driving carefully. We have elders and kids with us," I intervened, fully aware that we had not violated any traffic law on that trip.

"Where are you going, Sir?" the officer inquired further, ignoring what I just said.

"We are headed home to Baguio, Sir," the husband answered.

"I'm issuing you a ticket for the violation, Sir. You must pay it at the Vigan municipal treasurer's office within 3 days, or it will be forwarded to LTO," the officer continued.

Our companions in the back seats murmured, disagreeing with the offense we were being charged with. The officer passed the ticket stub to the husband, asking him to take a photo of his FB profile so we could contact him for the other payment information, since we were headed the other way and couldn't pay it over the counter in Vigan, 'coz it was a Sunday.

We left quietly.

We noticed my brothers' cars were waiting 30 meters away, so we pulled over and had a bit of a discussion about what happened. One was not flagged down, the other was guilty of the offense; he knew he had done it. He said my husband was a victim of misidentification because he heard it clearly on the police two-way radio that it was a "closed van," not "a van." We were driving a Toyota GL Grandia van.

"Aah... That explains it, because I didn't overtake illegally," the husband exclaimed.

Then I recalled taking a photo of the closed van ahead of us, before the incident. It was behind the Partas bus.

So the police spotter was somewhere along that spot. And he had given the correct info based on what my brother heard on the radio, while he was being given a ticket.

But yes, we didn't overtake anyone. My other brother, who was driving behind us, confirmed it too.

And we were still behind the bus that was ahead of the closed van before. The bus top image was taken a minute after the freight van pic.

We just laughed it out, considering it an experience that added more humor to our trip, then settled the fine the next day. Not everything deserves to be argued about.