Yellow means stop--it does not mean go faster

I consider myself a good driver. I go 20 mph in the school zones. I stop for pedestrians. I let people merge. I don't speed...okay, so I typically go 10 mph over in certain areas, but who doesn't? I have never been pulled over before (knock on wood). But all good things must come to an end as I learned this past week. There is a horrible intersection that I hit on the way home from pretty much anywhere I come from. Horrible not in dangerous. Horrible in that the light takes forever and a day to allow me to get to where I need to be (a.k.a. my home). On Fri. I was headed to pick up the kids from school and came upon said intersection. The light turned green...a few cars moved up...then it turned yellow. While it was still yellow I entered the intersection and proceeded due East completely oblivious to anything but the time. The bell was set to ring in exactly 10 mins. and I do not like to be late. The last thing I want are my children to be afraid that their mom is not coming to get them. Thankfully I wasn't sooo oblivious that it didn't take too long for me to notice the flashing lights coming from behind me.

Oh those so aren't for me.

Yes, they are.

I pull to the side of the road, roll down my window, and turn off my car. I grab my license as even though I have never actually done the drill I have seen it on TV. The officer walks to my car and proceeds to tell me that the reason he has pulled me over is because I entered the intersection on a yellow.

"I thought it was okay to enter when it was yellow, just so long as it wasn't red?" I said. And I meant it. Somewhere, somehow my brain had been engrained to believe that entering on yellow is okay. Red, not okay. Green is good we all know that. But yellow was considered safe. You know...green means go, red means stop, yellow means hurry up and drive because the light is about to change. He informed me that it was not okay to enter on yellow (nor drive faster). I glanced at the clock...8 mins. and counting. I explained that I had to pick my kids up from school in 8 mins. and that I honestly thought it was okay to do this, but I understood that he had a job to do and that I was in the wrong--no matter what my brain told me (I did not, however, say that last part--I am only stupid to a small degree). He was very nice, told me that the two people ahead of me that had also entered on yellow could've been pulled over as well (that's just my luck isn't it?!), and that he would give me a warning and let me be on my way to pick up my kids. 6 mins. and counting. I hand over my license and he calls me in to make sure I'm not some drug dealer cruisin' in a stolen Hyundai and once that comes back clear he returns with my written warning.

"Okay, so it's not okay to enter on yellow EVER, correct?" I ask him.

He smiles.

"I'm not trying to be a smartass, I swear."

"I know," and then he tells me the law...the real law. He ends by saying that "this could've been a citation." I thank him and once again say that I had no idea.
"In Indiana it's okay to enter on yellow," I inform the cutie...I mean, officer.
"It is? Hmmm..." I am soooo thinking this is true and he's probably thinking I'm really, really stupid (because I am dead wrong--I just don't know it). 3 mins. and counting. Cutie...I mean, the officer, thanks me for being so agreeable and letting him do his job.
"Hey, no problem! My dad was a cop and I understand your position." 2 mins. and counting. He gets back in his car. I start my car, put my license in my purse, and pray that he is going the other way. As nice as he is I do not feel like driving the exact speed limit the entire way to pick up my kids. Thankfully, he goes the other way. I arrive just as the bell is ringing. I call my dad and inform him that his wonderful daughter just had her first brush with the law.

"I thought it was okay to enter on yellow," I half lament, half ask him.

"Actually, it's not. Yellow is meant to clear the intersection. The problem is that most cops don't enforce it because you're not running a red light, you're running a yellow light."

So how in the world does that translate to "this could have been a citation"?! I don't know. I do know that no matter what, it took me a half hour to stop shaking from the adrenaline and I was damned thankful that for once my stupidity actually helped me. I should be a blonde.

All you yellow light runners out there...knock it off. You could be next. And your cop might not be as nice.

I am thinking of sending him a thank you card and writing that even in Indiana I would've been wrong. I have no problems admitting when I'm wrong. My friends think this is a stupid thing to do to a cop. I think he'd like it. Plus I have the cutest cards that I made that would be fun to send him. It has a dog on it and everything...