My lil space

When I first started driving in the US, I was a really careful driver, probably because of lack of experience. After coming to the Bay Area, I have lost all my defensive driving instincts (Be a Roman in Rome). This is probably an exaggeration because the only crazy thing I ever did was Speeding with the excuse that I was "flowing with the traffic" (as opposed to my friends who deserve to be ticketed 9 out of 10 times that they drive). Anyways after a year of driving here and getting an Audi, I guess my driving got worse and I was appropriately ticketed when I was driving on 101 S near Redwood City. I was extremely concerned about my insurance especially since one of friends pays 3 times the regular insurance. I anxiously waited for my citation to come and was more than relieved when I had the option of going to traffic school after going to the court. Having indefinitely postponed the possibility of going to court, I had to lug myself a couple of days back as my deadline approached. For a small traffic violation, I felt extremely guilty about going to the court. The procedure was painless but not guilt free. The court rooms in US looked grand and since this was a traffic court there wasn't a jury stand. I was there, one of the defendants, waiting for the judge to call me. The respect that everybody paid to the judge was stunning. There was even a dress code - "No hats, no shorts and no tank tops". I wonder why the last two were there. The judge briefed everybody and his golden words were - "Going with the flow of traffic is not an excuse for driving fast". I didn't have any excuse to plead not guilty. Finally after an hour of waiting, I was summoned.

Judge: Do you have proof of correction?
Me: Yes Sir. (Passed them to the sheriff)
Judge: Do you want to attend traffic school?
Me: Yes Sir.
Judge: Ok I will reduce your fine. It will be ...(mumbles something and does the math) $xx. Do you want to pay that today or at a later date?
Me: Today Sir.
Judge: Please go out on your right and pay the money.
Me (mumbling): Thank you Sir.

And I was out of the court in minutes. I feel horribly guilty of having gone to the court , even though many have reassured me that it is not a big deal. The result of this whole exercise - I have decided to be a more conscientious and law abiding driver. Now my policy - "We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean, but the ocean would be less because of that missing drop - Mother Teresa"