My friend 'Patrick' & I were driving from California to Boulder, CO to stay for a month in search…read moreof a new home to buy. The truck was fully loaded down with three dogs, bikes galore in the back of my large truck - I was going through Utah, and the speed limit is 80 mph and was surprised because I normally don't see this outside of CA. All of a sudden and in the middle of nowhere, my friend is pulled over by a State Trooper. We saw him on the freeway, but we thought the speed limit was 80, and we were going 88 mph (Patrick says, "He's not going to pull me over for going 8 miles over the limit"). The lights came on and pulled over. The Trooper parked his car, walked over and he asked, "Do you know why I am pulling you over?" Patrick's response was "Yes, I was speeding. He then said, "I normally go 8 miles over the speed limit, but it seemed so many cars were passing me. He told the Trooper that, and the Trooper smiled, and said, "Well you are not in Utah, but you are now in Colorado and the speed limit here is 70." Patrick said to the Trooper, I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was in Colorado, and didn't see any signs on the highway. The Trooper was laughing- he took Patrick's driver's license, and Patrick said to the Trooper, "I traditionally don't drive, and my workers drive, and he responded, "Well you are driving now." Patrick admitted and we all laughed - we told the Trooper we were trying to get to Vail, CO before nightfall. And as you can see, I am driving one of my work cars. The Trooper asked for the car registration & insurance card. but we couldn't find it in the car - we looked in the glove compartment, and proceeded to look all over in the truck , but couldn't find it. Again, Patrick reiterated that he normally doesn't drive. The Trooper took Patrick's driver's license back to the patrol car, and we waited. The Trooper took a while, then he returned and asked Patrick , How many years has he has been in this business, and Patrick responded 'over 40 years - started this business when he was 17 years old.
The Trooper gave Patrick a Warning Card, telling me he's letting me go with a warning, then we started talking about the dogs ( Pat has 3 Corgis) and his dogs. The Trooper was very professional, extremely kind and we certainly weren't expecting this, especially a warning for driving 18 miles over the speed limit!! We ended on a Happy Note and Patrick was reminded to 'slow it down' because we are watching!! LOL!!
Patrick said, "I absolutely will slow down, and won't be assuming my locations anymore. With all the negativity towards Police in general, we wanted to show our appreciation to this Trooper and we know he's just doing his job in keeping the roads safe!! This was our BEST experience ever and we decided to write this review & send a SHOUT OUT to Trooper Bartunek #0853 & the Colorado State Patrol!!
FYI - Patrick did personally call Trooper Bartunek's Captain to thank Trooper Bartunk for his professionalism and my very positive experience with Colorado State Police - that traffic stop was a definitely +++ experience!! Stay safe out there!