When I Hate Following the Rules

I was on my way to work this morning and stopped at a red light behind several cars. At the previous light, something had fallen into my passenger floorboard, so I figured that I'd pick it up so it wasn't rolling around. I leaned over, and I guess my foot came off the brake enough that the car started rolling. I didn't feel it because I was looking at the floor. I knew something was up when I heard someone hit the front of my car. Unfortunately it was actually me hitting the car in front of me.

She gets out of the car on the phone with the cops and saying she'd just gotten the car. Not good, but I'll talk to her. So we pull into the gas station beside us, and I tell her that we can just trade all information and I'll pay her cash to fix her car once she gets a quote. It's a SCRATCH. Absolutely no dents or anything. I tell her that I see no way it'll cost more than a couple hundred bucks to fix. We can be on our way, won't have deal with insurance and be done. She says, "My dad and brother are both cops, I have to follow the rules." Seriously? For a scratch on your bumper, we're going to stand outside in 30 degree weather waiting for a cop to come give me a ticket for this CRAP? She doesn't bend. We will have a policeman write up the "accident" report.

An hour later, the rookie state trooper arrives and takes our information. He goes back to his car for the paperwork. He comes back to us and when it's my turn hands me a $90, 2 point ticket. Until that point, it hadn't even occurred to me that I'd wind up with a fine and court date for something so minor when I was clearly doing nothing dangerous or illegal. But I did. And what was my wild, crazy, illegal act? Improper starting. According to WikiAnswers this might be the same charge I'd get if I dogged off in front of a cop. Why could I not have tapped someone who was a little more willing to be a rebel and not follow the rules?????