<body><div> AN ELDERLY motorist has been left devastated after being slapped with a $169 ticket for a car wash mishap. It was the distraught driver’s first time using the service when she found herself in hot water with the <a href="https://www.the-sun.com/topic/road-laws/" rel="nofollow"> law </a> . <figure class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_12549988"><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2aeZrz_0vletidA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2aeZrz_0vletidA00" width="960" height="540" ><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Arlene Branham found herself in hot water on her first trip to the car wash </figcaption> 9 News </figure><figure class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_12550000"><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4RSV5B_0vletidA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4RSV5B_0vletidA00" width="940" height="468" ><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">She accidentally rear-ended a state patrol cruiser </figcaption> Colorado State Patrol </figure><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><figure class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_12549990"><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1TUOfR_0vletidA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1TUOfR_0vletidA00" width="960" height="540" ><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">The 78-year-old was handed a $169 ticket </figcaption> Colorado State Patrol </figure> Arlene Branham, from Arvada, CO, told <a href="https://www.local12.com/news/nation-world/patrol-trooper-car-wash-ticket-woman-receives-ticketed-bumping-state-cincinnati-late-husband-driving-experience-signs-unusual-traffic-accidents-learn-important-discretion-neutral-cobblestone-arvada-rear-ended-crash-damage-damaged-property-law-ruling" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"> KUSA-TV </a> that her late husband would always take their car to be washed at the local <a href="https://www.the-sun.com/motors/12255733/fenner-california-remote-desert-gas-prices-x/" rel="nofollow"> gas station </a> . The 78-year-old said: “He took care of the cars. “That’s what he did. Even at 76 he did that. “And so then I had not ever taken a car to a <a href="https://www.the-sun.com/motors/12513459/car-wax-polish-prevent-paintwork-cracking/" rel="nofollow"> car wash </a> .” <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Sadly, he passed away last year so Arelene was left to get to grips with the car wash on her own. But her first trip ended in disaster when her car slipped forward as she waited for the wash and rear-ended the wrong person. A sign at the site did ask customers to put their car in neutral, but the pensioner admits she failed to spot it as she arrived. She explained: “I was looking at all the signs, but obviously I missed the one that was really important. “When you’ve not done anything like that, you’re just kind of apprehensive. “Then all of a sudden, just a short distance in, the car stopped. Well, yeah, it stopped because I <a href="https://www.the-sun.com/news/11887016/pearl-jams-josh-klinghoffer-lawsuit-fatally-grandpa/" rel="nofollow"> hit the guy in front of me </a> .” <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> That would usually mean an apology and exchanging insurance details but things went from bad to worse for Arlene when she realised that the vehicle she hit was a <a href="https://www.the-sun.com/news/11777790/karen-read-case-mistrial/" rel="nofollow"> state trooper </a> patrol car. CCTV from the car wash shows Arlene rear-ending the cruiser at low speed, at which point the trooper got out and wrote her a ticket. The officer’s body cam footage recorded the moment he issued the $169 fine and two license points for “ <a href="https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/12496920/jackass-bam-margera-jail-violating-parole-dui-reckless/" rel="nofollow"> careless driving </a> “. But the motorist argued that, while she admitted her error, the punishment was too severe. She told the media: “Nobody was hurt. “I mean, we weren’t even probably going a half a mile an hour, and so I just thought it was just wrong. “I didn’t know where else to call to find out if it was legal for them to do that or not. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> “I just felt like he just really didn’t have to give me a <a href="https://www.the-sun.com/motors/11649732/car-auctioned-without-consent-parking-tickets-disabled-permit/" rel="nofollow"> ticket </a> .” A spokesperson for the State Patrol said: “There is always discretion. “But the standard policy and procedure…is that if it’s a crash and we can prove that there’s a law violation, we’re going to right that ticket.” <figure class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_12549985"><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0hYx4e_0vletidA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0hYx4e_0vletidA00" width="960" height="540" ><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">She also received two points on her license </figcaption> Colorado State Patrol </figure><figure class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_12549989"><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4f8aw2_0vletidA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4f8aw2_0vletidA00" width="960" height="540" ><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Arlene admitted her error but claimed the damage wasn’t bad enough to warrant such a harsh penalty </figcaption> 9 News </figure><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><figure class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_12549986"><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1ITihZ_0vletidA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1ITihZ_0vletidA00" width="960" height="540" ><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">The state patrol insisted it was their policy to issue tickets in such circumstances </figcaption> Colorado State Patrol </figure></div></body>

Mountain View, CA

AN ELDERLY motorist has been left devastated after being slapped with a $169 ticket for a car wash mishap. It was the distraught driver’s first time using the service when she found herself in hot water with the law. Arlene Branham, from Arvada, CO, told KUSA-TV that her late husband would always take their car […]