A week ago, I was driving north on Interstate 15. North of Ogden, I started feeling drowsy and pulled into a rest area. There were three semi-trailer trucks in the truck area, but no cars.
I was asleep only a few minutes when there was a bright light in my eyes. I rolled down the window, and an angry Utah Highway Patrol officer demanded to know why I hadn't parked precisely between the white lines on the asphalt.
I told him I saw no problem with how I had parked, and there was no one else in the rest area. He insisted the markings were the law and that I was subject to a parking ticket. He told me that not parking between the lines in an empty parking lot was equivalent to running a stop sign when no one is around.
I had to park again to avoid the ticket. At no time did he ask if I was OK or if I had stopped due to a problem.
Is this how Utah gets tough on crime? Or just Utah's way of encouraging tourism at the beginning of the ski season?
Brent Baker
Corvallis, Ore.