Cooper’s Open Apology To The People Driving Behind Him Yesterday

In my side gig as a wedding and event DJ, I am often traveling to new places throughout Maine and New Hampshire.  I consider myself lucky when the venue is right in a town or right off a main road (like I-95,  Rt 1 or Rt 302).

More often than not, though, these places are on a less familiar road.

This was the situation I faced when I was on my way to last weekend’s wedding.

The event was held on the patio of a restaurant in the Western Maine town of Brownfield (just a few miles from the Maine / New Hampshire border).

To get from Augusta to Brownfield, I took the I-95 to the Gray exit, and took Tandberg Trail (Rt 202) into Windham.  I crossed Rt 302 and continued on Tandberg Trail.  Once you cross Rt 302, Tandberg Trail becomes Rt 35 (remember that fact because it plays an important part in this story).

Only occasionally glancing at Google Maps on my phone (I knew where I was going, right?), I set my cruise control and started down the road.  Because my mind tends to wander on long trips, I used my cruise control to make sure I drive the speed limit.

After a few miles I started to wonder why the speed limit for this section of road was only 35 MPH.  Even though there were quite a few houses, it was still out of town.  “The speed limit should be at least 45 MPH,” I thought.

A few more miles down the road I noticed a growing line of traffic behind me.

Then, I saw this and instantly realized why: A) the speed limit seemed low and B) why there was a line of traffic behind me.

I had taken the route number signs to be the speed limit!

Immediately after that Rt 35 sign was an ACTUAL speed limit sign marked 50 MPH.

Realizing my mistake, I hit the gas to get back to the 50 MPH limit.

I felt like such an ass, but there was no way to apologize to all the people that I had held up for miles.

Hopefully, at least a few of those people will see this and realize that I was not being a jerk.  I'm just dumb!  Thanks for understanding.

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