Well, when the Alabama Senate isn’t in session, somehow its members still find a way to insult the people of this state.

This week, it was Lowell Barron’s turn to make us reach for the Don’tInsultOurIntelligencicillin. Barron, the too-powerful chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, was caught speeding near Andalusia Sunday night.

But not just regular speeding. Reckless driving speeding!

Section 32-5A-190 of the Alabama Code defines reckless driving as operating “any vehicle carelessly and heedlessly in willful or wanton disregard for the rights or safety of persons or property, or without due caution and circumspection and at a speed or in a manner so as to endanger or be likely to endanger any person or property.”

Did you catch that? “Willful or wanton disregard for the rights or safety of persons or property.”

Yep, that sounds just like the sort of good judgment we get from our elected leaders!

Barron actually got two tickets—the other was for running a stop sign—and he got a warning for reckless endangerment.

WSFA reports that according to Andalusia’s police chief, the reckless driving ticket will require Barron to appear before a Covington County judge, and a spokesman for the Clerk’s Office there says the reckless driving violation would carry an automatic suspension of his driver’s license.

If convicted of reckless driving, Barron “shall be punished … by imprisonment for a period of not less than five days nor more than 90 days, or by fine of not less than $25.00 nor more than $500.00,” according to the Code.

Even though this wouldn’t be the first time he’s been caught driving recklessly, I’m guessing Sen. Barron won’t serve any jail time.

Barron will walk away, as he has before. After all, he has an explanation for all that willful or wanton disregard for the rights or safety of persons or property!

Barron said he was speeding at excessive speeds—

SIDEBAR: “Speeding at excessive speeds?” Must be TV writing. END SIDEBAR

—because he was trying to get away from someone who looked like he was a member of Hell’s Angels. He said the officer was in plain clothes, had his high beams on, pursued him for 30 or 40 miles and because he was in a deserted isolated area Barron said he was afraid to pull over for fear he might have a gun. So, Barron said, he decided to speed up.

Once you get finished laughing at the explanation (What did he say when he finally pulled over? “Oh, am I glad to see you, officer! I thought you were a Hell’s Angel and you were going to knife me!”), consider this: Far from disputing the officer’s contention that he was driving recklessly, Barron’s actually admitting it. He’s just offering an explanation.

That’s notable because Barron is a state legislator. Lawmakers are used to taking advantage of their wink-and-a-nod immunity from the laws they help write (and that’s another topic entirely!). It seems that Barron isn’t even trying to do that here – and not because he has some personal ethics code against it and hasn’t done it before.

Secondly, Barron’s apparent admission of guilt is unusual because police officers issue tickets for reckless driving based on their subjective judgment of the driver’s actions –subjective judgment that’s easy enough to at least refute in court. Barron apparently doesn’t want to try that, either.

So, mark your calendar for Sept. 16: That’s when Barron will tell his Hell’s Angels story to the judge.

Can’t wait to see the transcript.

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