Cops in a hurry. Too much of a hurry actually.

This happened a few weeks ago. I am riding to work on my bike. Am already late because I overslept and unlike the car, it is not fun to ride to work in the hot sun with maddening traffic
all around you. I turn a corner and see cops standing there waving down bikes.

I assume that they are clamping down on those that are not wearing helmets inspite of the
rule in place that requires bike-riders to wear helmets. As I approach the cops, one of them waves me down. I am kind of surprised because I am wearing a helmet. I park the bike at
the side of the road, by which time the cop walks up to me and asks me to show the bike's
papers - registration, insurance, etc.

Ha, this should not be a problem, given that I meticulously pay the insurance of my bike/car before it expires. Infact, I have Outlook tasks for each of the bikes/cars in the family, so that
I am reminded in advance before they expire. And registration/road-tax is paid for a bike or
car in a lumpsum for 15 years when you buy it. And my bike is only 13 years old. So, that is
also covered.

I open the small side compartment in the bike, where the papers, bike manual and basic tools are kept. By this time, the cop has gone to wave down other bikes. I take the papers and wait
for the cop to come back and check the papers. I just happen to go through the papers & see to
my shock and disbelief that my bike insurance expired a few months ago. I cannot understand how I missed noticing this, inspite of the Outlook task and all.

Since I have never ever been ticketed for not having proper vehicle documents, I have no idea what the financial damage would be due to not having valid insurance. Must be a few hundred bucks. Now, I am thinking what should be my next course of action. Do I own up to the cop
that I forgot to renew the insurance and that it was a genuine mistake ? Would he actually believe it, since he must be hearing such excuses on a daily basis ?

Anyway, as I stand there thinking of what to do, the cop comes back. He surprises me by saying that he is sorry to have kept me waiting. It is not everyday that a cop in India says sorry to the public. I tell him it is OK - it was anyway only 5 minutes or so. No big deal.

I then handover the documents to him. He goes over the tax document and then the insurance document and returns them to me saying they are all in order and I can go. I am surprised. In his hurry, he forgot to check the insurance expiry date properly.

I put the documents back and ride on. On the way, I drop in at the insurance company's office and get the insurance renewed. I do not really want to go through the hassle of sweating everytime a cop pulls me over.