Sammy Hagar’s hopes of meeting the state trooper who wrote his “I Can’t Drive 55” speeding ticket appear to be dashed following an ex-cop’s attempt to solve the mystery.
The singer will bring his Van Halen-focused Best of All Worlds tour to Saratoga Springs, New York, on July 22. He’ll be close to Albany, where he was stopped one fateful night in 1984 and ticketed for driving 62 miles per hour in a 55 zone. The incident inspired the song that became one of Hagar’s signature solo hits.
Local radio station Q105.7 attempted to get to the bottom of the story with the help of retired trooper Mike Wells, to see if it was possible for Hagar to reconnect with the officer who inadvertently changed his life.
READ MORE: How David Lee Roth Helped Sammy Hagar’s ‘I Can’t Drive 55’ Video
Wells, secretary of the Association of Former New York State Troopers, tried his best, explaining: “I put it out to our network. The story started going back and forth; somebody said it was this guy, somebody said no, it had to be this guy … I think we had it narrowed down to about four.”
Sammy Hagar’s Ticket Writer Likely Deceased
There was even the chance that two troopers had been present. “If it was 2 a.m. the state police usually have two-man patrols,” Wells said. Regardless, identification was no easy task because things were so different 40 years ago: “The Department of Motor Vehicles may have a record of Mr. Hagar getting a ticket [but] back then the individual tickets were all paper.”
Wells continued: “Of the likely people, they’re all deceased … There wasn’t anybody that stepped up and said, ‘It was me.’ There wasn’t anybody that said, ‘I know it was this guy.’”
Hagar fans can watch the Red Rocker perform his classic hit on the Best of All Worlds tour, which has dates booked through late September.
Watch Sammy Hagar’s ‘I Can’t Drive 55’ Music Video
Van Halen Lineup Changes
Three different singers and two different bassists joined the Van Halen brothers over the years.
