Grandmother Is Grateful for Speeding Ticket

— -- "Please" and "Thank You" may be called the magic words, but they're not often used in relation to speeding tickets.

Tana Baumler, 59, however, was sure to express her gratitude for the citation she received in Idaho in early July.

Baumler, her husband, and the couple's two granddaughters were on their way to Yellowstone National Park for a family vacation when Baumler was pulled over for exceeding the speed limit. State Trooper Mike Nielson found her driving 95 mph in a 75 mph zone on the highway.

"I was going too fast," Baumler conceded. But while she was not exactly surprised to be stopped, the way Nielson handled the incident amazed her.

Baumler told ABC News that Nielson approached the vehicle and immediately greeted her grandchildren "to put them at ease."

"They're 4 and 7," she said of the two girls. "Sometimes you see the lights and a police officer and you're scared, but he came up and talked to them and was really nice. He had no attitude."

"He could have made it a bad day," she added. "But he didn't."

According to Baumler, Nielson distributed stickers to the girls and then handed Baumler one of her own: an $150 ticket, which she paid in full after she and her family returned from Yellowstone.

With her check, she included a short note to recognize Nielson for his kindness and professionalism in the experience.

The letter read: "Dear Idaho State Police, Recently I was on vacation with my grandchildren and was pulled over for speeding. Officer Mike Nielson made it a good experience for my grandchildren by talking with them calmly and giving them stickers. He didn't leave me out and I got my very own STICKER SHOCK :) Thanks for a great attitude."

Given that Baumler has owned a restaurant for 26 years, she knows the value of positive feedback.

"That's probably what motivated me," she said. "When anything bad happens, it's easy to be negative. If someone does a good job, it's always nice to say so."

Baumler called the ordeal "a teaching moment" for her grandchildren. "I told them that you make these choices and that he was just doing his job. I made a bad choice, so I [had to] pay the consequences."

Baumler is confident that the girls internalized her message. Her older granddaughter recounted the event to a local at her restaurant: "She said, 'But grandma should hire him, because he has good customer service."