Sammy Hagar Unable to Meet Cop Who Wrote ‘I Can’t Drive 55’ Ticket

Sammy Hagar’s hopes of meeting the state trooper who issued his famous “I Can’t Drive 55” speeding ticket seem to have been dashed after an ex-cop’s effort to solve the mystery.

The singer is set to bring his Van Halen-focused Best of All Worlds tour to Saratoga Springs, New York, on July 22. Just a short drive from Albany, it’s the area where he was stopped one fateful night in 1984 and ticketed for driving 62 miles per hour in a 55 zone. The incident sparked the creation of one of Hagar’s signature solo hits.

Local radio station Q105.7 attempted to uncover more about the story with the assistance of retired trooper Mike Wells, seeking to help Hagar reconnect with the officer who inadvertently changed his life. Wells, who serves as the secretary of the Association of Former New York State Troopers, explained his efforts: “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.”

There was even the potential that two troopers were present during the stop. “If it was 2 a.m., the state police usually have two-man patrols,” Wells mentioned. Identification became challenging because things have changed significantly over 40 years: “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.’”

Fans of Hagar can catch the Red Rocker performing his classic hit on the Best of All Worlds tour, which already has dates lined up through late September.

Watch Sammy Hagar’s ‘I Can’t Drive 55’ Music Video

Source: Q105.7, Association of Former New York State Troopers