I live in Illinois and was traveling in Iowa on business on a 2 lane highway where the speed limit is 55mph when I came upon a vehicle in front of me that was traveling 50mph. I was proceeding to pass the vehicle when I realized that the vehicle in the other lane (which turned out to be the police officer) was closer than I thought, so I punched it. He turned around and pulled me over where he told me that I was going 71mph. I told him that I didn't realized how close he was until it was too late (thats why I punched it) and he said that the law required 300ft of space (which I told him that I honestly didn't know). He then gave me a warning for not having 300ft of distance but issued me a speeding ticket (which he knocked down to going 65mph). I have not had a moving violation of any kind in 15 years would not like this unfortunate, untimely, honest mistake to reflect on my record or my insurance. I contacted the local county attorneys office and asked about a diversion program which I was told that they do not have one and they cannot help me. Would this be worth the effort to go to court and ask for leniency or traffic school to have this removed? Would this be too costly? Because this happened out of my home state, I cannot afford to spend a lot of time pursuing this either. Thanks for any advise.