Got off with a Warning Today!!!!! WOW!!!!

[Gary Kadrmas]

So, out for a drive in the Solstice Today.

Taking in a car show in Canby, Oregon-big event & many, many NICE cars. On the way there, going from a 55MPH zone, into a 45 zone....also a marked "Safety Zone". Just turned 3,000 miles on the odo, and was in the process of shutting off the cruise.....and it dawned on me I was not slowing down. Started to hit the "off" button again, and then I see in my mirror, an Oregon State Trooper with its lights on. Told the wife, I'm gona get a ticket for sure.

Up walks the trooper, and askes for my drivers licence, registration, and proof of insurance. He states he had me on radar at 67 going into the 45 zone. I told him the story, new car, not familiar with the switches, and knew it was odd that I was not slowing down. Gave him my licence and proof of insurance, and told him I'd have to keep looking for the registration. He walks off, and then strolls back, hands me my stuff, and says I should get more familiar with the controls, and to keep the speed down, and gave me a warning. My wife was pissed, I got off with a warning, and she was not as lucky about a month ago!!!!!!

My luck is going to turn good soon. I'm buying some lottery tickets for sure!!!!

[Bill D]

Way to go!!

[Johan]

Originally Posted by Bill D

Way to go!!

The cop was probably gay. I would avoid the area in the future.

[Dutton]

So this guy actually believed your Cobra came equipped with cruise control?

T.

[Dalton]

Feels good, doesn't it! Reminds me of a while back when I had worked most of Friday in the office and was heading with the family to the snow for the weekend. Long drive from Sydney to the Snowy Mountains, and it was about midnight and I was almost there and pressing on. You could see oncoming headlights in the dark, so I knew it was safe when I stayed on the wrong side to get well clear of a tour coach I overtook. Bit later, flashing lights. A police car some distance behind had seen me, had radioed the coach driver (he said) to check that I had been across a solid centreline on the road, then passed the coach and chased me down. Oh dear, expensive weekend and demerit points I thought. When I handed over my licence, which is a semi-trailer (articulated truck, big rig, or whatever you guys call them) licence, he took me for a professional driver and just said "take care now, please". I'm not, it's just a hang over from when I earned Uni fees about a century ago by truck driving. But who cares, I got off free!!

Dalton.

[Gary Kadrmas]

Dutton and Johan,

I was driving my wifes Pontiac Solstice, and from the looks of the officer, he would fit right in as a drill instructor in any branch of the military-I would say he was just a really nice gentleman cop.......and of course I told the truth!

[theon]

My favorite excuse is, but really only works late at night. Is to say you were the designated driver and the only reason you were out that way you just dropped off a buddy who was drinking. They generally don't like to give a ticket to someone speeding a little who was helping out with a bigger issue. I've used that one alot and got many warnings but on the flip side I have recieved 39 traffic tickets. However none ever admitted I was doing anything dangerous just not obeying the low speed limit. I have had lousy luck with officer but good luck in the court room.

Theon Karabatsos

[Brian Hamilton]

I drive a 2000 Crown Victoria P71 (cop car). It's dark blue and was a Detective's car in Colorado City Texas. Yeah it's still got the spotlight & all. I don't get messed with at all. They actually wave at me as I speed past them. THAT BEING SAID... I did get pulled over in April leaving a bar and give a DWI because I hadn't slept in 2 days. They were circling the bar looking for someone to pull over. I was it. I fought it and am getting off with a lesser charge. Anyways, there are some areas around here that the police will jack you for anything & everything they can. I thought about being a cop for a while and actually took a lot of classes for it. Just can't deal with accident scenes. *shrug*

Laters,

Brian

[Chris_K]

Originally Posted by Gary Kadrmas

My luck is going to turn good soon. I'm buying some lottery tickets for sure!!!!

So Gary, are you the lucky winner of the $300M Powerball? If so, are you hiring?

Hope you're feeling better now that your treatments are done! You missed some good times at the gig...

[Gary Kadrmas]

Chris,

I had to interrupt my treatments because I was getting too sick from the drugs. I restart the treatments tomarrow, for 2 more weeks (ugh!)

I wanted to go to your gig, just was not feeling well enough to make the trip.

I did not win Powerball, and I am not even a Dolloraire.

Hope the gig went well, let me know when you will do it again!

[Mesa]

My very best cop story

Sometime in the mid 1980’s - Driving my big fat tired 914V8 from Tahoe back to the SF bay area I encounter a new yellow Supra in the Sierra Mountains. He is up for fight, I could care less, but being a sporting fellow I allow him to race forward on the straight bits and I reel him back in the corners. Well, this goes on for miles, as we get near Placerville the road goes more straight than turns so playtime is over. Then I notice ‘’yellow ‘’is tucked in behind a green Plymouth Satellite up the road a piece. No biggie I slowly pass the green car and tuck in front, then a red light comes on (?) What the hell? An older, plainclothes, all GREEN highway patrol car??? (Back then ALL highway patrol cars in California were black and white, but they come in many flavors these days). Well, I pull off the road to a secluded side street, I notice a crew cut local Sheriff and his deputy stuffed in the car as we stop, not that I was going all that fast remember I was letting the Yellow do most of the straight line stuff. But I figured he was going to find SOMETHING to give me a ticket for regardless. ‘’Crew cut’’ looks over the car as he walks up and asks for the usual items. Then much to my amazement he says “Hey Rob, nice car” “I just wanted to let you know the HP is looking for you and that yellow car, they got you going 80 and him going 90”. “I haven’t got time to give you a ticket but I thought you’d like to know”.

I was in total disbelief……. I barely got out the next words…”So do you think I should just sit here awhile?” “Naw, (says crew cut) they can’t give you a ticket unless you are speeding”. He hops back in his car and the deputy gives me the thumbs up as they drive off.

But wait there’s more…..

I few more miles down the road, now in Placerville (nicknamed “Old Hangtown” from the gold rush days) I pass under an overpass to see a Highway patrolman STANDING outside his car looking for ME as traffic goes under!!! He comes tearing down the onramp to pull in behind me…. He pulls ahead…. Then pulls off an onramp, just to get back on behind me again. I am sweating bullet now as my speedometer is broken and I don’t really know my exact speed. This game goes on for miles and miles, finally I have had enough, I let Mr. 5.0 Mustang Cop get in front enough to dive off the Freeway in a spot he can’t get back to easily. Surely VICTORY is MINE! I pass a gas station on my way to a store for a cool drink and some much needed stress relief. But there, there hiding in the corner in the gas station is a full size State of California Highway Patrol in ominous black and white.....

Thankfully for whatever reason the patrol car didn’t budge……. I must have spent an hour in that store selecting something to drink :-)

Years later I found out why the Sheriff did what he did ‘’for me”. Seems there is a long standing feud in some rural areas because the Highway Patrol in cases of mixed jurisdiction has ultimate authority over California roads. As I understand it local law enforcement sometime feel they are slighted and looked down upon by these “Tow truck drivers with guns”.

Thanks “Crew Cut”.

[Joey Dean]

While in the Navy in 1978 I was going to school at Lowry AFB in the Denver area. While driving home from visiting family in Oklahoma early one Sunday morning, I see the flashing red and whites behind me. I look at the speed and I am doing the limit and nothing more. I pull over and the CO Highway Patrolman ask's for the usual items. I asked what I was being stopped for and was informed I had a headlight out. I am then told to follow him and about 5 miles up the road we pull off into a town and up to a post office. He watches me pull the last $20.00 out of my wallet and place it in the mailbox to satisfy my debt to society, informs me that I am not to drive until 30 minutes after sunrise, and that he will be in the area all day to make sure that is what I do. As he pulls out of the parking lot, a car pulls beside him and the two stop and talk. About a minute later, more lights and a spotlight is shining on the back of my head (I was in a Jensen-Healey, remember those Ron?) and the local cop is asking me for all the usual items yet again. I ask him what the problem is and he informs me that they have a problem with vagrants and the town has a curfew on sitting in cars after some arbitrary time. If I am going to stay, I need to get a hotel room. I tell him that would not be possible as I couldn't afford one, and that as a matter of fact I wasn't sure how I was going to buy any gas as that my last money that had just gone into a slot in the wall in front of me. He then tells me in that case he would have to arrest me for vagrancy unless I was outside city limits in the next 5 minutes. I started the car up to move it and then he reminds me that I have a headlight out and that if I drive, I'll be fined for a vehicle delinquency. I pushed the car for about 10 blocks toward truck stops lights by the interstate. A worker at said truck stop saw me coming with the local yokel behind me with the lights flashing and helped me push it the last block into the station, which thankfully, was just on the other side of the town limits. When asked by the worker there I recounted my tale of woe. He spotted me ten dollars in gas and bought me a sandwich at the diner there. I was happy to mail that man his money back a week later. What a couple of crooked jerks.

I am happy to say that every other encounter I have ever had has been great, but that one just about ruined my outlook on law enforcement officials.

[johng]

Back in the 80's got pulled over, he had me dead to rights. When he asked me if I knew how fast I was going, I simply stated " No, the speedometer only goes to 85". The look on his face was priceless, and he found the humor, and wrote me up for 70 in a 55. Glad to take that ticket. He simply stated, "It is your lucky day, I have a baseball game in 45 minutes and it will take a hour to take your license away".

[Doug Sainlar]

Three weeks ago I was on my way back to TX from southwestern Kansas. As I'm coming up on Canadian, TX I notice flashing lights in my rear view mirror, but they aren't gaining on me so I figure it's just an ambulance running code 2. Nevertheless, I slowed down, only to have a county mountie come up behind me. I turned a corner and pulled into the parking area of a closed gas station and the cop comes up beside the car and asked if I had been camping (I had a mountain bike and a kayak on top of the car and a big aluminum foot locker on a package tray hanging off the back). I said yea, regaled him with tales of my summer ventures, and he asked if I knew why he stopped me. "Well, usually I do have a pretty good idea, but this time I'm clueless" was the only answer I could come up with--it was true, as I had not been speeding. He told me I had a headlight out. I asked if I could get out to see which one. He said OK and shined his light into my car and started laughing. I had 6 guitars and a banjo, a amp for one of the guitars, 5 fishing rods, 4 tackle boxes, 2 chain saws and a weed eater, and most of my home theater electronics all stuffed in that Mazda 626, among many other items I had taken to the remote badlands of SW KS to occupy my time during the 3 month vacation, and I must have looked like the Beverly Hillbilies coming into his town.

In the end, he was gracious enough to hold the flashlight for me while I replaced the Halogen headlight bulb (it had been intermittent for months and I had a spare under the front seat).

They aren't all bad, but my experience is that most of them want to hassle you. I had a brother in law who was a cop and some of the stories he told were downright disgusting.

Doug

[Gary Kadrmas]

Hey guys, great stories!!!!!!!!!!!!

Joey, if it would have been me, I would have been in jail big time. Thats about the time you wish you were 007.

[Neal]

My first brush with the law didn't involve speed. I was coming home from work on a Sunday afternoon and stopped at the bank to grab some cash at the ATM. As I walked back to my car I saw a local police car parked at the end of the parking lot. I got in the car and pulled onto the street and within seconds he fired up the lights and siren. I pulled over to the side and waited for him to approach. I should have known that the deck was stacked as he waited in the car and I assume checked my plate. He approached the car and asked for the prerequisite license and reg. He asked me to get out of the car. Now what? he walks me around to the back of the car and looks at the plate. He proceeds to bring me to the front of the car which had no plate. Mind you, I had spent the better part of that summer fixing this beater Porsche 911 with a new slope nose conversion spending every frickin' dollar I earned. I'm not going to soil the car with a front plate! I happen to be in the city Mercer Island, which is affectionately know an "Poverty Rock" in local circles. Porsche, strike one, Poverty Rock, strike two... He proceeds to ask me (and I'm not kidding), "What's the matter, you couldn't afford a front plate?" I walked around to the drivers door, sat down and asked him to "Just write the F-in ticket up and move on." Irronically, I contested the ticket in court with the excuse "I didn't know I needed a front plate." Oh to be 18 again! They waived the ticket and I paid my $20 court fee.

[Mesa]

LOL ....LOL

That Beverly Hillbilies line reminds me..........while heading south on highway 5 to Los Angeles I am gaining on this ramshakle trailer stacked very high with a lot of what looked to be fairly nice dining room chairs. The chairs were all strapped on every which way, looked like a rolling Jenga (is the name?) game. As I got closer I could read a makeshift sign strapped across the back which read -

"Beverly Hills or Bust".

I hadnt laughed that hard in a loooong time.