Cars That Are Cop Magnets?

[MA-Caver]

Reading this I wonder if it's true?...
http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/850/is-your-car-a-cop-magnet

Wonder if the obverse is true as well... cars that get the LEAST amount of tickets... Surprise surprise... the Jaguar XJ ranks #1 on the least ticketed auto on the road today... (according to this report anyway)...

But do officers actually pull over cars simply on the make and model... I don't think so... you got to GIVE the officer a REASON to make them want to pull you over, failure to signal, running a stop (or a "Californian Stop" ) or whatever.

LEO's on this forum what say you to this report/article??
Also is color (i.e. Red) really that much of an attractant?

[CoryKS]

It probably has more to do with the type of buyer that a certain car attracts rather than the make/model itself. Most of the highly-ticketed cars on that list are sporty higher-end models - the type that attracts flashy, status-oriented attention seekers. Selfcentric people are probably less inclined to think the traffic laws apply to them.

[Tez3]

Here, it's not so much the sporty or powerful type of car, it's the boy racers police watch out for, it's mostly small cars that have been customised and are driven by young men (though some are female). I'm not sure if you have the same sort of small cars in America. It's things like the Citreon Saxo, Vauxhall Corsa, Renault Clio, they are only 1.1 or 1.2 as insurance for young men is expensive. They do tune the engines up though and they speed but don't have the experience to be able to control the cars at high speed. In my area we've had several deaths in RTAs involving young men and speeding. One of our fighters who's only 20, has had 3 accidents and written off 2 cars already since getting his licence at 18 (the youngest legal age here to get a licence), he was banned from driving for 3 months and had to do an advance driving course, he doesn't drink or smoke but dear lord, he speeds!
The other problem with boy racers is that they congregate in car parks at night to show off. They also speed up and down town streets. The car they lust after but can rarely afford is the Subaru Impreza, the police however do have them, in the top of the range, very fast 0-60 in 4.25 secs, max speed 155mph thing lol!

http://www.google.co.uk/images?q=tbn:7Tc5r3K9ZJXDsM::img186.imageshack.us/img186/8302/car20ft.jpg (http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/8302/car20ft.jpg&imgrefurl=http://forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html%3Bjsessionid%3D621E8377BB9763358B6FC2C F4643C1D8.app03_01%3FtopicId%3D1016063866%26sid%3D 1%26pageNo%3D2&h=309&w=412&sz=29&tbnid=7Tc5r3K9ZJXDsM::&tbnh=94&tbnw=125&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dboy%2Bracer%2Bcars&hl=en&usg=__YTyDM3Q7PEuaSfCdXL6Xh9s_MqM=&ei=fLOMSY6QMIO40gWjy9GZCw&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=1&ct=image&cd=1) http://tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:jzG3_y0Jh6OTZM:http://s.bebo.com/app-image/7926112028/5411656627/PROFILE/i.quizzaz.com/img/q/u/08/05/05/81969065-mario_glanza_march_07_1909111.jpg (http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://s.bebo.com/app-image/7926112028/5411656627/PROFILE/i.quizzaz.com/img/q/u/08/05/05/81969065-mario_glanza_march_07_1909111.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp%3FMemberId%3D2734160013&usg=__aTUY77Im0J6QeTiVvvghjYCLZNM=&h=266&w=355&sz=26&hl=en&start=79&tbnid=jzG3_y0Jh6OTZM:&tbnh=91&tbnw=121&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dboy%2Bracers%26start%3D72%26gbv%3D2%2 6ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26ie%3DUTF-8) http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:lJUkr7L6dbh2eM:http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/article/19075502/2008/09/19/12334964.jpg (http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/article/19075502/2008/09/19/12334964.jpg&imgrefurl=http://icwales-classic.icnetwork.co.uk/motors/roadtests/tm_method%3Dfull%26objectid%3D21853958%26siteid%3D 63127-name_page.html&usg=__C_6VGJpuwfaC0aD6xc_z3V0PkgU=&h=250&w=398&sz=22&hl=en&start=129&tbnid=lJUkr7L6dbh2eM:&tbnh=78&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dboy%2Bracers%26start%3D126%26gbv%3D2% 26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26ie%3DUTF-8)

Other than the boy racers it's the 'rep' cars that are most likely to be stopped, usually the Ford Mondeo and the Vauxhall Cavalier, these are the most common fleet vehicles used by companies and the drivers are nearly always in a hurry. The 'white van man' everyone hates public and police, they are always in a hurry, they cut you up, have no road manners and are usually speeding to the next delivery. They're usually stopped for not wearing seat belts, mandatory here.

[terryl965]

Well we have a mini van and we are not even on someone radar, thank god.

[redantstyle]

i cant follow the logic here.

cops pull you over because you have a mechanical violation or are breaking a traffic law.

[Carol]

Some cars get pulled over more often than others.

Red is the longest wavelength, it catches one's eye more readily than other colors. There was a reason my candy-apple red Camaro was also called arrest-me red.... :o

There's also a reason why I drive a much more conservative car now...

[seasoned]

Maybe it's not the make of the car, as much as the type of people, that buy and drive these models. Maybe the cops know that who ever is behind the wheel of one of those most stopped cars, is that same old person that will give them sh--, every time, just maybe. http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/Image1.gif

[redantstyle]

Some cars get pulled over more often than others.

Red is the longest wavelength, it catches one's eye more readily than other colors. There was a reason my candy-apple red Camaro was also called arrest-me red.... :o

ah, i see. so certain vehicles are more liable to catch the eye, and therefore increase your chances of getting a ticket if you got one coming.

that makes perfect sense.

[sjansen]

I recieved plenty of tickets until I got a high priced car. Once I got a vehicle that cost more than $20,000 I was never pulled over. Cops don't want people who can afford a lawyer to come to court and fight a ticket.

[SFC JeffJ]

I've been pulled over numerous times in my Subaru WRX buy have only got warnings.
I wonder why that is.

[jks9199]

There are a combination of factors that figure into whether a car comes on my personal radar.

If I'm running radar, it's going to be whether or not I have a good visual estimate of the speed, which the radar confirms. Yeah, a more visible car is probably going to catch my eye. Same principle if I'm watching a stop sign or even just driving down the road. If your car or your driving makes me look twice, you got a better chance of being stopped.

Otherwise, there are other indicators I look for that, through training and experience, are often associated with criminal activity. No -- I'm not going to list them, though you can probably guess a lot of them.

But I think a part of it is indeed the personality of the person likely to buy a particular car. The folks likely to buy some cars are also more likely to drive fast or kind of reckless...

[jks9199]

I recieved plenty of tickets until I got a high priced car. Once I got a vehicle that cost more than $20,000 I was never pulled over. Cops don't want people who can afford a lawyer to come to court and fight a ticket.
Sorry...

I for one (and just about nobody I've worked with) let the value of the car decide whether it'll get stopped.

Just maybe it's that, once your car was worth more, you began to drive with more respect for the car and the law? :shrug:

[grydth]

One suspects that driver behavior has much more to do with tickets than car make.... although some drivers seem to actually drive like the stereotype they imagine would be at the wheel of a certain car.

[CoryKS]

One suspects that driver behavior has much more to do with tickets than car make.... although some drivers seem to actually drive like the stereotype they imagine would be at the wheel of a certain car.

Yup. There's a reason why there's no song called "Bitchin' Camry". :rofl:

[elder999]

I like to drive fast.

I get out of a lot of tickets.

I drive all sorts of things, and ride more than a few sorts of bikes.

All of that said, a great deal of the time I get pulled over not because I'm driving fast, or because of a mechanical violation, but because of the car I'm driving, and the color of my skin. Or some combination thereof.

To be fair, I've been pulled over driving a Ferrari, a Porsche, and a Bentley, simply because the cop wanted to check the car out.....I was kinda cool with that. Certainly didn't have anything to do with the color of my skin, or anything else.....they just "hadn't seen one of these before."

To be fair, I've gotten out of even being written a ticket for driving at an excessive rate of speed, in part because I was sober, in part because of the hour of day, and, in part because of the car I was driving. (Highly modified Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite, 1982, 127 mph at 4:00 AM just off the LIE-Trooper, look at how the car smiles at me-there's no one on the road. I just had to. Wouldn't you? :lol: )

On the other hand, I've been pulled over more than once driving a Mercedes or BMW and the first question out of the cop's mouth-before "License, registration and insurance"-has been "Is this your car?" :lol:


I don't even want to talk about muscle cars, Corvettes or those PowerWagons that I love so much......:lol:

Oddly enough though, I rarely get pulled over on two wheels.......

[jks9199]

All of that said, a great deal of the time I get pulled over not because I'm driving fast, or because of a mechanical violation, but because of the car I'm driving, and the color of my skin. Or some combination thereof.



I don't know what may or may not have happened or led to you being stopped.

But I will categorically state that it's very difficult for an officer to stop a car based solely on the race of the driver. Especially at night or if that car is moving at a high rate of speed.

My jurisdiction is a small town; we have NO highways and the town code states that, unless otherwise posted, the speed limit is 25 mph. Even so, when I worked patrol, it wasn't real common to know the race of the driver until I walked up on the car. When I'm looking at a car for a violation, I'm looking at the driving, not the driver, whether I'm assessing the speed of the car or whether the wheels are moving, or whatever else.

Let me suggest a relatively simple experiment. Look around your community, and find a convenient parking lot adjacent to the road. Park legally, and watch the cars. Try it in the daytime and the night. I suspect that you'll find it a bit enlightening... because I bet that you won't be sure (and often, not even able to hazard a guess) of the race of most of the drivers.

[MA-Caver]

I've been pulled over numerous times in my Subaru WRX buy have only got warnings.
I wonder why that is.
Probably because you didn't give the officer any grief.

I've been pulled over a few times as well... cooperated totally with the officer, spoke respectfully, always kept my hands in view... let them know what I was reaching for in the glove box (registration and insurance info) BEFORE I reached for it and waited til I got their nod of okay, opened it, moved back to let them SEE inside the box and then got the info ... basically showed them the respect they're due simply because they're doing their job. :idunno: Gotten off with more warnings than anything else. Knowing how stressful a simple traffic stop can get I try to make MY traffic stop as easy for the officer as I can.
The only time I gotten a ticket was driving my friend's Red Camero doing 30 in a school zone that I had no idea WAS a school zone ... but I didn't even argue with the cop... his expression told me that he wouldn't brook no argument. Ah well... no biggie.

[elder999]

I don't know what may or may not have happened or led to you being stopped.

But I will categorically state that it's very difficult for an officer to stop a car based solely on the race of the driver. Especially at night or if that car is moving at a high rate of speed.

My jurisdiction is a small town; we have NO highways and the town code states that, unless otherwise posted, the speed limit is 25 mph. Even so, when I worked patrol, it wasn't real common to know the race of the driver until I walked up on the car. When I'm looking at a car for a violation, I'm looking at the driving, not the driver, whether I'm assessing the speed of the car or whether the wheels are moving, or whatever else.

Let me suggest a relatively simple experiment. Look around your community, and find a convenient parking lot adjacent to the road. Park legally, and watch the cars. Try it in the daytime and the night. I suspect that you'll find it a bit enlightening... because I bet that you won't be sure (and often, not even able to hazard a guess) of the race of most of the drivers.

**** your experiment.

Top down, broad daylight, in legal compliance with no mechanical failures.

I'll repeat: Is this your car?

[sjansen]

My old car was a 1988 Chevy celebrity (in the 1990's). My new car was 1998 Grand Prix GTP, supercharged. You can bet I sped more in the GTP. I just didn't get pulled over. Make whatever sense you want out of it. I speed alot in my new full size pickup too. I just don't get pulled over in that either. I ran blew through a stop sign last weekend in a brand new pathfinder on accident and a cop was going the other way less than a second after me. I figured I'd get pulled over but that didn't happen.

It might just be my experience, but it seems odd to me.

[mozzandherb]

I think that the police are on the look-out for specific types of cars, mainly those that have some significant modifications done to the suspension or exhausts.
It is easy to spot these cars because they are lower and they are loud. I have an extremely modified Honda, and police targetted me because of my free flowing muffler, now I have a more restrictive muffler, but it's legal and still the police have pulled me over, but now I carry around a piece of cardboard that shows that my muffler is legal.
The police do target people, areas, and for that matter certain cars

[jarrod]

I like to drive fast.

I get out of a lot of tickets.

I drive all sorts of things, and ride more than a few sorts of bikes.

All of that said, a great deal of the time I get pulled over not because I'm driving fast, or because of a mechanical violation, but because of the car I'm driving, and the color of my skin. Or some combination thereof.

To be fair, I've been pulled over driving a Ferrari, a Porsche, and a Bentley, simply because the cop wanted to check the car out.....I was kinda cool with that. Certainly didn't have anything to do with the color of my skin, or anything else.....they just "hadn't seen one of these before."

To be fair, I've gotten out of even being written a ticket for driving at an excessive rate of speed, in part because I was sober, in part because of the hour of day, and, in part because of the car I was driving. (Highly modified Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite, 1982, 127 mph at 4:00 AM just off the LIE-Trooper, look at how the car smiles at me-there's no one on the road. I just had to. Wouldn't you? :lol: )

On the other hand, I've been pulled over more than once driving a Mercedes or BMW and the first question out of the cop's mouth-before "License, registration and insurance"-has been "Is this your car?" :lol:


I don't even want to talk about muscle cars, Corvettes or those PowerWagons that I love so much......:lol:

Oddly enough though, I rarely get pulled over on two wheels.......

elder, my man, you don't know how much i feel you on this.

i'll be cruising down the highway, going 60mph to save gas, & i can almost hear the cops thinking, "look at that white guy driving a '96 corolla. who does he think he is?"

i might as well paint a target on my car.

jf

[Tez3]

I like to drive fast.

I get out of a lot of tickets.

I drive all sorts of things, and ride more than a few sorts of bikes.

All of that said, a great deal of the time I get pulled over not because I'm driving fast, or because of a mechanical violation, but because of the car I'm driving, and the color of my skin. Or some combination thereof.

To be fair, I've been pulled over driving a Ferrari, a Porsche, and a Bentley, simply because the cop wanted to check the car out.....I was kinda cool with that. Certainly didn't have anything to do with the color of my skin, or anything else.....they just "hadn't seen one of these before."

To be fair, I've gotten out of even being written a ticket for driving at an excessive rate of speed, in part because I was sober, in part because of the hour of day, and, in part because of the car I was driving. (Highly modified Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite, 1982, 127 mph at 4:00 AM just off the LIE-Trooper, look at how the car smiles at me-there's no one on the road. I just had to. Wouldn't you? :lol: )

On the other hand, I've been pulled over more than once driving a Mercedes or BMW and the first question out of the cop's mouth-before "License, registration and insurance"-has been "Is this your car?" :lol:


I don't even want to talk about muscle cars, Corvettes or those PowerWagons that I love so much......:lol:

Oddly enough though, I rarely get pulled over on two wheels.......


Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite, 1982


Know as the frogeye here. I had to throw a bucket of cold water over my other half just now when I told him what you got! LOL! he went out yelling........ I want one!!

[elder999]

Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite, 1982


Know as the frogeye here. I had to throw a bucket of cold water over my other half just now when I told him what you got! LOL! he went out yelling........ I want one!!

Nah-that happened in 1982. THe car was a 1960 with the Judson supercharger, and the bigger 1275cc motor.......good times......:lol:

I wouldn't mind another, but doubt I'd fit as well as I did when I was 22....:lfao:

[LawDog]

Most Police do want / need a reason to pull a vehicle over however if you want to receive attention quicker drive a vehicle that,
*Is of a very bright color, like fire engine red,
*Has a loud chambered type exhaust system,
*Has a very loud high performance engine,
*Has one of those trunk mount sterio systems, big boomers,
*The vehicles exterior has been really modified.
These are the real things that will help you receive an extra look from an LEO it is not just the make of a car.
Well maybe a "blond driver" who has the top down might get an extra look as well.
:xwing:

[seasoned]

I recieved plenty of tickets until I got a high priced car. Once I got a vehicle that cost more than $20,000 I was never pulled over. Cops don't want people who can afford a lawyer to come to court and fight a ticket.
Also a very good point. http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/images/icons/icon12.gif

[Cryozombie]

I drive a camaro. The only times I have been pulled over in it were for mechanical failures: A headlight and my Plate Light. I don't think the fact that I drive a Camaro gets me pulled over... Maybe if it was red, or I drove like Carol. :D

[Bob Hubbard]

If you want to avoid being pulled over by the cops
* Drive a white car, preferably a Ford Taurus, kKar, or any make of station wagon.
* Drive 10-20MPH -under- the speed limit in the left lane
* leave your turn signal on all the time
* dye your hair grey
* Wear flannel shirts
* Make sure the seat belt is hanging under the door.


How many old farts you see pulled over hmmmm? :D

[Tez3]

One thing here that police look for is a very careful driver late at night or in the early hours. When driving it's normal to drive at slightly differing speeds etc but a very careful driver usually means one who has had a few drinks too many and is driving with extra concentration due to being nissed as a pewt.

[MA-Caver]

One thing here that police look for is a very careful driver late at night or in the early hours. When driving it's normal to drive at slightly differing speeds etc but a very careful driver usually means one who has had a few drinks too many and is driving with extra concentration due to being nissed as a pewt.
Well a very careful drunk driver I think is a lot better than one who has a mind that there's only one pedal on the floor and stomps on it and tries to over correct their steering the whole time.
But then a really careful drunk driver would have their sober buddy behind the wheel.

[Tez3]

Well a very careful drunk driver I think is a lot better than one who has a mind that there's only one pedal on the floor and stomps on it and tries to over correct their steering the whole time.
But then a really careful drunk driver would have their sober buddy behind the wheel.


True enough but they will make a mistake sooner than later, and if they are in a habit of driving drunk because they've not had an accident yet they need to be disabused of that way of thinking. I have heard someone say they actually drive better with a few pints in them before now.

[MA-Caver]

True enough but they will make a mistake sooner than later, and if they are in a habit of driving drunk because they've not had an accident yet they need to be disabused of that way of thinking. I have heard someone say they actually drive better with a few pints in them before now.
Yeah I used to think that way too... amazing that I survived this long with that kind of stupid thinking.

[redantstyle]

there's more where that came from...

[MA-Caver]

there's more where that came from...
Yeah well, as long as alcohol is made that's a given.

[Drac]

Sorry...

I for one (and just about nobody I've worked with) let the value of the car decide whether it'll get stopped :shrug:

What he said...I could care LESS what a car costs or the color..The LOUD ground shaking THUMP, THUMP. THUMP of some idiot that gave up his trunk space for speakers that belong on a stage in front of a band always catches my attention..

[Archangel M]

Hmmm.."I drive fast a LOT".."but the reason I get pulled over is my skin color"...

Right.

[Sukerkin]

**** your experiment.

Top down, broad daylight, in legal compliance with no mechanical failures.

I'll repeat: Is this your car?

That's not very polite, Elder - thank goodness the filter spared my delicate sensibiities.

As to your last, I thought that was a stock opening question. I've certainly been asked it 100% of the times I've been stopped whether in a car or on a bike ...

... and I wasn't driving any fancy-pants-too-much-money-smorgs-mobiles (I've spent less than £1000 total on all the cars I've ever owned).


I can't walk in your shoes, that's for sure but are you certain that you're not letting a popular stereotype sink a little too deeply into your psyche? You're a clever chap but that doesn't mean you can't have a mental blind-spot. I know I certainly have a few that make me less than reasonable on some issues :o.

[Tez3]

It's a standard question, is this your vehicle, basically because if it's not even if you have borrowed it properly you may not be covered by insurance and in this country insurance is compulsory. Thats basically why the question is asked, not because you are thought to have stolen it, thats actually easy to tell now with the automatic vehicle recognition systems available to police these days. A friend of mine borrowed his mothers car, he got stopped as he had lights out and he got done for not having insurance as his mothers didn't cover him. That may seem petty until you consider an uninsured car hits your car you will end up paying for the damage ( or your insurance will and your premiums goes up)

[Archangel M]

I have typically already "run" the vehicles plates before I stop it so I know who its registered to. If I have the time I have ran the persons license and warrant checks as well.

I ask "is this your car" because if it is I already know most of what I need to know...if its not the owner I have to run the operator.

[elder999]

That's not very polite, Elder - thank goodness the filter spared my delicate sensibiities.

As to your last, I thought that was a stock opening question. I've certainly been asked it 100% of the times I've been stopped whether in a car or on a bike ...

... and I wasn't driving any fancy-pants-too-much-money-smorgs-mobiles (I've spent less than £1000 total on all the cars I've ever owned).


I can't walk in your shoes, that's for sure but are you certain that you're not letting a popular stereotype sink a little too deeply into your psyche? You're a clever chap but that doesn't mean you can't have a mental blind-spot. I know I certainly have a few that make me less than reasonable on some issues :o.

Well, hardly. I know a few things about experiments, and his is not valid, as it doesn't test all the conditions for a stop-in fact, all it might really prove is that his eyesight isn't that great. I'd suggest that he rent a higher end vehicle for a month, spend two weeks driving it around normally, and two weeks driving it around with blackface theatrical makeup on, and see how much or how little he gets pulled over, but that wouldn't necessarily validate anything either. One everyone can try, though, is to drive through their town, at the speed limit-20-45 mph, and look at the drivers in the opposing lane, and see if they can determine their race under those conditions. Or across an intersection-or at the cross-street lights at an intersection, or when they drive through an intersection. Under most conditions, save the darkest and illegal tint on the driver's side window, one will find that they can easily determine the "race" of the driver. Under some conditions, you might find that you can as easily determine it at highway speeds for vehicles in the opposing lanes, as well as for vehicles traveling in the same direction-sometimes even from behind.


Now, I'll add that I mean no offense to any law-enforcement personnel. I'll point out this post, (http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1088091#post1088091) and add a few things.




Hmmm.."I drive fast a LOT".."but the reason I get pulled over is my skin color"...

Right.

Well, when I get pulled over for driving fast-which is pretty rare for the last 15 years or so-the getting pulled over, not the driving fast-I know it. The cop knows it. Generally, I'm pretty good at getting out of those-either talking the cop out of it or getting the speed he puts on the ticket reduced, and/or getting out of it in court. Last time I got pulled over for speeding was near Alamosa, CO, about three years ago (late 2005). Nothing but me and sagebrush, and I was going about 95, damn the luck. Officer asked me why I was going so fast (this before he asked for license, insurance and registration) and I said I've really gotta pee! He laughed and let me go with a warning when everything checked out....and I'd peed like the proverbial racehorse with both his car doors blocking the view, something I couldn't have done with my car, as it only has two doors.

Bottom line, I may drive fast a lot, but I don't get pulled over for speeding a lot.

Anyway, personal info: when I was in college, I was also in the "used car business," though not in the conventional sense. I bought, sometimes restored and shipped cars to South American countries. Back in the early 80's, I could buy a Trans-Am for about $7,000 and sell it in Venezuela, Columbia or Bolivia for about $25,000. I also did well with a lot of other cars. Occasionally, I'd drive a car around for a while-either because I didn't have enough inventory to ship, or because I just wanted to. I still have a few cars, but I got out of that business just in time for other adventures, like marriage.....:lol:

Now, it's never happened to me in New Mexico-it might have happened once in Denver, I don't know, but in New York and New Jersey, I got pulled over for "driving while black" alot. Typically, I wasn't driving fast-occasionally maybe a tick over the speed limit "in the flow of traffic", but, more often than not,well within compliance, because, unless I'm driving really fast-which I do when I have the road entirely to myself-that's how I roll. Typically, I had no equipment violations. Now, sometimes, sometimes the cops just wanted to check the car out-as in stop me so they could see it up close: this happened with a TVR, and a few other more exotic cars, and it was okay. Sometimes, though, they really figured the guy in the Bentley/Mercedes/Porsche/Ferrari had to be a drug dealer-not a doctor, or a lawyer, or some sort of pro-athlete (I'm a congenital klutz, so there wasn't a chance of that, but I was tall enough and built enough to think as much). More often than not it was some sort of fishing expedition. There are some who'd say it was just good police work-that, odds are a young black man driving that kind of car is up to something-at the very least, I must have stolen it, and if I didn't steal it, it's ill gotten gains of one sort or another.Call it "racial profiling."

I could offer lots of specific examples: once in a Bentley, once in a Porsche, twice in a Ferrari in one week, but the best one is this: I had a BMW 2002-I actually owned three at the time-and was stopped at a light coming out of my parents neighborhood-my old neighborhood. I drove through the green light as a State Trooper pulled up to the now red light on the cross street I was entering-if you've seen a BMW 2002, you know it has a pretty high greenhouse with lots of visibility into the driver's compartment. He turned around and pulled me over. I was going 30 mph in a 30 mph zone, because, of course, I'd just seen him. The car, while pretty cool, wasn't anything extra special-just a 12 year old BMW in good shape. I had no equipment violations, and, when we'd gone through the license, insurance, and registration thing, I asked him why he pulled me over, and he said I just wanted to check you out.

Of course, there could have been some sort of lookout for someone who looked like me-that's happened a few times. Heck, I was gassing up here in New Mexico and had a Pueblo cop ask me if I was a wanted murderer once-luckily, I was wearing my laboratory badge with my photo and name on it, so he could clearly see I wasn't the guy everyone was looking for. I don't think that was the case at that time, though-it was 1983, and the Troopers in the area were known for that at the time, just as the cops on the Jersey Turnpike were known for pulling over black people because it was a drug corridor, and they got quite a few busts that way.

Anyway,I didnt bother asking him why he wanted to check me out;I just wanted to be on my way. I'm pretty sure that my assumption was right on, though, and it's okay, actually. I was polite, he was mostly polite, and I've been in this skin all my life;it's not like things like that are completely unexpected. Hell, I still get followed through department stores until I whip out the plastic.....:lol:

Back on topic, though-all those cars certainly qualified as "cop magnets." That's why my everyday driver is a Saab....:lol:

[Big Don]

Mercury Grand Marquis / Ford Crown Victoria loads of cops drive them...

[MA-Caver]

Mercury Grand Marquis / Ford Crown Victoria loads of cops drive them... Yeah but it's what's under the hood that counts.

[elder999]

Mercury Grand Marquis / Ford Crown Victoria loads of cops drive them...

Piss on all Fords made after 1972, and a pox on all who bear the name for the company. :rpo::dalek:

:lol: (well, not really)

[redantstyle]

amazing that I survived this long with that kind of stupid thinking.

actually i was echoing this sentiment of yours.

[Drac]

The first blast of warm Spring weather up here will bring all the jerks to the roadways..The ones that will be pulled over are the ones speeding no matter what their car looks like...They want to attract attentions hence the 40" rims and earth shaking sound system...Out of those we grab better than 1/2 will have no driving privledges..Out of that 1/2 every 3rd person will have an active warrant..

[elder999]

On the one hand you say this:


..The ones that will be pulled over are the ones speeding no matter what their car looks like..

Then, immediately afterword, you say this:


...They want to attract attentions hence the 40" rims and earth shaking sound system...

Which seem to be in conflict to me......otherwise, I'm with you-I hate the earth shaking sound system.....though I do laugh when they pull up next to me or behind me, because they are going to be sooooo deaf...

[Drac]

On the one hand you say this:



Then, immediately afterword, you say this:



Which seem to be in conflict to me......otherwise, I'm with you-I hate the earth shaking sound system.....though I do laugh when they pull up next to me or behind me, because they are going to be sooooo deaf...

Yeah that does read like conflicting statements...If someone is rolling by in one of them tricked out cars it will attract my attention..I will only radar them if they appear to be speeding..

[Drac]

I'm with you-I hate the earth shaking sound system.....though I do laugh when they pull up next to me or behind me, because they are going to be sooooo deaf...

Pulled down a mouthy female once in her Mamma's car..She proceeded to tell me that its not loud because it factory installed...

[Jade Tigress]

I drive an '06 Mustang GT. Black, tinted windows, and no plate on the front. Tinted windows and no front plate are illegal here. I like to drive fast, and I admit to deafness at times because I love music and my stereo is kick ass. I've never been pulled over.

My last car was a fire engine red Honda Accord Coupe, VTEC, spoiler, nice stereo. I drove fast. I never got pulled over.

I should knock on wood. Now that I've said this I'm gonna get stopped. lol

[elder999]

.

I should knock on wood. Now that I've said this I'm gonna get stopped. lol


If you do, it won't matter much.That whole "gorgeous blonde factor" will get you out of a lot of tickets....:lol:

[Drac]

If you do, it won't matter much.That whole "gorgeous blonde factor" will get you out of a lot of tickets....:lol:


Yup....

[Sukerkin]

Smoothly spoken, gentlemen (I'll add a third card to that hand if I may?).

[Jade Tigress]

LOL! You guys are funny. Thanks. :)

[Drac]

LOL! You guys are funny. Thanks. :)

Just telling it like it is..

[Archangel M]

It can be a bit funny what "gets" some cops vs others.

Speed on a straight-a-way wont tick me off as much as the speeder weaving in and out of traffic, cutting people off. People in souped up cars peeling away from a stop light will almost always get a ticket from me while equipment violations like lights blown out will typically just get a warning.

Never let me catch you a second time though....

[Bikewr]

I don't do much traffic enforcement any more, but I have very little tolerance for reckless driving. It's been my experience that individuals who have "performance" cars like to play with them...

When we see vehicles with overly-tinted windows, we think, "what is junior doing in there that he doesn't want anyone to see?"

[Drac]

Not wishing to hi-jack this excellent thread but just wanted to add a new wrinkle..OK LEO's..How about motorcycles??? Does any particular model or style get your undivided attention??

[elder999]

Not wishing to hi-jack this excellent thread but just wanted to add a new wrinkle..OK LEO's..How about motorcycles??? Does any particular model or style get your undivided attention??

I'm not an LEO, but I can say that 20 or more years ago, a Harley got a lot of attention, as did any kind of custom "chopper." That's not so true anymore, I think, though some probably get a little extra attention because they believe" loud pipes save lives," and some are trying to live up to the "bad to the bone" image, and just asking for (rather than "looking for") trouble.

[Drac]

I'm not an LEO, but I can say that 20 or more years ago, a Harley got a lot of attention, as did any kind of custom "chopper." That's not so true anymore, I think, though some probably get a little extra attention because they believe" loud pipes save lives," and some are trying to live up to the "bad to the bone" image, and just asking for (rather than "looking for") trouble.

Loud pipes do save lives and I am living proof...Those idiots on the crotch rockets usually attract my attention....

[elder999]

Loud pipes do save lives and I am living proof...Those idiots on the crotch rockets usually attract my attention....


Well, yeah, they do. And the crotch rocket set do tend to break the rules, rather than bend them....

[Drac]

It can be a bit funny what "gets" some cops vs others.

Speed on a straight-a-way wont tick me off as much as the speeder weaving in and out of traffic, cutting people off. People in souped up cars peeling away from a stop light will almost always get a ticket from me while equipment violations like lights blown out will typically just get a warning.

Never let me catch you a second time though....

An observation from this out-of-towner and his wife that maybe Bob Hubbard can comment on..The posted speed limits in NY appear to be suggestions and not the observed laws..

[elder999]

The posted speed limits in NY appear to be suggestions and not the observed laws..


You should deal with some southwestern states. Here, a posted 75 mph on the interstate (away from a metro like Albuquerque or Phoenix) is pretty much 90 mph.....:lfao:

[Drac]

You should deal with some southwestern states. Here, a posted 75 mph on the interstate (away from a metro like Albuquerque or Phoenix) is pretty much 90 mph.....:lfao:

Yeah, parts of Fla are like that...Ditto our own I-271...I always drive fast and yet people up there will pass me like I am at a stop...