I thought it was absolutely forbideen for a LEO to pull over a vehicle 'just to get a better look'. Isn't that harrassment? Isn't that why they need excuses like 'no front plate' and 'ornamental lights' to pull over cars that have some otherwise fuzzy probable-cause such as 'looks like a car full of gang members looking for trouble'?

I also have to ask, if you've only been pulled over because the LEO wanted to check out your car (implying they're a fan) why would you have such a low opinion of NY traffic enforcement? I'd expect you to back up the 'a$$holes' claim with some story of a $500 ticket you didn't deserve.

Hey, youpey, glad you didn't have any trouble.

 

Ouch! Glad it's funny to you guys. I hope its no real trouble.

I very seldom see another RX-8 in this valley and I've *never* seen another blue one. Mine is surely noticed and stands out to the patrols as much as a Ferrari (full price trouble for 1/10th the cost!) If the local traffic enforcement decides my car has a reputation as a speeder/idiot I'll be toast.

Buddy of mine a few years back had trouble in this valley. He had the only puke yellow Mitsubishi 3000GT in the area. On his way home one night he made a sudden change on the freeway off-ramp (two lane off-ramp, buddy didn't understand it at first) and cut off a car by mistake. The cut-off driver follows my buddy a couple of blocks to his apartment, then rolls down the window and shouts, "you should be more careful than to cut off an off duty cop dumb-***". My buddy was surprised and outraged and he made some fairly abusive and vulgar comments to, uh, illustrate his point of view.

Now, after that my buddy is a magnet for speeding tickets. He wasn't exactly slow in that car, but he had no tickets in the year before the above incident, then got 3 or 4 in quick succession. Finally, he was charging home on the Interstate to pick up something he'd forgotten and saw a state trooper headed the other direction. He figured they'd try to come after him, but he was almost to his exit so he just proceeded on home. At the end of the off-ramp he notices a different state trooper getting on the freeway, but doesn't think anything of it. He gets home and two minutes later there is a knock at the door. It's trooper #1 who wants to ticket him for 85mph (possible, but not likely he could have actually clocked him given the lay of the road), plus he has a report from trooper #2 that my buddy ran the stop sign at the freeway exit (not true according to my buddy), so he's cited for that too.

This was simply too much. My buddy has already been to court once and already had a second court date booked where he expected his license to be suspended. This double-citation was in addition to all that. He changed jobs and moved back where he'd come from. Single, contractor, renting - he could do that.

Me, I own my house - I don't need that kind of trouble here. I don't expect trouble like that to drop out of the sky, but it sobering to see the worst case scenario happen to a guy you work with.

 

That's funny about the bet. Hope your wife finds it funny too. No real harm done by one ticket.

Glad you don't have trouble with a car that recognizable. So far, I don't either. I actually think it's a good thing for them to have stopped you at 4am on a Sunday anyway. They might have mainly been checking to make sure it was really *you* instead of some punk trying to sneak away with your pride and joy. In that way, being known by the car you drive can be a really good thing.