Bad Police experience

[kiefur]

I was driving back home (Sacramento) from San Francisco a little while ago. The car had been in the shop for a few minor things and was running great, sun was shining and the irds were singing . A perfect California day, until we crossed the Bay Bridge....

A highway patrol car pulled up along side us, as soon as I saw it I told my brother that we would get pulled over, sure enough he pulled behind me and 3 miles down the road he turned on his lights and to the side of the road we went... When the officer walked over, I asked him why he pulled us over and his excuse was "the car is VERY noisy", excuse me officer I replied how "noisy" is it allowed to be (in California it is 95db, that is in between the level of noise produced by a BUSY highway and a rock concert) well the poor fellow had no idea, he informed me that he should not be able to hear the engine at all while he was driving by ??????

Right then I knew that I was dealing with an a$$

He then asked for my insurance and registration, because my car was in the shop and the wheels were removed for a brake inspection the papers were moved by the mechanic as he was looking for the wheel lock nut in the glove box, this meant that I was taking a little longer than the officer liked, he shouted that unless I produced the correct paperwork he would have my car on a tow truck before I could say impound. What a jerk, I knew damn well that he had run my plates during the three miles he was behind me.

Luckily it was at that moment that I found the papers, I thought that everything would be OK , but noooo, officer A$$ had a different idea.

He went around to the back and looked under the car, came back to me and said that my muffler was not legal.... "are you kidding I replied, what is wrong with it" he informed me that "Flowmaster mufflers are illegal in the state of California since 1968" I said "You should tell the muffler shop in California that I purchased it from to stop carrying Flowmasters. You must mean straight pipes are illegal" . All went quiet.... I think that he realised his mistake, you would think he would say sorry, but nooo... I was asked to roll up my window, yes they are tinted, fix it ticket #1 then walked around to the front of the car, yes no front plate (who in their right mind would put holes in a Lotus) fix it ticket #2... (at least he missed the laser jammer )

What was more annoying was that after I was given the tickets and was told I could leave officer A$$ pulled out his cell phone and started taking pictures of the car. I guess that is as close as he will come to owning one

It gets even better, after I had the tint removed and new plates issued I went to get the tickets signed of so I didn't have to drive the 160 mile round trip to Vacaville to show the court that everything was corrected. I took the car to the police sub station, and some huge wilderbeast of a lady looked at the car and would not sign off on the ticket. I was confused, I asked what is wrong, she informd me that the plates did not match the ones written on the ticket... I said "of course not they can't just print a plate at the DMV to match the missing plate, they have to give assign new plates to the car" .... "Well the windows are still tinted" "Are you kidding " I replied "There is NOTHING on them" ...... Well 80 miles later in Vacaville a very nice officer at the court house signed everything off.

Until now all my dealing with officers of the law have been pretty good, I guess this is my one exception, knock on wood

Sorry for the rant just had to vent, Steve

[Jonathan]

Ughh - unlucky you !

I got pulled over in LA once, dumb Brits, I didn't know....

Over here you can get out of the car and have a chat with the officer quite casually - over there they think you're gonna start a fight so the guy drops behind his door and pulls Mr 92F out of his pocket and shouts at me to put my hands on the car, I could see right up the spout - brown pooper moment fo shaw

He later explained not to do that, and that 2 traffic guys had been shot up only a few days ago

yes no front plate (who in their right mind would put holes in a Lotus)

Good man ! Should be a law against it...

[Gasman GT3]

Dont worry mate its the same the world over, hey don't like what they don't understand.

Your car looks great any chance of some bigger pictures. B)

[gwilhelm]

wow, thats bad... What a jerk! what a hassle.... grrr..

Must see some pics of your Esprit... Looks like a gorgeous ride!

Edited February 7, 2008 by GregWO

[fmxa]

That's really unfortunate, my dealing with CHP have always been very positive and I find them a very professional group, but if you feel strong enough over the incident complain about his attitude. Believe it or not, they can write you up for a noisy exhaust based on their personal opinion, and tinting windows is just another reason that irritates them.

BTW was your car originally from the LA area and owned by someone called Jeff?

[kiefur]

I have found them quiet easy to deal with also, that's what makes this jerk stand out so much. Yes this was owned by Jeff, picked it up a little over a year on ebay (thank God for ebay, hard to find a Lotus around here). Jeff was a great guy to deal with, not very forthcoming about the accident that the car was in though, however I new from carfax that the car had been in an accident, I just thought that it must have happened right before Jeff purchased it. I found out that he might have held back a little information... Here is a picture I found recently of Jeff and the car in the accident that he knew nothing about . If you see Jeff, tell him thanks for the car it is fantastic.

[karluk29]

and i thought the uk laws were bad, im feeling a little better about the uk cops now.

and your rims are gorgeous.

(if i took my car to cali i think they would have a field day LOL)

[islandbloke]

You hit the nail on the head Steve - when you said he'd never own one! He'll go through life as a wannabe jerk with an attitude like that - and the uniform is the only power and respect he'll ever have in life.

I've been stopped by a few like him - nowadays I just grovel and try to make them laugh at the ridiculousness of wasting time with me when there are so many seriously bad guys to catch...

[Tony K]

Steve -- your Jeff story reminds me of the Reverend from whom I bought my (now sold) Jaguar. I noticed that the paint on the right front fender was not a perfect match to the rest of the car. I asked him if he knew what happened, and he just shrugged. As I was looking through the service receipts, I found one from a body shop stating to replace the dented fender . . . with his name on it!

My one experience with CHP has been a positive one. About ten years ago, I was doing 80-85 on the freeway (I don't remember what the speed limit was - 65, maybe?). CHP pulls alongside of me . . . turns on the loudspeaker . . . "SLOW DOWN!" Okay! In Ohio, you'd get the death penalty.

[Autocross7]

Being from Alabama.... I do not have much nice to say about California. My experiance there with cops is bad, the laws there suck, every damn thing is banned or is on a list to be banned... etc... etc...

I think the traffic cop situation is really getting crappy in some states (Do not get me started on Ohio!) and there will be the inevitable backlash - and it is not ever good. Cops really should treat people better. Not everyone is a criminal - yet. In Alabama they are not too bad. Just have to look out for the newbies that are out to proove themselves that work for the city. Overall, they are pretty good group at the state and they are always willing to stage up some type of autocross or road race for charity. We put together a "Police Chase" road race a while back that was great fun. We drew lots, then paired off with the cops. You'd get three laps then avaerage the time. They would do the same in a patrol car - winning side gets the charity pot. There was a $60 entry fee so a good bit of money off to charity. BTW, the "criminals" won by a landslide. Seems most of the police cars just could not remotely keep pace in a curve...

Cameron

Edited February 7, 2008 by Autocross7

[Paul C]

Gotta throw in a positive one here...

During the Christmas holiday i took the esprit out early one sunday for a spin.

I got pulled by the police for speeding, had a little chat, admitted it was my intent

and thats why i was out so early, and that had the roads been busy then i'd have

not only driven slower, but would not have had the esprit out anyhow (esprit in

traffic is just pissing away fun miles and petrol IMO).

No problem. No booking. No attitude. On yer may mate.

Look out for the good ones, there's a few about!

[gwilhelm]

True, there are some good ones out there. A long time ago, I got clocked doing 55 over the limit. I didn't even wait for the officer to flip is lights, I just pulled over in front of him. He walks up to the window and stated that I was to be arrested and car impounded. my heart fell into my stomach, but then he said that since I admitted guilt by immediately pulling over he would write up the ticket for much less. I still has to go to court, but the ordeal was much less painful and behind me.

I think police really appreciate honesty and in return they might have some compassion.... maybe

[SE Owner :-D]

What a dick.

Your car is the dogs danglies fear not he is just a knob.

Rog

[Guy W Johnson]

My experience with cops has been pretty good, especially in L.A.

When I do get pulled over Mostly they just want to look at the car.

I only got one fixit ticket for having no front licence plate.

Although I really do ask for it.

I raced by a cop doing 75 mph on a side street. He eventually caught up with me looked the car over said he had not seen a Lotus in 10 years. He then said just slow down.

The Worst time of all was:

I use to take the side streets to work at about 5:00 am every morning, doing about 50 mph or so. And one morning I managed to hit every green light doing about 80 mph. I came to the top of a small bridge and Holly F%*%*%k

her come the cop going the other way. Time seems to stand still for just a moment, as I saw him in my rear view mirror trying to hook the fat you turn. He could not get turned around fast enough. So I hooked the first major right turn. I then turned off my lights, turned right again and pulled into an unlit restaurant parking lot. He sat in the middle of the intersection wondering were the hell I went. So he goes straight ahead, in the same direction as my work.

I only had 1 mile to get to work. So I got back on the street with my light off and proceeded on to work. I pulled into work, and realized that I did not have my badge. The longest 8 miles I ever drove going home.

[Tony K]

Being from Alabama.... I do not have much nice to say about California. My experiance there with cops is bad, the laws there suck, every damn thing is banned or is on a list to be banned... etc... etc...

I think the traffic cop situation is really getting crappy in some states (Do not get me started on Ohio!)...

Cameron

Cameron,

One thing I can say about California is that if I ever move there permanently, I will surely die of cancer! -- It seems that every product I have ever bought for servicing or restoring a car "contains a chemical that is known in the state of California to cause cancer." Solution: Stay out of CA!!!

As for Ohio . . . well . . . I have to live here.

- T

[Autocross7]

LOL!!!! You are so right about the cancer warnings!

Cameron

[Bibs]

I'm sure bottled water will carry them soon!

I was scared out of my wits first time I saw this warning on something, then I researched and found out that nearly everything has it!

[rogerch]

It seems a world wide phenomenon, but sadly the Police have lost their sense of humour.

In my (very) young days, 17, I was travelling up the A11, yes I did live in the UK at the time, early one Sunday morning, well over the speed limit. When I see the flashing light in my mirror.

I dully pulled over, when the officer arrived at my window, he leant down with arm resting on the roof, and said,

[99gsxr750]

I guess for every a-hole cop there's a couple good ones. Two of my good buddies are cops as well as my brother-in-law. Their philosophy is pretty much leave well enough alone. None of them write tickets, in fact one of them has been reprimanded on many occasions for not writing enough.

Also, I was pulled over for speeding and the cop let me go because I went so fast through the trap he couldn't get a speed on me (vascar). His partner a mile down the road pulled me over and I had to wait until he showed up. Luckily, he missed his FZR that his wife made him sell.

Mike

[fmxa]

Steve - I remember that accident, he was on his way to a Club Lotus LA club event and from what I remember only had recently purchased the car. I also remember the car being on eBay for an eternity at a dealer in the South Bay someplace.