A&Q about Lotus
Q:
So I was driving through the Malibu Canyon last night comming back from watching the sunset with a girl at the beach. Since it's dark and the Elise headlights suck aS$, I was crusing at speed limit. Right as I entered the canyon my radar detector goes wild, I look around see no cops, so I figure one is just targetting me from the side of the road.
I drive through the entire canyon with a trail of about 5 cars behind me... towards the end of the canyon I speed up a bit, because of the tail gater I've had behind me the whole time... he was the cop!
He pulls me over and asks fi I know why he pulled me over, I respond "no?!" He then claims I did 62 in a 40, as he looks at my radar detector. Which I respond to by saying "really?!??!" He asks me if I have a license... not to see it, but I have one. I say "Yes." He then asks for it and I give it to him.
Notice, he never asked for my registration. In my hood growing up when a cop does not want your registration it's because they just want to screw with you... so already I'm thinking, I'm getting searched, gonna sit on the side of the road... and yes this has happened to me a few times... I've been pulled over at gun point before...
So..... he looks at my license and asks if I've been drinking... I say "no." He then proceedes to give me a field sobriety test. After I pass that, he then asks "is this your car?" I say "yes." He then asks "Is this car registered to you????" I say "uh.... yeah!" He walks back sits in his car for about 20 minutes looking at his computer.
Now I'm thinking ok, I get a ticket... maybe the car gets searched and we go home. Meanwhile the girl feels bad cuz her whole family is in the department and she knows she can get me off.... she says she should have coached me on what to say before the cop walked up.
So he finally walks back to the car and says... "so I hear Lotus is building a new Esprit" to which I respond "yes, some dealers are already taking deposits." He then says, "this is a toyota mill isn't it?" I say "yes, want to see?" By the end of me showing he and his partner the car, they just said "you guys have a good night, enjoy the car. And if you want to go over 100 do it over on highway 14."
"uh.... ok I will."
A:
I got stopped this week on the way home from work in Culver City. I've had the car for 9 months and this is the first time I've been stoped. I was coming around a 90 degree corner in a residential area and not really paying attention and I see the squad car baring down on me like he's chasing a bank robber, full lights the whole deal. I pull over not really sure he's after me, he is. He comes to the door and asks for license and registration, which I hand him. I then ask him what the problem is and he say's, "how's 58 in a 35 sound!" I reply that I'm sorry but I had no idea I was going that fast. I really don't think I was doing almost 60 around the corner, I'm sure I wasn't doing 35 but didn't feel like I was pushing it. Now on the other hand he looked like he was doing 80 coming after me. He asks when my last speeding ticket was, if I have any warrants, where am I coming from ... etc. I figure I screwed at this point when he says "well I'm through I'm not giving you a ticket." I couldn't believe it and said "really?" to which he replied, "well I can give you one if you really want one." Then came the kicker he says to me " well the way I see it this car can go a whole lot faster than you were going, and probably do it more safely than the average car, but it's not you I'm worried about. between the drunks, people on cell phones and idiots that don't know how to drive your going to have a problem going that fast. Just slow down in my town this isn't the open road." And that was it I couldn't believe it I thought I was toast. The magic of the Lotus saved my arse.
A:
Originally Posted by HardDrive101
Meanwhile the girl feels bad cuz her whole family is in the department and she knows she can get me off.... she says she should have coached me on what to say before the cop walked up.
Glad you didn't get a ticket (not that you should have gotten one in the first place, based on what you say happened)
So, what did your girlfriend say are the magic words ???
A:
I have to admit I love Lotus magic! :-D
A:
Originally Posted by mikester
So, what did your girlfriend say are the magic words ???
The magic words for her are... my sister is in the sherrif's, so is my uncle, my brother in law, and so is .... etc etc. etc.
Their name is such and such, they work over here... hello mr. officer, what area do you work? Do you know them?
.....and those are the magic words.
A:
Some people tend to drive a little too cautiously, e.g. below the speed limit, after they have been drinking so that they don't draw attention to themselves. A Lotus driving under the speed limit on a twisty road would even make me suspicious that something wasn't quite right. I'm not surprised that he questioned your sobriety.
A:
Originally Posted by Chris D.
A Lotus driving under the speed limit on a twisty road would even make me suspicious that something wasn't quite right. I'm not surprised that he questioned your sobriety.
A:
Hey, how about some pics? It's always nice when the officer takes your picture next to his car.
A:
Nice cops? Getting pulled over because they want to check out your car is a waste of your time...and the tax payer's money. Give a guy with a mustache and a flat top (would be a mullet if department allowed it), a gun and a badge, and he thinks he owns the world. That's some lame shiznit IMHO.
A:
The biggest BS of the whole thing is he gave you a sobriety test without any reason. Speeding is not a reason to assume someone is drinking! You should of asked him what you did to make him give you the test.
I agree, it's harrassment, not a nice cop
A:
Originally Posted by joe13531
Nice cops? Getting pulled over because they want to check out your car is a waste of your time...and the tax payer's money. Give a guy with a mustache and a flat top (would be a mullet if department allowed it), a gun and a badge, and he thinks he owns the world. That's some lame shiznit IMHO.
I was thinking two lonely and bored jack-offs.
A:
hey, you did better than I did......atleast your law enforcement dude was cool
John
A:
Two words: "probable cause." No law enforcement official has a right to arrest you, search your belongings, get a warrant against you, etc., without having a reason.
If you were for certain doing 40 and he clocked you at 60, you could have asked to see the radar. I think a person can do this in a polite way without being an ass.
A:
Originally Posted by Eclise
If you were for certain doing 40 and he clocked you at 60, you could have asked to see the radar. I think a person can do this in a polite way without being an ass.
Right or wrong, once they make the stop they have all the power. I'm not saying it was nice of him to stop me but at least he wasn't a total ass once he pulled me over. I was curtious, honest, and lucky. I really did not realize I was going as fast as he said but I'm fairly certain I wasn't doing 35. Asking to see the radar is as good as asking for a ticket. Your basically saying "your a liar, let me see the radar slip" not really going to help the situation much. It's their word against yours, and your going to loose most of the time, I was lucky. But you know what I'm going to be much more aware of my speed through that part of town now, probably more so than if he'd given me a ticket.
A:
Originally Posted by HardDrive101
And if you want to go over 100 do it over on highway 14."
really? LOL! Where is highway 14!?
Originally Posted by pixlpush
Then came the kicker he says to me " well the way I see it this car can go a whole lot faster than you were going, and probably do it more safely than the average car, but it's not you I'm worried about. between the drunks, people on cell phones and idiots that don't know how to drive your going to have a problem going that fast. Just slow down in my town this isn't the open road."
I like his thinking. Smart guy.
A:
Some cops have what is called "no social skills". It looks like you met one!
A:
Originally Posted by Eclise
If you were for certain doing 40 and he clocked you at 60, you could have asked to see the radar. I think a person can do this in a polite way without being an ass.
When I responded with "really?!" I purposefully looked at my radar detector... let him know that I was aware he didn't clock me.
Anyway, for me I always enjoy showing the car... so it was fine by me
A:
Originally Posted by Eclise
Two words: "probable cause." No law enforcement official has a right to arrest you, search your belongings, get a warrant against you, etc., without having a reason.
If you were for certain doing 40 and he clocked you at 60, you could have asked to see the radar. I think a person can do this in a polite way without being an ass.
This is a good way to get a ticket. Start advising police officers/sheriff's about "probable cause" and question their authority. They LOVE that
My approach is to have my Sheriff's Associaton membership that I buy annually in the same plastic sleeve as my license, and hand the sleeve over to the officer. Only had someone look at it once, when I did something really stupid at an airport (pulled across a number of lanes in my Viper and into a restricted parking area a bit too quickly-- scrambled the anti terrorist dudes who were not too happy with me-- trying to get my sister to the airport in time for a plane wasn't quite good enough), but they let it go thanks to all of the support, both financial, and political I try to give to all of our law support agencies who truly, truly earn it every day. Not that some of them aren't bad apples, but mostly they do a thankless job and risk their lives, to help people.
Being polite and trying to understand where they are coming from never hurts.