Fast Too
Enthusiast
Out for errands and being a really nice day today I decided to drive the Viper. I was traveling a stretch of interstate that I know very well. At the bottom of a long downgrade on a curve is a spot where the state police are setting nine times out of ten, so as I start down the downgrade I slow to and maintain 63mph in a 65mph speed zone. Both windows are fully rolled down too mind you. Sure enough there sits a state trooper in the pull out at the bottom of the grade. I wave politely over the steering wheel as I pass him. Also a few cars are in the same traffic group as I that are blowing by me. As I pass him I look up in the mirror and out he pulls when taffic clears and he is quickly closing the gap. I'm thinking to myself why is this guy going to pull me, maybe he is after one of the cars that flew by me. Nope, he pulls up behind me and hits the lights. Off to the shoulder we go. He approaches the car with the window tint gauge thingi in his hand and says he has stopped me for illegal window tint (mind you both windows still down and were when I passed him) and no front plate. I said okay, and he asks for license and registartion. I tell him that I'm reaching in to the glove box to retrieve the requested items. He says no problem go ahead. So I get them out and hand them over, and then tell him I have a pending window tint ticket already. He say's did you happen to get that about two weeks ago by officer so and so in an unmarked car, and I said yes. He say's I saw you that morning but couldn't catch up to you and radioed ahead for you to be stopped (proves you cannot out run a radio). We both grinned at this point. He then asks if I have ever received a ticket for no plate, and I said yes in DC, and they were even going to tow my car for it. He said "what"..I said yes, I was on a parking meter and went out to pump some coins in and had a ticket for no front plate and the ticket was marked tow required. He shook his head, and I said so I moved my car to an underground garage to avoid a tow until I got out of DC. He now says so what is up with my not having a front plate, and I said Officer would you drills holes in a car like this? He steps back and looks down the car and says no, to be honest I don't think I would either. He then walks to the front and leans over a bit looking at the facia. He comes back to the window and says don't they make something that you don't have to drills holes in to your car to mount the plate. I said actually they do, I have heard of velcro mounted and clip on things on the Viper forum but have not really looked in to it. He nods and say's I'll be back in a few minutes. He walks back to his cruiser, and after the few minute of running my info he gets out as I'm watching the side mirror and comes back to my car with license and registartion minus a clip board. He ask's me what was the defective equipment ticket I received in Faquier County for, I said 68 in a 55 that was reduced to defective equipment. He then hands my documents back and says I have a very nice car but need to keep it legal as I can or else I will continue getting stopped for fix it's like the windows and plate. I said I know, and then chuckling said to him many of the Viper owners on the VCA forum call this part of ownership the Viper tax. He laughed and said I can imagine and to be safe. I said the same back to him and added a thank you for what you do, you have a tough job. He replied I don't hear that much, and thanked me for saying that. We then parted ways.
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