My first traffic stop in the Viper

[Yves]

I was bound to happen, ...

Was out cruising on Sunday, weather was beautiful in OR.
In between Dundee and McMinville I pass a big *** pick up truck which had been irritating me for miles, and yes, my best friend was just down the road, observing it all.

I immediately saw him take off after me and seconds later the lights went on. What a feeling of helplesness... Normally I am on my R1 when this kind of stuff happens and eh... I usually don't stick around to talk to the officer

This was so different. No where to go. The Viper is too big, too slow and not really practical to eh ...(poll : make love in/run from the cops/go shopping). I felt like a sitting duck.

So, I pull over. First time in 3 years. **** .
My prior experiences were bad ones. Always on the bike. Cops treated me like trash, yelling at me, etc...Three months after moving to the US I was already on probation. Since then I changed my attitude on how to deal with the situation and haven't talked to a cop since.
So I was preparing for the worst. Cop walks over and asks me to roll the window down. Since I have a 94, all I could do was open the slider door in my V-mania windows. Cop starts laughing. He asks me weather I have a clean record. Totally clean I say (if only he would know how I kept it clean

). He asks for my documents and takes them to his car. Finally comes back, asks me to keep it cool on the road and CONGATULATES ME ON THE CAR (was just Zainod). He also mentioned "that I was actually behaving rather well in view of how fast my car was" Yeah baby ! A connaisseur ! All of a sudden, it all made sense to me ... That's what we need ! Different speed limits per type of car.
Final result : no citation.

Wow !

Apparently I was dealing with a car nut. Lucky me. I'm sure it would have been a different story on my bike...

 

[spdrcrj]

Yeah....on your bike, you would have gotten away. I used to have a 2000 R1 and loved it. Makes my Vette seem like a pig. Congrats on not getting a citation.

 

[Warren S]

Whew! That was a close one Yves. Glad that the officer was a car enthusiast and took interest of your car.

Now why was it when I went cruising around this past weekend, a stock ricer Integra was trying to make a run on me in front of a cop? I saw the officer about a block away, but this ricer was so glued-onto my car the he didn't even see him. So what does he do after the light turns green? He stomps on it. I thought, what an idiot. Well, I just took it easy, actually I didn't pay any more attention to this ricer, as I was looking to see what this officer was going to do. Turns out, the officer didn't even take notice. So because of my sharp vision and calmness, no one got a ticket.

Warren.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

It's not illegal to pass a truck. He didn't have anything on you that's why he let you go.

 

[Snakester]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>It's not illegal to pass a truck. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Unless you exceed the posted speed limit when passing.

I also recently got pulled over. My first time in the Viper (after a year of daily driving).

There were two lanes turning left from a signal, and the Subaru wagon in the lane next to me just went wide with his turn, right into my lane and I hit the brakes, missing him.
He was completely oblivious that I was there.

So I pulled into the next lane (the lane he should have been in) and blew past him so he could hear me. There were no other cars in the two lanes, and no intersecting roads.

I looked back and a cop car was in a big hurry to get to me, and pulled me over.

The two cops asked me if I knew what the posted speed limit was, and how fast I was going. I said I don't know, and then one of them got pissed and said that if I wasn't straight with him he would ticket me right there. I guessed that the speed limit was 40, and I was probably going 85MPH when passing.

I asked if he saw the guy cut me off, and he said yeah, but that would have resulted in an accident, but what I did could have easily killed someone! And that he has seen several of these Vipers in bad accidents with the drivers dead, and just because I have the power doesn't give me the right to vent my road rage.

Sure, I was miffed at the other driver's inept driving, but road rage? I didn't cut him off or yell or anything.
I just blew past him in the open lane next to his.

They asked me why I was driving there (just going home from work) and if I had been convicted of a felony before. (What?!?)
Maybe it's a standard question nowadays.

Anyway, I knew that they just wanted to admit that I was wrong, and foolish, and that I wouldn't do it again. that's just what I said. No arguments, no discussion. And they let me go with the warning.

I saw the same angry cop with another partner at a car show last weekend, and quickly lost myself in the crowd to avoid a post-partum lecture.

I'm generally a pretty tame driver actually, and it's interesting how mere acceleration is seen as death-tempting, road-rage in the Viper.

-Dean.

 

[jimandela]

Snakester,
all your actions seemed reasonable.
passing a ****! no cutoff on your part or finger waving.
i think they were just busting your chops.


glad no ticket

JIM

 

[Tiepilot]

My first traffic stop in the Viper resulted in a speeding ticket.

54mph in a 40mph zone, 14mph over on a 5 lane empty industrial service road and every road around it is 45mph including the main drag in front of a large shopping mall.

On this desolate connector road they were busting speeders and while wrecks and racing occur in front of the mall by the minute they were "milking" the side streets.

After the ticket was issued I told the cop "I hope this 14 over ticket wins you the toaster oven for meeting your shift quota".

 

[Gerald]

I JUST got nailed a few days ago (pulled over twice in one week after not being pulled over for about 4 years!) for doing 89 in a 55. Cop wrote me for 64 in a 55 . Going to court to get points with held and just pay the fine..

Gerald

 

[Qualitywires.com]

Lucky he didn't shoot your dog.

 

[doctorbob]

I think there was an article in Viper magazine awhile back on how to act after being stopped in your viper for speeding. I was stopped seven times in my 97 GTS and never got a ticket. The last time I was doing 115 in a 65 passing one of those #@%^ trucks. The officer advised me to keep it below 100 and told me he would see me next week for his post op check. I had done a vasectomy on the guy. Being a urologist has its advantages!

 

[99 R/T 10]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>
Lucky he didn't shoot your dog.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

[KenH]

So is that DoctorBob or DoctorBobbit? Man, talk about having the cops in the palm of your hands

--- Ken

 

[Tommy]

God I hate pigs.

 

[Nexus-6]

If I ever get pulled over, I'll most likely to straight to jail.

During the day, in traffic and out and about I do the speed limit. No kidding. In all of my cars. Drives most people nuts (but I have a lot of cars and just one ticket raises premiums for all - gotta love it). I haven't had a ticket in 8 years.

But when I do play, I play hard. It's always post midnight on empty roads around here on late night cruises so if something did go completely wrong I'd only end up killing myself.

There's still not quite enough empty road around here for some real top end playtime...probably for the best actually...