vehicle profiling

I must be old. I'm currently enjoying a "red" summer, starting with a bright red Genesis GT, red MX-5, red Camaro SS... and this week a red A3. I haven't been pulled over in 3 years.

Lesley wrote: I must be old. I'm currently enjoying a "red" summer, starting with a bright red Genesis GT, red MX-5, red Camaro SS... and this week a red A3. I haven't been pulled over in 3 years.

That suggests that you're either doing it wrong, or that (where ever you're driving) the male officers are gay and the female officers are straight.

Does it count as profiling if the cops almost know you on a first-name basis?

(I hear they just call me "the black car")

In reply to GameboyRMH:

Sounds more like "Probable Cause".

I got more trouble in my 93 Civic hatch than any of the others combined. I also got pulled over going the same speed as other cars (in front and behind), followed, yelled at for driving 5mph around an accident site, etc.

My favorite though was when a cop pulled me over (with no traffic/speeding infraction) and threatened me for impersonating a police officer because I had clear corner lenses instead of amber.

I had a reeeaaal hard time keeping a straight face that time. I half-expected the cop to start saying, "Allright MEOW, you're in a lot of trouble son"

I had more tickets in my Scarab Green(dark) SAAB 9000 than any other car I have driven. It might have had something to do with the fact the speedo was broke and I never knew exactly how fast I was going..but I it seamed to attract more attention around here than was warranted.

Also, compared to American-designed models, German and other European cars tend to feature stiffer suspensions, tighter steering and other design aspects that sacrifice comfort for better handling and agility.

OMG. Who knew?

My daughter had a red Mitsu Mirage and was continuously being pulled over . Being blonde and cute was probably a contributing factor...

1981 Trans-Am.

Bad, 10-year-old Maaco paint and rust holes in the driver's fender.

AFCO stock car goodies and Hotchkis suspension, subframe connectors, 4-speed conversion and motor rockin' 12lbs of boost.

I've never gotten a speeding ticket in the three years I've owned it and I've done plenty of stupid crap in it.

Sleepers rock.

Shawn

ive done studies here in the dc area. all cops hate japanese performance cars and adore american muscle. test cars- various civics and various mustangs. it is what it is.

Trans_Maro wrote: 1981 Trans-Am. Bad, 10-year-old Maaco paint and rust holes in the driver's fender. AFCO stock car goodies and Hotchkis suspension, subframe connectors, 4-speed conversion and motor rockin' 12lbs of boost. I've never gotten a speeding ticket in the three years I've owned it and I've done plenty of stupid crap in it. Sleepers rock. Shawn

1979 Trans Am

Good: Built 414ci Pontiac V8 that sounds beautiful and lumpy.

Bad: Old crappy paint and various rust holes and ratty interior.

Ugly: It seems that every time I start the thing, the cops in town know about it. I have been pulled over more times in this thing than in all other cars I've owned combined, and that's when I'm just putting along minding my own business. I've never actually gotten a ticket, but I've been stopped plenty of times, and it's annoying.

My 2009 WRX hatch and my old 2002 WRX wagon seem to fly under the radar, which is cool with me. Go figure!

BS_in_Mechanical_Engineering wrote: ive done studies here in the dc area. all cops hate japanese performance cars and adore american muscle. test cars- various civics and various mustangs. it is what it is.

they seem to ignore the euros...

The last speeding ticket I got was in a white Sunbird rental in about 98. The reason I wasn't driving my 96 240SX deserves a post all it's own...that car was an accident magnet.

Since then, I've had a purple 98 Dakota V6, a green 91 Galant VR4, a silver 01 Dakota R/T, a silver 07 Suzuki SX4, a black 91 Miata and now a black 95 Volvo 850 T-5R and no tickets (knock on wood).

I'd like to think I've matured to a point where I (mostly) obey the speed limit but I think that 240SX just scared it out of me. I was in 3 big accidents in it and the 3rd finally totaled it. Hmmm, now that I think about it, I was never hurt more than just soreness in that car...and the airbags never deployed.

two words :

Blacked-out SUV

Blue Porsche 924 - never pulled over White 79 Impala - never pulled over 88 Saleen Mustang Blue on white - never ticketed Red 85 MR2 - never ticketed Blue 00 2.5RS Impreza - never pulled over Silver 88 CRX - never ticketed which is impressive since the previous owner had a warrant for his arrest and I was getting pulled over almost weekly

The kicker - 88 Grey Escort Wagon - stopped twice - ticketed twice. Driven maybe 5 times while other cars were immobile.

I got ticketed twice this past weekend. Embarrassing part was I was driving a (rented) Toyota Prius.

If I was gonna get tagged for speeding, I'd have sure rather been having fun when it happened.

I think it was a different kind of profiling. Small town speed traps in little hick towns in GA and AL. Car had Indiana tags on it. (Which include a front tag).

Felt like I was driving a billboard that said, "Quick! Ticket me for something stupid! This guy will NEVER come back to fight it in court".

Normally, I drive a pickup truck with a construction logo on the side of it (and GA tags from a rural county). That one says something more like, "This guy's one of us. Cut him a bit of slack, unless the Sheriff's daughter is riding shotgun". I never get ticketed.

I've been ticketed in just about everything. Geo Metro, Bonneville SSE, Nissan Quest, Legacy station wagon, Legacy Sedan, Nissan Maxima, Dodge caravan (for going in reverse!)
Though come to think about it, I don't recall being ticketed in the camaro.

Got a friend who is a contractor. He drives a 3/4 ton truck with a utility bed and a ladder rack. He also has a second job (in order to get benefits for his family) at a bakery department at a megastore. This means he's on the road at 3-4 AM to go make the baked goods before the store opens. He gets pulled over quite often, on every flimsy excuse, by officers who are certain they're gonna nab a DUI driver.

I don't completely blame them, it seems like there is a preponderance of pickups and vans in Ohio with ladder racks and DUI plates.

4 tickets, 4 warnings...

'88 Accord sedan, white with a gray fender- 98 in a 55. Yes I deserved that one, and almost lost my liscence. 1 warning for chirping my tires, I hadn't mastered the clutch yet.

'98 Neon coupe, white- 52 in a 30, on the 30/55 line. B.S. speed trap. Warning 1, blown bulb and possible DUI. Warning 2, possible DUI, a week after warning 1.

'99 Taurus, green- at fault accident, so the car didn't really matter.

'98 Neon R/T sedan, blue/sliver stripes- 81 in a 65, cop let me off with a "disobaying a trafic control device". 1 warning, rear licsence plate bulb was out.

I received one ticket in my RSX but always had eyes on me. The result was that I drove like a grandma.

My new Legacy GT sedan however, seems to be invisible. Much faster than the Acura and I can drive it that way too. Win win situation!

I drove my dad's fire engine red '81 Corvette (the C3 coke bottle) all throughout college and I never got pulled over. Maybe they're Chevy fans?

Last one I got for speeding was in my last BMW 2002, years ago. Surface road, (then) wife following me home in her (then) new 93 Civic. Saw the cop long before he hit the trigger on the radar, but couldn't hit the binders because she was tailgating me. 61 in a 45. Car was red, and lowered. They pulled over my ex as well..asked her if she'd been drinking (at least someone noticed she'd been tailgating!).

Funny thing...all these years later, and my daughter (19 now) says she hates to ride with her mom because the woman still tailgates. IIRC, my ex actually wrote off the Civic after slamming into the back of someone. At least the collision made such an impression upon my daughter (she woulda been about 10yr old at the time) that she doesn't tailgate anyone..

Been pulled over a couple of times in the black Corrado for dead lights & E36 M3 now that me and SWMBO moved out of the real ATL suburbs into the fringe of Atlanta Metro, but only recieved "warnings". Officers were always surprised that there wasn't a teenager in the car. Last time I got pulled, the Cherokee Co. officer said, "..oh, yeah! We were told to look for this car, but I didn't know you were an old guy! I'll tell everybody that you're not a street racer." Haven't been pulled since then (November 09). Helps that I don't drive "ninja" around my own house, I guess.

BTW: We get a lot of tourists on Harleys up here, and even when I did get pulled, no LEO ever mentioned how loud my pipe is.

only speeding ticket was in '73.... 60 in a 55... in a '61 Ford 9 passenger wagon... 390/4brl 3 on the tree and no power steering or brakes.... been home from Nam ~ 16 mo ... hair and beard had grown to prodigious lengths... SHP was a: young, b: crew cut c: repeated numerous times that the ticket had nothing to do with my hair..(I never said anything about why he stopped me) a line from McBeth comes to mind... me thinks thou doth protest to much.....

he was in an unmarked car and I saw his uniform passed him anyway ... was 3rd in line of 5 or 6 cars passing him... I sure he was telling the truth about the hair having nothing to do with the stop..

iceracer wrote: My bright red ZX2SR with a slightly loud exhaust never attracted the police. The two times I got stopped for speeding , when the officer discovered it was being driven by a 70+ year old man instead of a teenager, I got off with a warning that I should really watch my speed.

Had that happen many times with my Focus. I'm only 66 but it seems like the gray hair seems to mellow them out.

The best one was when after warning me about my speed he said "You should tell your son to get a quieter exhaust on this car" I managed to say "Yes, Sir" with a straight face but I thought my wife was going to blow the whole works trying to stifle her laughing.

I'm just happy to see that there's guys older than me that still follow this path. Guys, I owe ya a beer or two. I hit 48 last April, and heard a lot of "midlife crisis" BMW E36 from my non-gearhead friends. I just asked them why they thought such nonsense about my Corrados, since I've been driving sportscars for my whole entire life...

Good to know I've got plenty more years in front of me!

the one good thing about driving sporty cars when you are older.. nobody expects a balding and graying guy to be driving like a hooligan in a car that obviously belongs to a kid