leif.anderson93

Beautiful, warm, sunny Texas spring day so, of course, the '67 is out for her daily (weather permitting) 40 mile drive. I'm about 4 miles from the end of my drive, on a six lane road, following at a safe distance from all the cars in front of me. Up ahead, parked in a side street I notice a police cruiser. Look down at the speedometer and I'm doing about 50-55 in a 40 MPH zone...but, so is everyone in front of me. As I pass the cruiser, he pulls out behind me (I'm last in line) and flips his lights on. This is not the way you ever want a pleasant drive to end.
I pull over and the officer pulls in behind me and I wait. He comes up to the window, introduces himself and tells me I was clocked by laser radar doing 55 in a 40. Damn!!!
Asks for license and insurance. Hands me back the insurance card. In Texas, if you're a veteran and present your DD214 when you renew you license, they post on your license that you're a veteran...I had done this years ago. The officer asks what branch of the service I was in and when. Told him USAF back during Viet Nam. He says he'll be right back. Goes to his cruiser for maybe 60 seconds (I'm sure he ran me for any outstanding warrants). Comes back and says "how about we let you off with just a warning today?" I told him I was very grateful and that would work for me.
He then goes on to say " I've seen you and this car several times over the years and always admired it. Today you gave me a reason to pull you over and get a nice, close look at your car." We then spent several minutes talking about the car and it's history. Told him the car was built in June of 1967...the same month I graduated from high school. He smiled and said "I was born in June of 1967".
Anyway, what could have been an ugly ticket turned out be a nice encounter. I thanked him for the warning and for his service to our community and for the nice compliments about my Corvette. We shook hands and off I went

Dave64

I'm really glad to hear you escaped the old "press hard, five copies" speech. LEO's appreciate our old Corvettes as much anyone else.

Bluestripe67

It happens, but, as you experienced, it can be a pleasant exchange. So many people go off and pay dearly. Dennis

Railroadman

Had something similar with my '59, at age 18. Not speeding but about where I had stopped at a red light. But the talk very quickly turned to the car and we had a long chat about it before I went on my way, with no ticket and not even a warning. He was a true "car guy" - there was a parkway which was patrolled by State Park Police. There was an overpass over the parkway (but no on/off ramp) in his jurisdiction and that bridge was just 1/4 mile from a turnaround. There was a lot of action late at night. This Greece cop used to sit on the overpass and watch the racing. Guys who knew him said he absolutely was NOT using the radio or taking notes for the State, just enjoying the drags.

Glad your encounter turned out well. Maybe you could take him for a ride, and even get him into a Vette of his own.

jim lockwood

Back in the day when my bride and I were towing "His" and "Hers" Grand Sports to the track, each of us had to tow our own car.



One time, when returning from a weekend at the track, we pulled in to a local gas station just to get enough fuel to make it the rest of the way home.

As we rolled to a stop at the pumps, a CHP swooped in right beside us!

When the officer got out of his cruiser, the first words out of his mouth were "I just had to get a look at these cars!!!!!!"

He turned out to be a real car guy. When he retired from the CHP, we got a special invitation to come to his retirement party...... but only if we brought one of the Grand Sports!

True story.

Dan Hampton

I have been pulled over countless times for speeding. I never argue the point, apologize for my misdeed, and treat the attending officer with respect. Rarely have I received a ticket. I figure they probably get so much pushback from motorists that a reasonable and courteous attitude is a rarity for them and one that they appreciate.

capevettes

Good story Leif. You treated him with respect and you got it back. Plenty of real car guys on the job.
Don't think I ever wrote a polite guy in a classic car a ticket.

R66

I built a 71 V-8 Vega in 73 (as soon as it was paid off). I was always hassled by the 20 year old village wanna be cop as the rear end was up above factory, so I had to sneak out of town. I was on my way to work one day and a State Trooper came up on my tail, but didn't pass. When we got close to a gas station, he flipped on his lights. I expected the worse, but he didn't ask for my license, just asked if he could look at the car. I didn't tell him I would be late for work and we had a great chat.
I have great respect for HONEST law enforcement officers. It is a thankless job.

RatDog

I give a thumbs up and wave to every police officer I see. It’s often a thankless and dangerous job. We are lucky to have these folks.

Take care,
Steve

mrg

Ten years ago I was on my way to Longmont, CO.
On interstate 70 in UT, I was coming up on a car that has been pulled over by a state trooper.
There was another state trooper car parked in the median facing opposite traffic.

Coming up on the pulled over car I moved over to the left lane as I passed on by.
Looking in the rear view iI see the state trooper that had been parked in the median make a 180 and is now heading in the direction I’m going.

The trooper comes up in the left lane and shadows me. He’s probably looking up any warrants, etc.
The trooper makes a sudden move and swings in behind me, red light on.
I casually pulled over on the interstate and wait in my car. As he approaches I see him coming up the right side. He stuck his face slightly into the right window and quickly stepped back. Maybe he thought I had a heater or something.
The trooper now looks back through the window. I made a round n’ round with my arm and hand motion
to indicate I needed to roll the window down. The trooper didn’t know what this meant. I reached over and casually rolled the window down.

He asked for license and insurance and goes back to his car. It was a while before he came back. The trooper then asked if I knew why I was pulled over. I said I didn’t. He said it was because I hadn’t moved over when I passed the car that had been pulled over by the other state trooper.

I was aware of the law that cars coming up on police vehicles need to move over into the next lane. I explained that I had moved over, but may have straddled the broken lane lines with the inner right side of the car. I wasn’t trying to ingratiate myself, I was telling the trooper my version of what happened. He went back to his cruiser and came back with a warning slip.

Now he wants to talk cars!….He wanted to know how long I had the car, how many miles, any special equipment, etc.
I suspect too, in the beginning, the trooper may have thought my car was stolen.






John

Westlotorn

First, I like that you had your car out for a regular 40 mile drive. Good on you. Glad you only got a warning. I was working in Spokane WA, a good buddy had a son attending College at that time at the University of Idaho in Moscow ID. I made plans to go down and take him to dinner while I was up there. Drove down had a great time and departed for the 2 hour drive back to Spokane at about 9:30 PM. I was in a rental car just trying to get back to the hotel for a quick nights sleep. I was approaching a very small town at about 55 mph, just outside town Red Lights come on behind me. I pulled over and the officer came up and asks if I knew how fast I was going, close to 55 mph I reply. He says I entered town about a half mile back and the limit is 25 mph in town. I guess I missed the sign as I approached the town. Right about then the officer saw a few catalogs I had on the back Seat. Sealed Power Speed Pro Engine Parts catalogs. He asked why I had them, I said I worked for the company as an engine rep. he quickly changes into an excited tone, says he is building a Dodge Challenger with a 340 and starts asking questions. I got out grabbed the catalog and we started looking over options at night under his cop flashlight. We looked at pistons, rings, cams, gasket sets etc. About 45 minutes later I let him keep the catalog. He thanked me profusely saying he can't wait to get his car on the road. Told me Good night and drive safe. Never mentioned the speeding which I was certainly guilty of. Car Guys all have jobs but we seem to share the same passions.